Editor's Letter

EDITOR'S LETTER

Who will sell what to whom, when, how, and where in the future?

Or more precisely, as we really should consider this from the consumer’s point of view: Who will buy what from whom, when, where, and WHY in the future? What reads like a play on words is of crucial importance in a society in which a consumer debate, conducted quite ludicrously at times, is egging politics on. As necessary and exciting as systemic questions may be in a democracy, it should not be forgotten that the retail trade and – in logical consequence – consumption, have historically been the foundation of every civilizational development. This doesn’t mean that drastic, systematically effective changes should not – or must not – be considered. On the contrary. The eternally corny “Trade is Change” mantra has survived for so long because it is a short definition of a very decisive truth. However, the apparent antithesis, namely “Trade is Stability”, is also true. It sounds contradictory, but it really isn’t. Shortly before the start of a new decade, into which the fashion industry should venture with more confidence than it currently exudes, I would like to present five theses. These theses contain, at least in part, answers to the two questions asked above: 1. Personalisation is the new philosopher’s stone. Establishing that data is the raw material of the future is no longer ground-breaking. However, data alone is, at least initially, nothing more than an enormous drain on computing power and storage space. The decisive factor is which questions data should and can answer. Only then can data be the key to an in-depth understanding of customers – their wishes, likes, and dislikes. Anyone who now suspects that so-called data kraken like Amazon and Zalando have an insurmountable competitive advantage, once again underestimates the human psyche and its inherent longing for personal attention. The latter is an essential element of personalisation. 2. B2B + B2C + C2B… In the past, communication between market participants was largely a one-way street, but digitisation in particular has resulted in an exchange in all directions. This became most obvious in the case of travel portals, which have had a direct impact on how even small B&B guesthouses communicate with their (potential) guests: on a highly personal level, with a lot of storytelling, and based on the power of images. Let’s be honest. Who books a hotel room without seeing a proper and trustworthy photo of the bathroom? Exactly… 3. In full consciousness… Besides digitisation, environmental and sustainability issues will have the greatest influence on consumer behaviour in the medium to long term, not least because an ever-growing consumer base will demand, or even presuppose, different product standards and background stories. A taxation of CO 2 , whatever it may be called in the end, is only the beginning of a necessary restructuring of the tax and duty system towards true-cost pricing and cost-by-cause principle. Given that consumers are always among the polluters, this development will affect their wallets too. The fact that it is possible to have an order worth 5 Euros delivered from China free of charge is not an amazing accomplishment of free trade, but a flaw in the system. 4. Glocalisation Why look far afield when the good is so close at hand? Especially since distance is becoming less and less synonymous with cosmopolitanism, but more so with “flygskam”. Sarcasm aside, the WHERE is becoming increasingly important in the authentic narrative about brands and products that consumers are looking for. This also applies to the retail trade as a place of encounter and human touch. 5. Product + Story = Success This isn’t really a new formula, but it’s more important than ever in terms of addressing the most crucial of the questions mentioned at the beginning of this article. The WHY is what really moves a target group that needs nothing because it already has everything. It’s all about emotion beyond reason. What an opportunity!

Stephan Huber stephan@style-in-progress.com