“It’s not the strongest or smartest that survive but those most responsive to change”, said Charles Darwin, and never has that been more true than in retailing. During the past 5 years, while so many businesses focused on mere survival, the explosion of technology has transformed the world of retail, while social media has changed consumer relationships. Many have sounded the death knell of retail, as high street shops close, but retail is far from dead, it’s just changing. Had this surge in technology come at a different economic time the pace of change in retail might have been different, but ultimately the direction would be the same.
Mobile at the heart of everything
At the heart of this change is mobile technology, the smart phone in particular, resulting in the store and the customer being everywhere, anywhere and at any time. Critical for every brand and business is to fully understand the implications and opportunities of this and to stay close as it develops, as developments will be fast. The challenge and opportunity now is to be a shop or brand in every consumer’s pocket. Ultimately this means that if an item is in stock anywhere in the business it should be available to everyone everywhere.
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