An evolution towards “a greater presence of smaller-format establishments in city centres” to the detriment of “big-box stores on the outskirts”, together with the opening of “brand-owned stores” poised to “exert more control over customer relations”, are some of the main trends identified by Marc Soldevila, Project Manager of the ESADECREAPOLIS Retail Forum, at the presentation of the new ESADECREAPOLIS Observatory of Retail Trends, made in collaboration with Creafutur, whose aim is to identify and analyse emerging trends in the retail sector.

During the event, held at Barcelona’s Mobile World Centre, Mr. Soldevila commented that “the focus of activity will be the experience offered to consumers” and the “diversification of the possibilities to pick up and deliver products, all as part of a completely omnichannel strategy”. Nevertheless, the road ahead is long: according to Soldevila, “61% of today’s consumers have difficulty changing channels”.

From the Internet to the physical world and vice versa

Jaume Hugas, Associate Professor in the Department of Operations, Innovation and Data Sciences at ESADE, commented: “The pure players are opening more and more stores and gaining ground on traditional retailers”, while “the trend in the online channel is to emulate the experience of the physical store, since the consumer wants the same immediacy in terms of getting the product”.

He added: “The important thing is to establish an alliance between e-commerce and brick-and-mortar stores: that’s the future.” According to Prof. Hugas, Amazon is “behind in the acquisition of brick-and-mortar stores” but is “still the king of logistics”. Estefanía García, Head of Costumer Experience at Ulabox, highlighted her company’s agreements with small neighbourhood stores and stalls in municipal markets.

Connecting with consumers

Mr. Soldevila noted that “mobile devices have become the main means through which consumers interact with brands”. He added: “This drives the development of digital loyalty programmes that provide more value to customers.” Marc Cortés, General Manager of RocaSalvatella and Academic Assistant in the Department of Marketing at ESADE, commented: “If it is possible to provide added value by personalising the experience using data, the customer will overcome the initial barrier of knowing that the company is familiar with his location and shopping habits.”

Jaume Portell, CEO of Beabloo, noted that it is “observation is very easy in the online world” and that the challenge is to use to new technologies to understand “what’s happening in the offline world”. This information is “very valuable to retailers”, he explained.

The event opened with introductory remarks by Jordi Puigneró, Secretary of Telecommunications, Cybersecurity and the Digital Society at the Catalan Government, and Oriol Alcoba, Director General of ESADECREAPOLIS.