In today’s interview we talk about the retail sector with Julia Wolf, Textile Group Director at Carrefour, a professional with more than 20 years experience within the Fashion retail industry, working for the most relevant fashion players. Julie claims to be very optimistic about the future of offline retail stores. However, she believes that a reinvention of the current business model is necessary to help physical stores maintain their position against online stores in relation to the retail experience offered to customers.
Do you want to know more about Julie’s opinions on retail sector, new technologies and the future of those physical stores? Keep reading this interview and feel free to share your opinions with us!
Retail Interview – Create unique retail experience
Will traditional/offline physical stores disappear?
Offline retail will definitely not disappear.
Reinventing the business model offering a true retail experience for clients will be one of its main asset. Serving online canal through offline flagship shops where influencers, media and clients converge too.
What are its defects and virtues in front of the online store? What is the biggest problem or weakness that physical stores have to face?
More than classifying as a defect, I see a big challenge around having the right product at the right place. It is important to analyze whether a product fits better on the online or offline store according to its characteristics or functionalities, and also taking into account the type of client that will buy them and its patterns of purchase.
Probably, the biggest problem that a physical or traditional store has to face is related with the fact of taking the decision to maintain the shops that brings the right service and the right image too.
In the current context, what role does technology play in retail experience?
Data abd technology are one of the main key points to ensure sales at your store, CSR optimization (through digitalization of designs, presentation of virtual products and campaigns, test and learn to optimize the Go to market product), customer proximity and veracity of communication within many other aspects of our new business model evolutions.
If I had to highlight some specific innovation that is standing out in the retail sector would be technologies from virtual showrooms, virtual fittings, retail media or chat GPT.
How do you see the future of retail?
The future of retail will necessarily have to take into account the planet limitations, the durability, the less but better (less production before less consumption will be a huge stake).
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