Norbert Hillinger as speaker at the Retail Symposium in Vienna

The retail sector has not had it easy in recent years. On the one hand, Corona brought many store owners to the brink of extinction, and on the other hand, in view of the competition in online retailing as well as technological and social developments, retail has been on the threshold of a complete reorientation for years anyway. 5D shopping, supermarkets automated by artificial intelligence or self-driving kiosks, some of these trends may still sound like the distant future, but are already reality in many places.

The 24th Retail Symposium of RegioPlan® Consulting in Vienna on May 11, 2022 made this change clear, but at the same time showed ways to meet the challenges. “Face the Change” was the motto of this year’s event, which has a long tradition and is considered the most important think tank of the industry in Europe.

Future trends in retail

But to face the change, statements about the future environment are needed. What will retail have to adjust to in the next few years, what will change and how? This was precisely the question addressed by the speakers in their presentations and in a stage discussion. Our colleague Norbert Hillinger, futurologist and Senior Associate at Themis Foresight, was also present with his presentation ‘Future Retail: A journey into the future in three chapters’. He took the guests on a trip to the year 2035 and showed how we ourselves can contribute to the future, namely with courage for new perspectives, innovative and visionary thinking.

But what are the trends for retail from his point of view? To this end, Norbert put forward a number of theses, including:

1. Customer segments will shift – the premium and economy segments will continue to grow at the expense of the standard segment.
2. The economy segment will also be characterized by data-supported business models, and points of sale will be transformed into automated showrooms complete with delivery services.
3. In the premium segment, simple points of sale will become worlds of experience.

Finally, Norbert Hillinger discussed the topic: ‘Next Level Retail 2025: A 4-eye view into the future’ with Barbara Graf, Expansion Manager AUSTRIA of PEPCO Austria GmbH.