Commerce Trends 2017-2018

The roles of both the store and the store associates have changed and will continue to do so. The days that a store format and go-to-market proposition would endure for five, six or even seven years are gone for good. Retailers must stay keenly alert to the changes in the market and be able to react immediately. That means being able to rapidly ‘adjust all the available dials’ to continuously keep their proposition in tune with their customers’ needs. Technology is playing an increasingly important part in that, as you will read in this magazine. If customers encounter any
friction during their interaction that can be reason enough for them to take their business elsewhere – and that holds true not only in the retail sector, but also in a growing number of other industries.