Of course this applies to so much beyond the retail and leisure industry. But focussing thought and effort on what can help us as we move forward, actually presents us with a unique opportunity. Destination teams, landlords and those trading in our city streets and shopping environments will have had time to reflect on what they need and want from their retail and leisure spaces. The same is true of the shopping public, who have also been evaluating what they need when visiting these places. Do both visions of what real-world retail should look like, align? 

In the April issue of RLI, ART’s director Gareth Jordan shared steps to cultivate community and spark a cultural reboot ready for the new retail world.

Read the Retail Insight here

Personal face-to-face customer experiences have always been a winner for brick-and-mortar stores, which deliver value beyond the product.  Offline retail remains to be the consumers preference, and real-world pop-ups and permanent physical locations are increasingly popular for e-commerce retailers to win trust and build their brand.  However, the tech approach is also playing on the strength of convenience.  Alibaba’s earlier venture offline saw staff-less stores similar to the Amazon Go concept, where Just Walk Out Technology detects products that are taken and returned to shelves. The advantages of offline retail are well rooted, but take a technology company attune to the power of data and More Mall could be the crystal ball on a new era of retail.

As virtual reality and AI become commonplace, real-world retail is starting to feel less like the industry we once knew.  At ART Software Group, we have supported a transition into smart shopping centres that leverage business intelligence. Clients using our product Retail Advantage are finding that dashboard-driven retail management is like discovering a new world too.  The harmonious integration of intelligence and human connections is where our experience says real retail is at.

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