What: Benedict Evans, a tech analyst, shares his understanding and views on a broad range of topics, all linked to the evolution of tech.

Why it is important: Web3 or Metaverse are not as technical as they sound, as they could literally disrupt whole industries, including retail.

Benedict Evans often has an iconoclast view on how to analyse news and what is going on as a whole on markets, through self-speaking slides with interesting numbers. This year’s report makes no exception, and we suggest you review the following slides:

• Slides 37 - 40, about digital transformation, cloud expansion, resistance of old paradigms and the rise of “hyperscalers” which echoes what is taking place in retail,
• Slides 60 - 68, about the rise of e-commerce, but also its national specificity, with markets not evolving at the same pace, and how to look at it (the question is not who buys something online, but how, and how products are delivered), with the example of Amazon vs. Walmart, and Shopify,
• Slides 70 - 75, about the change’s digital brings to commerce as a whole and how brands operate and sell, including the spectacular rise of Shein.

Ben Evans systematically asks the same question: are we talking about tech as an end that changes the market, or as a new tool which allows to do things differently without altering the fundamentals (for instance, in his view, Amazon is a new iteration of a department store).

Benedict Evans’ presentation for 2022