The digital Handelskongress 2020 is just around the corner. From November 18 to 19, an exciting line-up of industry experts from leading retailers, science experts and association representatives will discuss new strategies, the impact of the pandemic and more. Here are the four panels we are most looking forward to attending:
1. CEO Round Table: Responsible Retail – The growing importance of responsible action for a sustainable competitive advantage from increased customer loyalty (in German)
When: November 18th, 11.25 am CET
Speakers: Prof. Dr. Timm Homann (Ernsting‘s Family Group), Raoul Roßmann (MD Dirk Rossmann GmbH), Florian Scholbeck (Managing Director Communications, Aldi Nord), Dunja Hayali (Moderation), Stefan Genth (CEO Handelsverband Deutschland)
Why this will be exciting: Customer loyalty and commitment are more important than ever, especially in the Corona era, when for many retailers some sales dwindle and customer loyalty threatens to be lost. Is it offline or online? We believe, this is the wrong question for retailers. Customer relationships should be optimized across all touchpoints. This requires in-depth knowledge of one’s own customers and machine learning technologies that enable personalized customer approaches. Retailers who rely on Omnichannel are on the winning side even in times of crisis.
2. How Corona has had a lasting impact on consumer behavior and retail (in German)
When: November 18th, 14.30 pm CET
Speakers: Egbert Wege (Partner Lead Deloitte Digital), Thorsten Zierlein (Partner Lead Deloitte Digital)
Why this will be exciting: In recent months, the new buzzword of the stay-at-home economy has emerged, which refers to home-delivered consumption. Is a new market really emerging here and is this changing payment behavior? The fact is that despite Corona, the number of over-indebted consumers in Germany has fallen in 2020 thanks to government aid. In the long term, however, this could change. The current Debtor Atlas 2020 speaks of the “calm before the storm”. While we have our own insights into consumer behavior during COVID-19, we are interested to learn more from Deloitte about the retail industry’s perspective on consumers since the Corona crisis.
3. Strategy and Sustainability – What challenges will the fashion industry have to master in the coming years (in German)
When: November 18th, 15.10 Uhr pm CET
Referenten: Kerstin Lehmann (Partner EY-Parthenon GmbH) Angelika Schindler-Obenhaus (COO, GERRY WEBBER International AG)
Why this will be exciting: Re-Commerce and Archive Sale are the trends we hear more and more often from the fashion industry. The number of customers who want to leave the smallest possible CO2 footprint when shopping is constantly increasing. This is also true for online shopping, as evidenced by the ever-increasing number of Google search queries using the keywords “sustainability” and “sustainable fashion”. The younger generation in particular is pushing the idea of sustainability. The social issue of sustainability is also becoming an obligation for the fashion industry. Brands must and will take a stand.
4. Douglas. Beautiful on purpose. (in German)
When: November 18th, 14 Uhr pm CET
Referenten: Susanne Cornelius (CMO & Brand Maker, DOUGLAS GmbH)
Why this will be exciting: Douglas CEO Tina Müller is looking to generate more sales on the Internet than offline: “We are deliberately turning the whole thing around and saying: Douglas is an online retailer that also has a successful stationary business” (source: WiWo). We understand this approach very well: As a company, you have to be where the people are. And to achieve this, we have to constantly adapt.
