LATEST UPDATES
Card-image-cap

Technology | ECOMMERCE

The Transformation of Retailing - 21st-Century Consumers Will Change Capitalism for the Better

Mar 21, 2021   •   by   •   Source: Proshare   •   eye-icon 1917 views

Sunday, March 21, 2021, 07:00 AM / by FDC Ltd/HeaderImage Credit: The Economist

 

New shopping behaviours should bewelcomed, not feared

 

At the dawn of the 20th centurythe notion emerged that people were consumers, as well as being workers,neighbors and voters. These bag-carrying, stuff-accumulating shopaholics wenton to transform the way the world works. Today you may tut at theirhamster-on-a-wheel mindlessness and its environmental impact. Or you maycelebrate their freedom to choose goods, experiences and ways of life. But youcannot dispute their eco-nomic and political clout. A new species of shopper isemerging: less centred on America, more intent on ensuring that what they buyreflects what they believe, and technologically dexterous. This latestincarnation of the global consumer looks likely to change how capitalism works-forthe better.

 

Today's shoppers are no longer epitomized byWesterners stuffing mountains of groceries into the boots of their cars andloading up on monolithic, all-American brands. For one thing, they arein-creasingly Asian. Last year China and America were almost neck-and-neck asthe world's biggest retail markets. China's two biggest online market places,Alibaba's Taobao and tmall, both do more third-party business than Amazon, theAmerican juggernaut. Just as American consumers once popularized the shoppingcatalogue and the mall, now Asia's shoppers are at the frontier of retailinnovations, whether that is live streaming, a store that sells a single bookin Tokyo, or browsing by WhatsApp in India.

 

Another change is that all aroundthe world the new shoppers are not just value-conscious, but also increasinglyproject their ethical and political values onto their decisions about what tobuy. So, for example, they select firms on the basis of their environmental credentialsand supply-chain standards.

 

Shoppers are using their power tosupport trends from veganism to Xinjiang-free cot-ton. Fashion is increasinglyconscious of its carbon footprint. Even Kraft Heinz, the hardest-nosed ofWestern food giants, is trying to rebrand itself as a force for environmentalclean-up, as well as ketchup. It is a mistake to view these trends as merevirtue-signalling, or a fad. One way that capitalism adapts to society'schanging preferences is through government regulation and laws, which votersinfluence, at least in democracies. But the dynamic response of companies tothe signals that consumers send is a force for change, too.

 

 

 Proshare Nigeria Pvt. Ltd.


 

The final big change is digital-but not in the way youmight think. Many people worry that dominant retail platforms like Amazon andAlibaba, reinforced by giant logistics networks, will snuff the life out ofcommerce, leaving shopping centres barren and destroying jobs.

 

In fact the impli-cations of technology, for producersand consumers, are more exciting and benign. More accurate and voluminous dataabout shopping patterns are breaking down the decades-long relationship betweenmass consumption and mass production. In its place is a more varied world inwhich the shopper can decide whether to buy online or in store, whether to shopvia platforms or from indi-vidual brands, and whether to accept targeted ads ornot.

 

The store will not die, but producers and consumerswill have a more direct relationship with each other. Increasingly, middlemenwill be squeezed out of the supply chain. The boundaries between entertainment,communication and shopping will blur.

 

One result is a surge in creativity. Shopify, aCanadian-owned tech platform that gives brands the chance to bypass Amazon,sold $120bn of merchants' goods last year, double the level of 2019. It hoststhe first-ever sale by a first-time retailer every 28 seconds. In ChinaPinduoduo, an e-commerce firm started in 2015, may overtake Alibaba in itsnumber of users this year, partly by enabling Chinese villagers to clubtogether and buy groceries online.

 

Companies like Nike are cut-ting their dependency onwholesalers and selling trainers via their websites and even vending ma-chines.Giant retailers like Walmart are going "omni"-online and offline-anddiversifying into new services for their digital customers. Even Amazon hasopened its first cashierless grocery store outside America, in Ealing, inLondon.

 

The pandemic has boosted online retail, but make nomistake, the new generation of shoppers have yet to hit their stride. Worldwidee-commerce sales last year were $4.2trn. Consumer spend-ing is above $65trn.The consumer was crowned king over a century ago but endless new aisles remainunexplored.

 


Proshare Nigeria Pvt. Ltd.



Related News

1.     Opportunitiesfor Nigeria's e-Commerce

2.    Visaand GIG Logistics Partner to enable eCommerce Delivery

3.    FacebookMarketplace Rolls Out in Nigeria

4.    WestAfrican Consumer Sentiment Presents More Positive Picture

5.    Ecommerce,Key to Unlocking Merchant Revenue Growth During the Festive Season - VisaReport

6.    WhySmall Businesses Need a Digital Presence

7.    ShoppingSmart In The Face of a Looming Recession

8.    StandardChartered and Visa Collaborate to Offer 360 Rewards on eCommerce Transactions

9.    StakeholdersAdvocate Legal Framework at the ACCI E-commerce Webinar

10. AbujaChamber of Commerce set to Hold Webinar on Ecommerce Opportunities on July 25,2020

 

 

 Proshare Nigeria Pvt. Ltd.

 



 Proshare Nigeria Pvt. Ltd.


Proshare Nigeria Pvt. Ltd.

 

 Proshare Nigeria Pvt. Ltd.

Get the App

apple-store  play-store

Connect with us


Proshare is a professional practice focused on delivering research and information services to bridge the gap between investors and markets; by delivery on credible, reliable, and timely engagements through the following areas — Impact Research, Market Intelligence, Strategic Advisory, Stakeholder Relations & Digital Media.