A talk about trust beeing a key to growth with Apotek Hjärtat and Bemz.
Per Ljungberg, CEO of Svensk Digital Handel and Eleonor Dahlberg, Vice President of Svensk Digital Handel led us through the conversations during the morning. The corona pandemic has affected different retailers differently and in different ways. Karin Johansson, CEO of Svensk Handel talks about the industry being divided into two parts. They have worked a lot with counselling and support for all member companies and advice. They have seen that less emphasis is placed on how we look when we are more at home than out in social contexts, and that interest is instead increasing in how we have it at home where we have been more than a normal year. The focus has been on fast, efficient home deliveries and various forms of boxing solutions that are increasing more and more.
Freddy Sorbin, Chairman of Svensk Digital Handel and CEO of Kicks
talked about the importance of meeting the customer digitally in some way. How value-driven trade has come up strongly on the agenda together with a more sustainable way of thinking. He also criticized property owners, saying that there must be a more win-win mentality for physical stores.
The panel also talked about using stores as mini-warehouses to quickly get the e-commerce goods and other innovative solutions out. What is required going forward is to get the channels together. A social context has proven to be more important to many than we thought before we lived with the restrictions we have been forced to have in the past year. Social shopping is also available in e-commerce in various ways.
Sustainable innovation is the business of the future
Jennie Rosén, CEO of the industry organization Swedish Fashion Council, points out that more sustainable clothing needs to be produced and fewer garments. Many clothes produced today are not used. Many research projects are also underway to become better at recycling and sorting textiles. The Swedish Fashion Council also works as an incubator for talent who can help the fashion industry move forward.
The fashion industry is in a digital transformation – the pandemic has accelerated the change that was already underway. A part that is growing a lot is rental, second hand and vintage. Recommerce is expected to increase further in the next few years.
Jacob Skragge, co-founder and CEO of All Blues, who sells jewelry for men and women, talks about a form of Direct to Consumer revolution where Instagram has pushed for this. It is no longer necessary to be in certain specialty stores or newspaper ads. There are greater opportunities to own the brand and the communication with the customers, something that they see as a big difference from when their company was founded.
Emelie Gustafsson Maistedt is the founder of Gemme Collective, which is a marketplace where you can rent garments from private individuals, influencers and directly from brands. She believes that the fashion industry has already become digital in many ways, but that sustainability is now important to get on the agenda. She discusses how to make money from being more sustainable and not just use it for marketing.
Simplify the donor journey
Klarna and Cancerfonden talked about their initiative to simplify the donor journey. Cancerfonden wanted to reach new donor groups - the willingness to donate is there, but the experience needed to be smoother.
Klarna talked about Blue dot consumer - before we saw a map, where I am and where I am going. Today you open Google Maps and see the blue dot, where I am and then the world starts from yourself. Regardless of whether it is to give or buy, Klarna works to make it easy to pay and complete the purchase.
The goal of this year's Cancergalan was 10,000 new monthly donors for Cancerfonden, which became 42,000. 27,000 of these were digital, a fivefold increase over previous years. I'm one of the new monthly donors who used Klarna's service that night and it was really easy to help. If you also want to participate and contribute, just scan the QR code in the picture and test Klarna's flexible donor service together with Cancerfonden.
Better experience and flexible customer journeys
Several e-retailers shared their experiences. Elkjøp talked about that payments need to be more omnichannel so that the customer gets the same opportunity regardless of channel. They also stressed the importance of being able to deliver quickly in a changing host. Their tips for success are short decision paths and flexible building.
Apoteksgruppen also talked about trying to anticipate and to build in order to be able to change. This is something we recognize well on 3bits, we always talk about building scalable solutions so that you are ready when e-commerce grows.
Trust - The key to growth in a world of uncertainty
This year's theme at D-Congress is Growth in a Time of Uncertainty with keynote speaker Rachel Botsman as the leading expert on trust in a digital world. During an interview before D-Congress, she talked about the digital transformation that is taking place and that now trust is becoming even more important in the business world. Trust is about vulnerability and expectations. New technology allows us to make a leap of trust. Renting a home from a stranger when you are on holiday may have felt strange before, but is now a matter of course for many.
Rachel talks about how trust has changed:
- You need to find the small in the big.
- Customers are very interested in what happens behind closed doors.
- You can do as much advertising as you want - in the end, it is the consumer group that decides what your company stands for.
She also talks about the amount of fake news circulating and that it takes a lot of energy to sort out what is true and what is not. That is one of the reasons why we turn to storytelling. Trust lies a lot in why we do things.
One last tip is to be aware and identify where your company's trust is lacking according to your customers. Listen to them, if they say there is a problem with customer service you need to address that.
Finally, one of the speakers who will close D-Congress was presented this autumn - Kate Ancketill who is one of the leading speakers in trends and retail, you do not want to miss it at the Swedish Fair in Gothenburg on October 28.
