Last week, the movers and shakers in global retail converged on Berlin for the 2010 World Retail Congress. I picked up a few key insights from my Twitter feed and several others from report backs. I thought you would like it if I shared them with you.
Overriding it all appeared to be the message that innovation was critical across all forms of retail, but here are some specifics:
* The post-recession consumer is value focused, but willing to reward those retailers who are able to offer them better value or excitement;
* 60% of sales today are influenced by online research;
* The mobile device will become your wallet in a few short years;
* The internet is transforming retailers — making them quicker to market, and more responsive to customer needs;
* Sir Martin Sorrell of WPP said that mobile technologies are leapfrogging the PC as the de facto way to access the internet;
* IBM says that in South Africa there are more mobile phones than bank accounts;
* The M&S "shop your way" ethos will become more popular.
And finally, in the best news of all, Woolworths was named 2010 Responsible Retailer of the Year for the second time in three years. Congratulations to them.