What: The first in-person WRC to take place since the last edition in Amsterdam (May 2019).

Why it is important: After 2 online editions, many retailers were glad to gather together for in-person conferences, in order to share experiences on the challenges they encountered and how they faced them (it was a fight for survival for most of them). However, the key learnings from the online editions were well absorbed, with a more interactive way of leading the show.

Interestingly, there were many exclusive studies presented by either retailers or consulting companies which are presented here. The motto of this session was “rebuilding a better retail”.

The 2022 WRC edition was built on 6 pillars, 4 of which are reported here:

• “Our planet” (report), and what is takes for sustainability to really take place in retail. The report, co-developed with the BCG, makes it clear: sustainability is possible but complex and hard, and will require efforts. So far, the report shows that most retailers are achieving opportunistic initiatives in CSR but do not harness sustainability as a competitive advantage. 70% of retailers agree that sustainability is a priority, but only 57% believe that they have invested enough in the past 3-5 years. Most of companies have pursued quick wins so far, but it is now time for harder efforts. This implies embedding sustainability (through a properly restructured and re-incentivized organisation) and using data. The BCG identifies 9 key principles:

• Sustainability needs to be an explicit CEO priority, with bold goals and clear narrative, which are embodied into flagship programs (few but at scale),
• Sustainability must be embedded into organisations through a proper end-to-end integration, helping to capture value and embracing digital,
• This requires a business model innovation, new collaborations and also new methods to finance these operations.

For the BCG, it is all about small steps and successive quick wins in order to drive a real movement and generate value for individuals and the industry.

• “Our society”, and the role of retail in a broader context,
• “Our economy”  and the contribution of retail into workforce reskilling, employment growth and participation to countries prosperity,
• “Our business” (report) with the new rules for business that have been identified in the past 2 years. The report, co-developed with OC&C, mentions that digitisation is coming in waves (it is not a singular effect and requires retailers to evolve continuously), with a tipping point expected for 2025. Winning strategies however remain the same: driving flexibility into the cost based, leverage fixed cost investments by adding scale, use digital amplification to reinforce the proposition, and invest in digital engagement to ensure customer stickiness.
• “Our consumer” (report), his/her new motivations and behaviour. The report, co-developed with Railsbank, identifies a few new personas:

• The digital arrivals, who discovered e-commerce and online with the pandemic, and realize that this suits their needs,
• The subscribers, who find handy to receive at home a selection of products according to their needs in exchange of a monthly fee,
• The ethical consumers, from Alphas to Generation Z, including also millennials and boomers, all concerned with the planet and the impact of their own consumption.
• The thrill seekers, all about demanding greater interactions and enjoyment from shopping, through playfulness and gamification. Their search is not only online but also physical, after having endured lockdowns for the past 2 years.

These new profiles of course have an impact on how stores should be organised (both offline and online), how CSR strategies should be set up, as well as what kind of product should be selected and sold.

• “Our plan for change” (report) and how dynamic leadership, empowerment of people and willingness to embrace partnerships can help retail to grow into a resilient industry prepared for the upcoming challenges. The report, co-developed with Deloitte, emphasizes how the notion of time has shifted for both retailers and consumers during the pandemic, leading into new practices in recruitment, employment, customer retention, and the notion of purpose in parallel to sustainability.

WORLD RETAIL CONGRESS 2022 - "Our Business" Report

WORLD RETAIL CONGRESS 2022 - "Our Consumer" Report

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