Retail Challenge: Honoring Values, Embracing Tech

Faster, higher, further! The Olympic triad is not only conquering Paris this year, but also the retail sector. That’s because customers want shopping to be quick and efficient above all else. In e-commerce, slow loading times are just as much of a no-no as long delivery times. People expect their needs to be met with no glitches whatsoever – preferably right here and right now.

Retail is thus driven from one efficiency record to the next. It is also driving itself forward. After all, retail is among the industries that could benefit most from the rapid developments in artificial intelligence (AI). There is enormous potential along the entire supply chain to go faster, higher and further in order to meet customer demands for an attractive shopping experience.

But is retail really all about efficiency? The Olympic oath invokes the will to “make the world a better place through sport”. In sport as in retail, performance goes hand in hand with values, as more and more people expect retailers to not only improve their efficiency, but also to assume social and ecological responsibilities.

At the 74th International Retail Summit, we will be discussing the interplay between technology, tradition and value-oriented entrepreneurship with visionaries, pioneers and retail professionals, addressing questions like:

What will be the key functions of tomorrow’s retail industry? And what values matter now that retailers are increasingly turning into technology companies? How can AI help create more value for customers and employees? In which roles will people remain indispensable? For which customer experience will customers be willing to invest time in the future? Where and when is slow better than fast? What geopolitical dynamics will retail have to prepare for in the future? The International Retail Summit will be held in German and English (with simultaneous interpretation).