Redefining Retail: 10 Guiding Principles for a Post-Digital World
Description
The three main rules of retail have long been defined by an expression used in real estate jargon: "Location, Location, Location." The basic assumption was: if you prioritise the acquisition of the best locations, everything else will fall into place. This approach will no longer apply due to the fragmentation of the market, there have been several rapid and chaotic changes, including Covid-19, competitive pressures and disrupted customer behaviours.
The large number of retailers that have gone out of business in recent years shows us that the scenario has changed and closures have pushed some to use terms like "apocalypse" or "Armageddon" to describe the difficulties of the current situation. However, it is wrong to assume that the failure of a large number of shops and stores heralds the end of brick-and-mortar retail. If anything, it decrees the end of a model that has remained unchanged for decades and that seems to be inadequate for the Digital Age. In other words -- Covid was an abrupt disruption, but many changes were overdue.
In order to survive and thrive in this post-covid and post-digital world, Retailers and Consumer Brands have to understand the paradigm shift occurred in the way people behave and redefine both their internal operations and processes, and their business strategy. In fact they need to rethink the entire value chain, taking into account the growing importance of sustainability, diversity and inclusion, working policies, etc.
The challenge is no longer about Digital Transformation, that is something we can take for granted at this point. Retailers and consumer brands need to develop a strong sense of 'humbition' putting into discussion even the most successful strategies of the past, cultivating the ambition to future-proof their organisations and their brands.
Professors Kotler and Stigliano have developed a set of 10 Guiding Principles that companies should embrace, no matter if they are big established players or SMEs, regardless of the location and the sector in which they operate.
Thanks to the various hats that Giuseppe wears as Global CEO of Spring Studios, a Professor and Lecturer across Europe and the USA and as a Global Keynote speaker the book will be built on both hands-on experience and academic rigor. Corroborated by numerous talks that Giuseppe has given over the last few years on the topics covered in the book. This will all be reinforced by Kotler's authoritative perspective and guidance.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Change Is the Only Constant xv
Retail: A Different Perspective xvii
Post- Digital: When Hype Meets Reality xxi
How We Got to Retail 5.0 xxviii
The Journey to Come xxxiv
Part I the Post- Digital Era 1
1 Running Backwards 3
Speed of Change 8
Reflection Summary Questions 10
2 Purpose, People, Planet--Therefore Profit 11
The Economic Imperative 14
Reflection Summary Questions 18
3 The Direct- to- Consumer (D2C) Revolution: A Double- Edged Sword 21
An Opportunity for Incumbent Brands 27
The Benefits of the Hybrid Model 32
In Summary 34
Reflection Summary Questions 36
4 Experiential Benchmarks 37
The Ever- Higher Bar of Expectations 41
Un(Fair) Competition 42
A New Market Modus Operandi? 45
Reflection Summary Questions 47
5 Making People Want Things Isn't Enough 49
Making Sense of Data 54
The Privacy--Trust Equation 56
Reflection Summary Questions 58
6 Omnichannel Is Dead. Long Live Optichannel. 61
From Multichannel to Omnichannel 65
From Omnichannel to Optichannel 72
Reflection Summary Questions 74
7 The Post- Digital Customer Journey 75
A Hybrid Journey 80
It's All Real 83
Reflection Summary Questions 87
8 High Tech + High Touch 89
Behind the Scenes 95
Reflection Summary Questions 100
9 Shopping Malls Apocalypse? 101
Regional Differences 104
Mixed- Use Developments 107
Reflection Summary Questions 109
10 The Perfect Storm 111
Where Do We Go from Here? 116
Part II THE 10 BEs OF POST- DIGITAL RETAIL 119
11 Be Humbitious 125
Different Leaders for Different Corporate Cultures 130
Reflection Summary Questions 135
12 Be Purposeful 137
The Benefits of Being Purposeful 142
A Difficult Harmony 145
Toward a Common Standard 147
The Business Correlation 150
Public/Private Collaboration Required 156
Reflection Summary Questions 158
13 Be Ambidextrous 161
Overcoming the Obstacles 170
Reflection Summary Questions 174
14 Be Onlife 175
Facing the Most Common Threats 179
Embracing an Onlife Optichannel Strategy 187
Reflection Summary Questions 192
15 Be Personal 195
The Benefits 201
The Flip Side 204
Reflection Summary Questions 208
16 Be Human 211
Unity Is Strength 217
Reflection Summary Questions 224
17 Be a Destination 225
Redefining Brick- and- Mortar Stores 231
Common Traits 237
Reflection Summary Questions 240
18 Be Exponential 241
Different Types of Business Ecosystems 245
Unity Is Strength 253
Make, Buy, or Ally 257
Reflection Summary Questions 261
19 Be Invisible 263
Five Significant Benefits of Invisible Technologies 269
Or: Not So Fast 275
Reflection Summary Questions 277
20 Be Loyal 279
Stakeholders' Loyalty 284
Decoding Customer Loyalty and Churn 287
Loyalty, Habit, and Communities 293
Reflection Summary Questions 298
Conclusion: Embracing the Post- Digital Retail 5.0 Journey 299
Notes 305
Acknowledgments 341
Index 345