The Future Of Retail

With digital-savvy millennial consumers constantly on the go and on the lookout for an enriching shopping experience, retailers are looking towards the future, utilizing technological innovations for an added personal touch.

- Ai Lim

Is brick-and-mortar dead? One could argue that it is, with harrowing reports of the “retail apocalypse” and imminent store closures chirruping about: House of Fraser went into administration before being bought out by Sports Direct for a cool £90m and Debenhams recently confirmed store closures. On the other hand, stores like Selfridges appear to be thriving amidst the retail woe having sealed a £300m investment in 2014 and completing a thorough store revamp. Perhaps the future of retail is not as bleak as it might seem and what it calls for instead is a clear strategy that adapts accordingly to meet the demands of customers and improve the overall retail experience.

During the early noughts, although still in its infancy, the budding internet opened a world of possibilities leading to the birth of a few of our favourite luxury e-tailers namely Net-a-Porter.com and Matchesfashion.com. Seeing the potential of the internet, Natalie Massenet started luxury online portal Net-a-Porter.com in 2000 that has since grown into one of the world’s premier online luxury destinations at the forefront of e-commerce luxury retail. Similarly, luxury boutique Matches Fashion that started with a single store in Wimbledon was quick to jump on the digital bandwagon launching Matchesfashion.com in 2006. This forward-thinking approach by co-founders Tom and Ruth Chapman was pivotal in Matchesfashion.com’s glowing achievement today with more than 90% of their sales accounted for through their online platform.