Originally published in Retail spaces
In retail spaces, digital futuristic and anthropologist Brian Solis took the stage to deliver a message that reduced the noise of AI and technological trends. While the generative AI is remodeling the retail panorama, Solis reminded the audience a timeless truth: the heart of innovation is to understand people.
The consumer in the center
Solis’s work as a digital anthropologist focuses on how technology transforms behaviors, not only for consumers but also for employees. “We spent so much time designing the bridge, but we forget the people who cross it,” he explained. This change in priorities is crucial for retailers who navigate the current hybrid digital landscape.
From his research, Solis introduced the “generation novel” (Gen N), a term that uses to describe a change in consumer behavior that transcends traditional demography. “It is no longer about being the Z or Millennial generation, it is about how global technology and events such as pandemic have wired us all.”
Fidgetal is the future
The combination of physicists and digital, what Solis called with “fidgetal” humor, shapes the new consumer expectations. Today’s buyers demand perfect transitions among their online and store experiences. Solis highlighted innovations such as Recommendations in real time, modular store designs and augmented reality tools that give life to products, all designed to keep consumers committed.
“Whether they are in a store or move on their phones, today’s consumers do not see a division between the physical and digital world,” he said. For retailers, this means designing spaces that adapt to both worlds, the convenience in line with connection in person.
Impatience is the new competitor
Solis argued that today’s greatest competitor is no other brand: it is the impatience of the consumer. From Uber to the collection of the sidewalk, customers now expect speed and convenience in each interaction. “If it is not fast or intuitive, they have gone,” Solis explained. For retailers, this means rethinking everything from parking spaces to payment processes to meet the growing demand for instant gratification.
The mentality of the day one
Solis closed with a challenge to the retailers: to embrace the philosophy “one” by Jeff Bezos. “Every day they should feel like the first day of their business,” he said. “The moment you rest in your laurels is the time you become irrelevant.”
For Solis, innovation is not just about adopting the latest technology, it is about reinventing spaces and strategies to meet the evolutionary needs of consumers. As he said, “the future of retail sale is not only digital or physical, it is human.”
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