Retail and e-commerce – May 2024

Developments in retail
According to a report by McKinsey about the state of grocery in Europe, economic uncertainty will likely persist in 2024, although grocery retailers could fuel profitable growth by future-proofing the assortment, driving efficiency savings, and monetising retail media. You can download the report after filling in your details.
A report by Descartes Systems Group shows that online buying is growing, but too many consumers still experience delivery woes. 39% of respondents made more online purchases, and 57% made purchases in at least one new product category in 2024. 67% of those surveyed encountered delivery problems.
According to CBS (in Dutch), the Netherlands had over 83 thousand physical stores on 1 January 2024, 1100 more than last year. This is a break in the declining trend of the past decade. The number of do-it-yourself stores increased the most, the number of garden centres, flower and pet stores decreased the most.

Reusable packaging
On 22 May 2024, Linh Hôdăc, held a presentation entitled ‘Exploring standardisation in reusable packaging for FMCGs‘ as part of her master assignment (37.67 MB) at the University of Twente. Chairman of the assessment committee was prof. Roland ten Klooster who holds the NVC Chair Packaging Design and Management.
The U.S. PIRG Education Fund has published a report (6.4 MB) entitled ‘Refill, Return, Reimagine: Innovative Solutions to Reduce Wasteful Packaging’. The report explains no-waste and low-waste business models, shares case studies and demonstrates ways to reimagine our relationship with plastic.
Silvia Gabriela Llamoca Valencia from Harvard University wrote her thesis (3.83 MB) on enabling consumers to adopt reusable packaging systems in FMCG products. The study is an application of the behaviour change wheel and customer journey mapping.
According to Internet Retailing, luxury goods are becoming increasingly linked to sustainability and re-use, driven by younger shoppers getting on board. The shift among a wider consumer base towards luxury is in part prompted by certain demographic groups looking at a more sustainable approach to consumerism, particularly in fashion. The report includes a study on the impact sustainability is having on the sector as well as consumers. You can download the report after filing in your details.

AI powered retail strategy
A whitepaper by Internet Retailing explores the reasons that retailers need to adopt an AI powered data strategy. For years AI seemed like a technology that was just over the horizon, however OpenAI’s ChatGPT has now made this future a reality. While many in digitally driven sectors had long understood the possibilities here, this was nevertheless a moment that brought the imperative to develop AI business strategies into sharp focus. You can download the report after filling in your details.

Chemicals and microplastics in takeaway packaging
FPF reports on a South China Normal University study on the chemical and waste footprint of food delivery in China. The study uses online food delivery sales data from nearly 200 Chinese cities, combined with plastic packaging samples from 18 of those cities.
 

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