Sustainability starts in the ordinary. If we want to induce people to change their consumption habits, we also need to rethink retail strategies. The three names chasing this noble objective are GreenPea, Staiy and Renoon – three proudly Italian companies.
When the services make the retail
Sustainability and digitalization are key factors in the growth of retail, starting with a leaner, more efficient supply chain that helps streamline inventory and prevent obsolescence.
The aid of new software and technologies is fundamental in this process, facilitated by the “nearshore” phenomenon: a local supply strategy that promotes the monitoring and traceability of products, reducing environmental impact and raising safety and quality standards. Another fundamental step is the redesign of the store, which must be reconsidered to “involve” the consumer. Services such as “take-back” and “repair corners” are useful to attract customers inside the retail space, transforming a need into a desire.
The future of the retail is now
Green Pea, the first retail park in the world dedicated to sustainable brands, has added to the 66 stores also a museum, three restaurants, a swimming pool, a spa and a club dedicated to Creative Idleness. The Green Retail Park wants to promote a place of extraordinary beauty and respect, as the pay-off “From Duty to Beauty” says, enhancing the beautiful and pleasant side of a responsible behavior. A concept also married by the startup Staiy, which last December opened its first sustainable concept store in Berlin in collaboration with ZAMT. A place that reinterprets the definition of a store, turning it into a sustainability center with the goal of educating the entire community.
Retail is going to conquer the youngest by offering exclusive and personalized experiences focused on innovation and sustainability.
The essentialness of partnerships
In both cases, the need to forge partnerships to leverage the Drive-to-Store strategy emerges, building a territorial network that amplifies the message and captures more targets. If it is true that omnichanneling is now part of our everyday life, it is also true that it is no longer enough. Retailers must focus on the omni-experience, winning back their customers and attracting younger generations, who are accustomed to living between the real and virtual worlds. A union embraced by Renoon, a revolutionary search engine that aggregates in a single portal more than 200 partners active in ethical and sustainable fashion, allowing users to stay up to date on the brands that best suit their interests and style.
The retail just a click away
Smartphones and mobile devices play a key role not only in BOPIS (Buy Online, Pickup in Store) services, but also in the brand’s interaction with customers, through personalized consultations, live streaming and remote practical demonstrations. Proximity maximization is the present thanks to the development of important technologies, and all for a single scope: to give customers exclusive and unforgettable experiences following a purpose driven approach. More and more, in fact, consumers make conscious decisions guided by a set of values shared with the brand and the community. Retail thus becomes a meeting place, a laboratory of ideas based on contamination and intersectionality, also fostered by the intervention of social media.
The future of retail is not customer centric, but human centric, both for the consumer and for the seller, who thus becomes an ambassador capable of being part of the story of the brand by exalting its values and beliefs, increasingly oriented towards ethics and sustainability.
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