The arrival of the pandemic caused electronic commerce to skyrocket around the world.Not being able to go out and buy anything beyond the essentials, many discovered the possibilities of the online channel.In the case of Spain, moreover, the e-commerce sales figure multiplied by 5, exceeding 12,200 million euros in the first quarter of 2020, which represented an increase of 11.6% compared to the previous year.Parallel to this trend, the debacle of the physical store was being experienced: a drop in turnover in 2020 in Spain of some 7,400 million euros (41% less than the previous year), the loss of 26,700 jobs and the closure of 14,800 stores.This textile trend was especially affected by small businesses, since the sector began 2021 with 37 companies with 200 or more workers (one less than in the previous year) and the deterioration especially affected companies with between 10 and 49 employees ( with 273 closures compared to 2020).With this new paradigm, one might think that electronic commerce would have come to replace the physical store and would have used the pandemic to do so.However, the end of the pandemic restrictions has shown that people are keen to visit physical stores and experience personal treatment that differs from e-commerce.These and other issues were discussed at the XXIV Smart Business Meeting organized by Business Insider Spain on June 22.An event that revolved around new retail trends and the future of the physical store after the pandemic.The CEO of Axel Springer Spain —editor of Business Insider Spain—, Manuel del Campo, was in charge of leading and opening the event, which was sponsored by Havas Media Group Spain and Upday, and the special collaboration of LiveRamp.The executive encouraged the audience to "imagine how we are going to buy in the future" in order to "bring our imagination as close as possible to what is finally going to be reality."The following guests participated in the event:The event began with the video participation of the founder and CEO of Crearmas, and retail expert, Jorge Mas, who anticipated the 5 most important trends in the commerce sector.Mas assured that "the physical store is gaining more strength than ever; people want to go to the physical store, of physical contact of tangibilization".And he stressed the importance of taking care of the interior design, the props of the sales space and issues such as lighting.The CEO of Crearmas also established the digitization of these spaces as a trend with initiatives such as pay and go: "We have to digitize companies with common sense, thinking about customer value".Mas stressed that the client seeks "immediacy" through practices such as the elimination of boxes, which makes "payment agile, fast and easy."Another trend for the future, according to Mas, is the use of artificial intelligence to improve processes, as it helps to anticipate issues such as the need for stock, how sales will be in the future or how traffic will work at the point selling.The retail expert has explained the concept of "glocalization" as opposed to globalization: "In the last 20 years, you went to any part of the world and saw exactly the same thing as what you had in your own city".This, according to Mas, is changing, which is why he recommended starting to offer different stores, "with identity, that are unique and give relevance to the local concept."Lastly, the CEO of Crearmas stressed the importance of people in business: "We have to give great value to people because, in terms of customer service, service, we are seeing some friction. Take care of people, give value to people, they are the ambassadors of your company".🔴 #LIVE |@jorgemas_RETAIL reveals 5⃣ trends that will mark the future of commerce: 👉 Reinvention of the physical store 👉 Digitization in the physical store, but with meaning 👉 AI to improve processes 👉 Glocalization 👉 Co-branding between brands from different sectors pic.twitter.com/uHAnJdg4tZMas's video participation gave way to a discussion table coordinated by the director of Business Insider Spain, Yovanna Blanco, in which these and other trends in the sector were discussed by Laureano Turienzo, founder and president of the Spanish Retail Association, and Armand Solé, e-Commerce Growth Director of Havas Media Group."I have always believed that, in an increasingly technological world, the most disruptive, by far, is going to be the human," said Turienzo, referring to the trends anticipated by Mas.The president of the Spanish Retail Association predicted that "we are facing the end of electronic commerce, as we know it, and the end of the physical store, as we know it".Turienzo pointed out that the 20 large retailers worldwide have grown in e-commerce just as they have in the physical store, since "their vision is already a 360º ecosystem vision."Armand Solé, for his part, described as interesting the immediacy that characterizes the new generations during the purchase process and how he confronts this with store design: "It goes beyond having the product, designing experiences that allow the user to stay more time in the store.When asked about concepts such as the "experiential store", the president of the Spanish Retail Association stated that, when he listens to them, they do not say anything to him, since "all the stores in the world are experiential because the experience can be good , bad, regular…”.Instead, Turienzo referred to the fact that stores should try to maximize the human aspect, which is what "separates" them from proposals such as Amazon: "We are going to see very interesting things in humanization, in extreme humanization."The president of the Spanish Retail Association valued the large retailers in Spain stating that "Amazon is the most interesting ecosystem in the history of retail", "Inditex changed the history of fashion" or that "El Corte Inglés is in a territory very complicated", referring to the fact that "they arrived very late to digitization" and that "they have to change conceptually".Turienzo stressed that another of the large retailers that are on the rise at the moment, Shein, "is the worst path that consumers can take today."The president of the Spanish Retail Association valued the Asian giant in this way because his model "is based on throwaway fashion", an issue that, according to him, "is the worst thing that can happen to us as a society".SheinGal: this is how the hive of 'influencers' works that moves Shein's business on InstagramThe discussion table between Turienzo and Solé gave way to an interview with LiveRamp's Director of Business Development and Addressability, Rafael Martínez."The digitization of life in general carries with it the mark that each one of us is leaving," he assured.That footprint gives companies clues to understand how consumers behave.The European Parliament has adopted a costumer-centric position, according to Martínez, which has led it to legislate to "protect the user when it comes to managing and tracing the data, and that mark they leave behind".However, the director of LiveRamp noted that if consumers are asked about their willingness to receive ads or personalized experiences, "the