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Reengineering Retail
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Reengineering Retail

The Future of Selling in a Post-Digital World

Doug Stephens
Figure 1 Publishing, 2017
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8

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  • Visionary
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Recommendation

The e-commerce explosion is revealing the flaws of the retail store business model. Overhead and inventory hamstring brick-and-mortar stores’ efforts to compete with unencumbered online retailers. The consumer’s ability to go online easily to check the prices of competing products drives all prices down, so price is less of a differentiating factor. Brands must compete on other merits. Digital experiences changed shopping. Virtual reality and other technologies are increasingly blurring the lines between the digital and physical worlds. The components of a retail environment and the way people purchase products will keep changing radically over the next few years, says retail expert Doug Stephens. People still want to go shopping, but they will demand stimulating experiences. getAbstract recommends his insights to marketers, store owners, entrepreneurs, investors and potential retail disrupters seeking a cogent, pragmatic overview of the future of retail.

Summary

“Retail Is Dead”

Walmart was at the top of retailing in 2010, practically synonymous with the retail sector. In the 1990’s it opened more than 3,000 stores for a total of 4,393 outlets. In 2012, Walmart’s sales were 16 times greater than Amazon’s, and Walmart could afford not to worry about building a competitive advantage online. But by 2015, Walmart was struggling, weighed down by its big-box footprint. It paid a cost for focusing on physical growth at the expense of digital expansion. 

As Amazon’s market value eclipsed Walmart’s, the chain worked to catch up online. Amazon beat it on price, selection and customer service. Amazon – a technology and data powerhouse that “also happens to sell things” – now threatens Walmart and many chains once thought bulletproof. Its Prime subscription gives members a “golden key” to a “service ecosystem” with extensive content, free shipping and data storage. Amazon is remaking retail while disrupting other businesses.

In 2015, China had twice the number of Internet users as the US has citizens, and at the...

About the Author

Retailing expert Doug Stephens founded the Retail Prophet consultancy. He also wrote The Retail Revival: Reimagining Business for the New Age of Consumerism.

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