Long term predictions relating to the internet are likely to be as accurate as your daily horoscope from Mystic Meg. But in such an uncertain economic situation, the future has never been more relevant.
When Jones Lang LaSalle asked me to provide some technological insight for their Retail 2020 research initiative my initial thought was ‘Blimey. I’m not even sure where we’re going to be by the end of 2012 let alone 2020″.
Jones Lang LaSalle are one of the big boys in the financial and professional services sector, specialising in real estate services and investment management. They employ 30,000 people in 60 countries and retail is a significant chunk of their business.
The sessions were held in London and Paris last year with representatives from all areas of the retail landscape, from developers and constructors to marketers and retailers. The objective of the meetings was to pool together collective insight in order to shape some sort of vision for the future of retail.
The output of those meetings has now been published by JLL and is available to view for free on their website (you simply need to register). The findings are presented in 7 parts: Going East, Online Gold Rush, Consumer Cut-Through, A Perfect Storm, The End Of Silent Retailing, Going Beyond Retail and Easy Shopping. The findings are presented by Robert Bonwell, CEO EMEA Retail at JLL.
These document do not pull any punches and point to the challenges facing retail after a decade of credit enthused spending consumer optimism.
My own contribution focused on how the combination of mobile and the social web could have a transformative impact on the offline retail experience as well as online. It’s a theme that I keep coming back to and this new combination has real power to challenge established practices such as fixed prices, ‘brand knows best’ push marketing and customer service.
I keep returning to the conclusion that the passive experience of offline shopping is not rewarding and new online models are succeeding by creating theatre as well as offering value – witness Polyvore and Gilt as two salient examples in fashion and take a look at Naked Wines as a tangible example of real social commerce.
The second theme that I’ll be looking to explore over the coming year is the revival of mutuality in the online sector. Having worked for a mutual, I’m acutely aware of the customer loyalty that is inherent in such a model and in the advantages (and disadvantages) of not having external shareholder pressure. Businesses owned by customers is a logical progression for the social web and may become appealing for an increasing number of people.
The Retail 2020 report is a good read. It outlines what we already know: That power will continue to go to the east; that it will be a long slow climb out of recession; that technology will afford significant opportunities for those that innovate; and
Take a look at the findings here.