answer is a resounding yes.""It is true that you have to put some fences in the field and you have to understand that it is not a free bar of data," argued Martínez, underlining the need for large advertisers and retailers to agree to collaborate in obtaining data.Next, a discussion table focused on new proposals for electronic commerce in Spain took place.Participating in the debate were Marta Frenna, CEO and co-founder of GreyHounders;Federico Sainz, CEO and co-founder of Sepiia;and Fran Marchena, CEO and founder of HOFF.Regarding the role technology plays in their proposal, Marta Frenna, CEO of GreyHounders, assured that she has accompanied them from the beginning since, "like good first-time entrepreneurs", at first they did not have many resources to set up their proposal."We had a very clear business idea, but we lacked a lot of street".And she stressed that they did have a lot of knowledge in technology, which allowed them to set up a "virtual changing room" so as not to need a physical structure.Federico Sainz, CEO of Sepiia, reported that, in his case, the technology is directly related to the product they are trying to market.Sainz did an exercise in futurology when talking about where he would like the textile sector to go, clothes that "change color, give us stripes, give us checks, make them long-sleeved, short-sleeved, that when it's cold it gives us heat [...]".When talking about sustainability, Fran Marchena, CEO of HOFF, once again mentioned the Asian retailer that recently opened a physical store in Madrid: "I think that sustainability has been on the rise in recent years and Shein arrives and destroys everything"."The reality of Shein is that what people want is good, pretty and cheap," said Marchena, who pointed out that the responsibility of proposals such as HOFF is to develop their activity "in the most sustainable way possible."Marchena was blunt about sustainability within the retail sector: "I think sustainability is something that is going to be in the future. You are not going to choose to be sustainable or not, you are going to have to be."The CEO of Sepiia supported Marchena with data, stressing that "fashion is one of the sectors that contributes the most to CO2 emissions worldwide" and that it is responsible for "20%" of toxic discharges that are thrown into the sea every year.For this reason, he assured that, since his clothing brand began its activity, they were "very clear" that "it had to be sustainable.""We understand that sustainability is based on awareness of consumption, on trying to minimize everything we consume over time."Regarding the resurgence of the physical store and its relationship with ecommerce, the CEO of GreyHounders stated that from her brand they are committed to an "omnichannel experience", in which the consumer has the power to choose how they want to buy."You can go to the store, buy in the store and receive the product at home, you can buy online and go to the store to pick it up for a final adjustment [...]", he explained, referring to his intention to meet the customer in this way, collecting data to then be able to "provide valuable content".The XXIV Smart Business Meeting also featured the video participation of David Expósito, Vice President of Sales for Europe at TrueLayer, a fintech specialized in open baking and alternative payment methods.Expósito analyzed the limitations of traditional payment methods: cash and credit cards: "In Spain, 45% of online transactions are made with a card."Expósito stressed that the cards "are schemes that were designed almost 60 years ago" and that they have "several limitations and problems," such as fraud or loss, that "affect both the end customer and the merchants."According to studies cited by Expósito, the importance of payment methods is due to issues such as "60% of people would be willing to abandon their shopping cart if they couldn't find their preferred payment method."In the next 5 years, the trend is going to be to bet on alternative payment methods such as open banking.This is based, according to the expert, on a system by which "companies can connect with their customers' checking accounts" in order to obtain "instant payment transfer", based on technologies such as facial recognition of mobile phones mobiles.The last block of the event focused on the phenomenon of live shopping.What does it consist of?"It arises from a new modality, no longer buying, but engaging with the community," according to Solé, from Havas, and it does so in 2016 with the help of Tao Bao, from the Chinese group Alibaba."That's where a very iconic movement begins to be generated within the country", used by brands to encourage sales on important dates in China such as Single's Day."It is a market that in China represents some 500,000 million dollars (473,529 million euros), while in the US it represents 11,000 million," said Solé.🔴 #LIVE |The fashion of #liveshopping: 🗣️ Armand Solé (@HavasGroupES): "It is a space for creativity so that brands can transmit their essence".👉 https://t.co/LGP8ykLR8r pic.twitter.com/Am9ET4eMp2The CEO of The Jump, Luis Esteban, stated that the differentiating point of live shopping compared to other live shopping events is in-stream shopping, an approach by which, "for the first time, within the video event and without leaving the event, you will be able to buy".When asked if it is a "teleshopping 4.0", Esteban explained that it is a way of calling it that "does not like" those who are dedicated to it, but that "it is a very simple way to understand it".Solé stressed that influencers and micro-influencers play a very important role in these events, since "finding those people or those niches, in the end, is like advertising.""What the consumer wants is for their questions to be answered," Esteban stressed, a task in which the figure of the key opinion leader is perhaps more relevant, who "may be people from the brand" who know the product perfectly or even "clients who are in front of the camera".The event closed with a round of questions answered by the president of the Spanish Retail Association, Laureano Turienzo.In relation to the sustainability of the retail sector, Turienzo pointed out that a future "of a super event is being built: Single's Day, Black Friday [...]", where fast fashion is being "buryed and fashion is coming in real time".Regarding the possible recovery of personal treatment, Turienzo criticized proposals such as Amazon Go: "That's a vending machine [...], if this retail thing is to enter, grab and leave, then call it a vending machine."To defend his position, the president of the Spanish Retail Association gave the example of 2 stores that have the same technology and assured that, if there is a bad environment in one and not in the other, there may be "a difference of 25 % of sales".The president of the Spanish Retail Association concluded that "we are returning to those stores where something more than price happens" and stressed that "the best retail that can be seen today is still the local markets; they continue to function after 2,000 years They will have something."About Business Insider Spain: