I think customer experience is quite different in online compared to physical shopping, and that should keep both alive.

Hello Phillip,

I believe that the various formats will exist to serve customers. You have to look at the customer and the demography of them will decide which way they would go. I believe that until stationary products become standard, with very few options, brick n mortar stores will still exist.

Hope this was helpful.

Cheers

It's important with a consumer experience both in physical and online stores. I believe that retail future is blanded. We cannot let physical retail just die due to technologies, retail is not just about purchasing and consumption, it is also about city centre development, emploiment and cultural sustainability.

The experience on online and offline is different. On online customers trust more on price stated by a product is high they are getting huge discount but when they explore offline market the price lower than state price of product. As well as customers in developing area are still in learning stage and unable to decide. Sometimes they feel deceived

Thank you for the exciting discussoin points!

Mirna Leko Šimić I also think that the customer experience is and has to be very different. If only because of the physical presence of the customer vs. the virtual online environment. So the customer is in a completely different environment in each case. In the store, the environment can still be described relatively well. Online, the customer can be at home, on vacation, or anywhere.

Olga Rauhut Kompaniets I agree with you. If physical retail disappears, downtowns will change (which may have already happened in some cities). And cities may become more and more unattractive. This, in turn, could also affect gastronomy and tourism, for example. Here I ask myself the question of whether/how this can be counteracted? We are all buying more and more online (which also has great advantages). But how can online retail and physical retail exist successfully in the long term and perhaps even support each other?

Mukesh Ranga I would not guess that the price is lower in the offline market. However, I find the perspective interesting. Can you explain this further?

With regard to the price, I would have assumed that customers in the physical store compare the prices via their smartphone with the online retailer and then decide for or against the purchase in the physical store.

What learning phase are customers in developing countries in? I think this is a separate, very exciting area!

The fact that customers can feel deceived is the same everywhere, I think. For example, in the case of the above-mentioned example, when there are large price differences. Or when 'umbrella pricing' is practiced in retail.

Hi Dr Philipp Brüggemann . The retail e-commerce revenues are projected to grow to $5.4 trillion in 2022, according to market data provider Statista. Other top online retailers also saw huge increases in their online sales. See the link: https://online.maryville.edu/blog/future-of-online-shopping/

Also, in the future, shoppers will likely increasingly rely on a mix of brick-and-mortar and digital channels for discovery, researching and purchasing. Whether in-store or online, brands can meet shoppers' needs by using data and machine learning to understand behaviors and deliver personalized, seamless experiences. See the link: https://www.retaildive.com/spons/the-future-of-shopping-3-trends-to-watch/591887/

Kindly, see the following link: https://www.shopreme.com/blog/posts%20long/online-shopping-is-booming-the-internet-offers-customers-many-advantages-when-shopping-however-the-opportunities-and-possibilities-for-stationary-retail-are-much-greater-in-the-future-as-well-as-to

Thanks a lot for this quite existing explanations.

This would indicate that retail will continue to take place both stationary and online. But there will probably be a further shift towards online retail.

In addition, the relevance of data analysis (AI, machine learning,...) and the linking of channels (omni-channel) will become increasingly important.

But that would mean that smaller retail companies (e.g. in city centres) will hardly survive as a result of this development, right? Because they simply lack the size and capital for their own online shop or for optimising the customer experience.

This, in turn, could lead to increasing concentration, less competition and perhaps even to a decline in the price-performance ratio. Or do you have a different opinion?

How can this trend/possible threat be countered? Or should this be actively influenced at all? Are there any ideas/approaches to this for smaller retail companies? Also to keep cities attractive.

Many thanks and best regards

Stationery is a mass noun referring to commercially manufactured writing materials, including cut paper, envelopes, writing implements, continuous form paper, and other office supplies. Stationery includes materials to be written on by hand (e.g., letter paper) or by equipment such as computer printers

Perhaps I should clarify: my questions are aimed at physical retail (compared to increasing proliferation of online retail)

About 8 years ago I was working in an Indian stationery company, handled all the importation process from India to Indonesia, managed it to sell to our appointed distributor, and lastly to our end customers. Based on that experience and from present point of view, I agree with you Philipp Brüggemann that in the future small retail shop of stationery will be hard to compete (in terms of physical store), they will have to combine with online selling (through marketplace, social media, etc) to have wider range of customer. Wholesaler probably will still be able to survive because they have capital and with that they're going to have bigger bargaining position on price with manufacturer. If the customer experience is one of important thing that should implement on day-to-day activities on a physical store, then it should be adapt at small stationery shops as well such as, redesign the shop (nice visibility), inventory rearrangement, and also the aspect of great service will add more value to the customer and the shops it self

Thanks for these insights and experiences from this field! This would mean that it is becoming increasingly difficult for small businesses to survive. If experience-orientation is key, the big companies will also use this for themselves. So this would not be an advantage for small businesses either. Or is this assumption wrong?

Could an overarching and neutral online platform, on which every large/small online/offline company can offer its products, be a sensible solution? This way, smaller companies could also offer their products to many customers. E.g. through a bundled delivery of ordered products, additional synergies could be created. Furthermore, even manufacturers could offer their products via such a platform and sell them directly to consumers.

I look forward to further assessment and opinions on this topic!

Hi everyone, this discussion (on LinkedIn) on the future of retailing might be interesting:

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6936274093902065664/

Best regards

New research on 'old habits' or 'new normal':

Chapter The Impact of Pandemic Restrictions on Offline and Online Gr...

To my understanding existence and sustenance of a neutral online platform is pretty tricky. Be it physical or online, experiential retail is going to be the order and with Metaverse physical retail may grow contrary to many popular perceptions. Moreover all online adoption of retail channel largely depends on the demography. We all visualized how retail stores were back to there usual business as soon as the pandemic eased. I feel that any transition to all exclusive online presence of retail will be a forced thing on consumers. I hope Metaverse will be the best bet for physical as well as online retail channels. In third world countries small retailers cannot be counted out but in US and similar economies there might be rare chance of survival. Philipp Brüggemann Amazon Go is perhaps the best example for of what future retail will look like.

Hi everyone,

Based on our discussion, maybe this open access research on "The impact of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on offline and online grocery shopping: New normal or old habits?" is interesting for some of you.

Best

Philipp

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366596847_The_impact_of_COVID-19_pandemic_restrictions_on_offline_and_online_grocery_shopping_New_normal_or_old_habits