Purchasing habits and changes

The need for and opportunity to receive goods at home is growing more and more. The online store will not supplant the traditional store but will certainly cause profound changes. “How will the physical stores look then? There will be fewer, they will be smaller, they will have to offer services that encourage customers to go there and they will have to give the opportunity to serve goods at home. They will be more single-brand and this will be a way to defend themselves and create loyalty” (Mario Gasbarrino, retail market expert at the 2nd Food Forum in Genoa).

The physical store will not necessarily be an alternative to the online store because it can be complementary. The online service must make the customer find the product he is looking for and that can be found immediately in the vicinity. The off line part requires the need to give immediate answers to the services requested, to promote expertise, to do more things such as, for example, to set up spaces for children, cafes and refreshment areas. We must resign to the idea that consumers have changed and therefore either we adapt or we will be replaced. Digitalisation has accelerated this process.