RetailDetail Congress: “The gap between European stores and those on other continents is huge”

Where can you find the world’s most inspiring shops and retail concepts? And what do they tell about the future of retail? At the RetailDetail Congress, ‘captain of retail’ Jorg Snoeck will share his most remarkable discoveries.

No more ‘sales retail’

Over the past few years, RetailDetail founder Jorg Snoeck has led RetailHunts to trendsetting cities like Tokyo, New York, Seoul, Berlin, Dubai and Shanghai, always in search of the most remarkable and surprising retail ideas. His next venture will be this October’s Retailhunt to Singapore, to build on and expand on the previous discoveries.

Off the beaten track, he will share the most inspiring shops, trends and insights that have stuck with him at the RetailDetail Congress. What will the ‘Future of Shopping’ bring? “Surviving as a store by simply selling stuff will be very difficult, as Esprit proved earlier this week. It is good to keep in mind that only in Europe do retailers and brands still stick to a real sales-driven model. What you see on other continents cannot be compared. The linear customer journey is dead,” Snoeck believes.

Intimate connection

Consumers have changed completely: not only do the demographics look very different, but digitisation has spurred things on even more. “The future is here, faster than expected, the Covid pandemic has ushered in a new era: the ‘transition twenties’. We are seeing a completely different consumer behaviour, with different eating patterns, different buying habits and unprecedented diversity.”

The world is fragmented, but so is the ‘retail battle’. Snoeck believes in what Meta calls “discovery commerce”: the shop is not dead, but it is becoming a place for encounter and discovery. It may even be the only place where human connection is still possible. “In the shop, brands can win hearts, connect and then connect one-on-one”, he says.

Games are the biggest world in retail

Sephora‘s Dubai shop, for example, is first and foremost a data point, where the cosmetics retailer gets to know the customer and then redirects him to its own metaverse. “The world of games is the biggest retail universe there is, a global marketplace where you reach young people from all over the world, and yet you never hear about it”, he says. In Japan, Ikea is working with virtual influencer Imma, who not only appeared in the physical shop in Tokyo, but takes on different roles – including through gamification.”

Snoeck sees shops as “places to connect hearts” in a world of automation, polarisation and ageing. “At Fairprice in Singapore, you see how even supermarkets are becoming meeting places: the supermarket becomes a ‘grocerant’ – combining a supermarket and a restaurant. For the growing group of older people – and young people too – who do not cook for themselves, it may be a fine alternative to lonely takeaways.”

Valuable waste

As Melle Schellekens of The Good Roll points out, engaged entrepreneurship is the new normal in business. Once again, other continents are taking the lead: Kolon Industries in Korea produces things like nylon and airbags, but they also have their own outdoor brand with Kolon Sport, with a beautiful shop in the heart of Seoul. “Last winter, they had transformed the entire ground floor into a museum about Antarctica and the melting of the polar caps.

“The ground floor is there for discovery, the actual shop is at -1; completely the opposite of what we would do here.” For its surplus materials, Kolon then created Re:Code, where young Koreans learn to make new clothes from waste materials in workshops. “That way you get unique pieces and waste suddenly becomes worth more instead of less,” he says.

At this year’s RetailDetail Congress, in addition to heart-connecting retail, expect keynotes from Average Rob, Jysk, Gino Van Ossel, Thrive Beer, The Good Roll and many more!