This article is a transcript of a presentation that I made to the Arab Ecommerce Summit in Dubai this week. It is a wake up call to merchants who are still making excuses for not selling online.
INTRODUCTION
How many of you have used ecommerce in the last 24 hours? Think about it. Have you used Careem or Uber? Have you ordered a take-away or food delivery using an app? Have you Bought movie tickets on your phone? Have you booked a flight or a hotel room? What about an in-app purchase? Have you paid for music or a film on Netflix.
Ecommerce is happening. Amazon is coming to Dubai. They wouldn’t be coming if they didn’t know that there is demand. They are a data driven company, if they see value in buying Souq, it is because they know that their data is telling them that Ecommerce in the GCC is here and growing.
NOT SO LONG AGO
Change happens. Think for a moment about Kodak and camera film. Large parts of the population in this region may never have used a camera with film in it. A growing population may never have used a camera that is not built into their smartphone.
So you need to ask yourself – WHAT DO WE DO?
Do you make film? Or do you help people capture and remember moments in time?
It’s not just Kodak. Publishing has been changed forever by online classifieds. Clinging to the status quo and hoping is not a strategy. You need to be prepared to change, even if you can’t see what it is that will disrupt your industry.
TODAY – Mobile
There is no doubt that the way people experience the world is different now. This is not science fiction. This is not an American thing. This is a global change.
People experience the world either through or with their mobile phone. If this is how people have fun, how do they shop?
Look at you all, on your phones. I assume it is because you are tweeting out my pearls of wisdom to a global audience to show how smart you were to come to the Arab Ecommerce Summit, but I imagine that some of you might be checking email, whatsapping or slacking or perhaps you are even shopping as I speak. You need to be part of your customer’s mobile day.
THE (NEAR) FUTURE
A couple of years ago, I used to get on stage and say – the Mall is not going to go away. Now I am not so sure.
Ask yourself the question again – WHAT TO WE DO?
Do you operate stores? Or, do you help you customers source and purchase the products and services that they want to buy? Is a store the best way to help your customers buy what they want or need OR is there a new reality?
Yes, people will want to go to the cinema and eat out, and be with friends, but they also want an experience. Is Amazon the Uber of Malls, or is there something we haven’t considered yet. Virtual Reality (VR) is still a relatively new technology, but it is conceivable that it could be the future of malls.
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