Retaliate Highlights 2019

SUCCESS LIES IN MEETING THE NEEDS OF A NEWCULTURE T his year we coined the term retailiate to capture the need for retail businesses, both brands and property professionals alike, to overcome the challenges of the current retail market. As part of our drive to help you adapt and future-proof, here’s a reminder of the insights shared at our 2019 retailiate -themed event, where 4 industry leaders and representatives from our UK Retail team, presented research and trends covering the future, infrastructure, technology and consumer behaviour. Economist and futurologist, Stefan Hyttfors, kicked off proceedings with a cautionary lesson on how complacent or static businesses create opportunities for others to disrupt their market. Hyttfors built a narrative of our world to the audience of 200 retail property professionals, showing increased velocity at every turn; faster development of new ideas, faster uptake of new technology and faster degradation of the planet’s resources. He reflected on the shift of power from banks to big data companies and the balance we must find between convenience and trust. Hyttfors presented Gen Z as a culture, not an age bracket, and as such, success will lie in taking a cultural approach to meeting their needs. Next up was Malcolm Smith, Leader of Integrated City Planning at Arup. Based on his experience of master planning new and expanding cities all over the world, he talked passionately about places as a ‘drama in time’, and posed the question “are we fit for our time?”. As international and domestic travel continues to dominate our world, Smith highlighted infrastructure’s overlooked potential in retail property “We still have a priority of infrastructure, but the problem is we think it’s [only] solving a technical issue.” Smith explained the ingredients for successful KEY TAKEAWAYS • Disrupt or be disrupted; you can see times are changing, change now. • Landlords must relinquish power and focus on occupiers' needs, wants and aspirations, with all kinds of access to the space. • We are increasingly seduced by the physicality of space – make your space somewhere with walkability, and somewhere that’s ‘grammable’. • Think creatively about all spaces and weaving multiple practical uses into them. • Brand not demand; shoppers increasingly build loyalty to brands because they align to a belief or value. • People want more interaction. If you are going to automate and digitise your store experience, give shoppers the option for human interaction, don’t decide for them. • In-store screens have lost their impact. The most up-to-date screen is in the customer’s pocket. • The next generation will not do business with you if you do not have a sustainability plan. • Shoppers want meaning; they want to discover, be educated, be social and understand a story. retailiate (v.) to bounce back, respond and overcome the conditions of the current retail market. HIGHLIGHTS 2019 'Economist and futurologist, Stefan Hyttfors, kicked off proceedings with a cautionary lesson on how complacent or static businesses create opportunities for others to disrupt the market.'

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