New Retail : A phygital revolution

Economic development and a rising middle class consumer have made emerging markets an enticing location for many change-makers. Therefore, replacing the patterns of consumption in these regions has prompted retailers and shoppers alike to change their buying habits.

Already the world’s largest e-commerce market, China’s e-commerce will reach $1.1tn at the end of 2021. However, there is still plenty of room for growth with just 38% of China’s total population shopping online. Indeed, China’s online retail sales are expected to increase steadily at an 8.5% compound annual growth rate through to 2022.

Taking these factors into account, Alibaba’s founder (Jack Ma) has embarked on a “phygital revolution” dubbed “New Retail” recognizing that the future of the retail scene was not a matter of platform, but of experience.

New Retail disruption

Chinese expect to have a unique experience across all the brand’s interconnected platforms with a multiplication of online and offline touchpoints. Thereupon, it was in response to this growing demand that the phygital ecosystem is born, with New Retail as its first concept.

This disruptive-looking term actually hides a very important social factor, which relates to the way people have consumed and experienced a growth boom, particularly for the past 20 years. Chinese have gone through a brutal transition. Indeed, it brought the smartphone and the IOT to the center of their concerns.

As a result, companies have adopted the same pattern allowing unprecedented agility in developing their sales methods. New Retail is an integral part of these new practices. Theyare not really democratized in Europe, but they have become the new standard in recent years in China.

If you would like to know more about “New Retail”, I invite you to read my LinkedIn article.