At a time when it seems like the only thing most stores do well is close, and when the power of a brand is in question because the dominance of Amazon has made it feel like selling anywhere else is a lost cause. This is what Michael Zakkour, Vice President of Asia Strategy and Digital Commerce at Tompkins International, claims is us being “on the cusp of a retail renaissance called the ‘New Retail’, the integration of online, offline, technology, entertainment, and logistics to make consumers happy and brands and retailers money.”
Forget two-day delivery, how about 20-minute delivery? Virtual reality makeup and apparel try-ons, gamified sampling and stores completely connected to the digital world—the New Retail is focused on retail-tainment.
In their newly released book, The New Retail: Born in China, Going Global, Zakkour and co-author Ashely Dudarenok shed light on the future of retail and commerce in the West as it is already playing out in the East by explaining why the New Retail was born in China, how to profit from it there and what it means for brands, retailers and consumers as it is adopted globally.
According to the book, the New Retail is the leading edge of the ‘5 New’ of the digital industrial revolution, which also includes new technology, new finance, new supply chain, and new manufacturing, that have impacted every aspect of life in the way the that the Industrial Revolution did.
Zakkour also discusses how omnichannel is a zombie concept, and the New Retail is all about ‘unichannel’, the purpose of which is creating a consumer-first reality that is a win for them, brands and retailers. It’s about focusing on consumer joy by delivering the ‘4Cs’: consumer centricity, convenience, customization, and allowing for consumer contribution made possible by committing to the ‘4Us’: unichannel, unimarketing, unilogitics, and unitechnology.
“Michael’s new book is as prescient, relevant and thought-provoking as his first, China's Super Consumers. It is the perfect guide for brands, retailers and manufacturers trying to navigate the road to success in the Digital Age,” said Jim Tompkins, CEO, Tompkins International.
