Retail Moonshots: Highlights from Elevate 2019
This year the Fashion Zone collaborated with Elevate, a conference that showcases the best of the Canadian innovation ecosystem. Bringing together visionary and inspirational speakers, the conference shed light on disrupting the status quo in retail.
In the age of mass consumerism and rising e-commerce, retailers of all kinds and sizes are facing challenges to keep up with the change of retail experience expectations. Businesses are pressured to innovate and develop more customized products in a fast-paced environment.
Featuring leaders in the retail ecosystem, we were inspired by the speakers who provided a glimpse into the future of retail as well as the current challenges and opportunities available to get there.
P.S. Fashion Zone companies Beatnik and Sons (external link) and Krippit were spotted at the conference!
Key Takeaways
Inspired by a full day of panels and talks, we’ve captured some key takeaways from Elevate Retail:
- With the growth in retail tools, strategies, and technology, opportunities to evolve this industry are limitless
- Artificial intelligence and digital will increasingly continue to influence the future of retail
- Retailers will need to merge the physical and digital worlds to maintain an elevated, seamless and frictionless experience for consumers both online and offline
- Retailers are pressured to respond to the ultimate consumer. The ultimate consumer is looking for ultimate convenience, ultimate personalization as well as the ultimate experience
- With the evolving consumer, the “value economy” will become the “values economy”.
- Customers who find an emotional connection to a brand are willing to spend twice as much on a purchase
- The future of retail is human. When everything is equal and readily available, it is values (and not traditional value) that become the tiebreaker