We share the biggest insights this fall for retailers by some of the world’s most innovative brands like Google, IKEA, Cartier, Indiska, Lindex and Balenciaga. We also give a summary of the retailers keynotes, panel debates and the best quotes shared at the Omnichannel Index event in Stockholm, Sweden on Tuesday 6th 2022 by Impact.
Entering the building of Norra Latin, a beautiful building in the center of Stockholm, we met retailers with a mix of some of the largest brands in the world, to smaller Swedish brands and industry colleagues. To kick off the event, the CEO from IMPACT came on stage to give the first speech of the day.
Kasper Holst, Group CEO at Impact – ”Retail is now a constant transformation game”
Kasper Holst started his speech about what Impact stands for. He said they want to change commerce for the better – it’s their driving factor and passion. Their aim is to drive great experience for customers through Omnichannel.
”Covid hit, now we see the pure e-commerce sale. Consumers have changed the behavior, and now the buying power has gone down due to inflation. Meanwhile google ads are growing, so now it’s more important than ever to deliver a great experience”, he explains.
TikTok is gaining more screen time than Google
He shared some key insights about what’s growing in the industry:
- Shoppping ads
- Videos
- Google ads (but also important to look into other solutions)
- TikTok (that are gaining more screen time than google now, huge media, especially to reach the younger segment)
- Pop up stores
- Live selling (remarkable omni performance, getting in touch with clients)
Consumer statistics
- 61% expect retailers to deliver the same flexibility as under covid-19
- 80% use mobile phone inside stores to look up product reviews, compare prices or find alternate store locations
- 70% will not buy from companies that deliver a bad shopping experience
- 83% are willing to share their data to help create personalised experiences.
Susanne Ehnbåge, CEO, Lindex – ”A difference for future generations”
Founded in Sweden 1954, Lindex is a strong player in the Swedish market. Lindex has 34 e-commerce markets and worldwide presence through third party partnerships, they are the #1 lingerie destination in the Nordics with 18 markets with stores, 9 own and 9 franchise.
The changes before and after covid-19
Susanne Ehnbåge talked about how Lindex needed to adapt during covid. The past three years has been different from when she first joined the company in 2018. All stores in the market X would close, and how to adapt in a situation like that, she said that they needed to learn by doing and take advantage of the crisis in many ways.
They worked across teams to make it work, and they needed to really listen to the customers and also invest in digital sales. They launched a new e-commerce platform and the digital sales increased to 21%. Susanne stated that in order to get through this stage, they needed to do long term investments.
Promise a difference for future generations
They have worked in many ways to increase sales combined by reduced climate impact. One of their focus strategies has been to prioritize the sustainability work which they have implemented throughout all teams. They have entered partnerships for climate action, supporting access to clean water, invested in new fiber from recycled textile, and more.
Christian Thor Larsen, VP Retail, The Lego Group – ”At the end of the day, we are no better than the last experience you had in our store”
Everyone knows about the large and worldwide-known retail brand Lego that has a 90-years legacy in the industry. On stage, their VP Retail, Christian talked about their Omnichannel-journey and how they communicate with their customers. From their customers store visits, they have created an experience for their customers and a community. That of course needed to follow as well on their dotcom (website) as the main hub. It started with high infinite customers following their content socially.
Content & Strategy
About the content strategy, he said that you need to think about who you are talking to. They wanted to connect their dotcom with their stores, and during the pandemic, they created a digital live conference. Would it be a success or not? No one knew, but it became a big success. Their aim was to create loyalty virtually, but they didn’t know in advance how the reaction would be.
Christian learned that within the retail industry, it’s important for teams to take bold moves, adapt and learn by other retailers. 
Nicolas Daude-Lagrave, Ex CDO, Balenciaga – ”Everyone needs to make sure that we know our customers in the best way possible”
The former CDO at Balenciaga talked about the importance of how having the right product for the right customer – online as well. Balenciaga is a great brand, with a loyal customer base and a strong market presence. During his time at Balenciaga, the company tripled their digital revenue.
Seamless online experience
Nicolas shared that they are focusing on providing a more seamless experience online through easy mobile payment. He shared their Omnichannel strategy about how Social Networks, In store, Regular channels and Messengers should all be combined together.
”Customers are sometimes spending time in stores, so make sure to create loyalty there as well”, he said. The experience should be as good as from the first hello to the last goodbye. The customers expect to be treated in the best way every step of the way, and there should be no difference online.”
Pierre-Emmanuel Placette, Int. Head of Retail Solutions Development, Cartier – ”It’s always good to look into what others do, but don’t forget your own brand DNA”
Pierre from Cartier gave a speech about the importance of not copying how others do. He said that it’s always good to look into what your competitors are doing, but it doesn’t mean that it will work for your business and brand. Cartier has a history of 200 years in the industry, selling luxury watches and jewelry around the world. They have a specific DNA which has been reflected in their marketing and strategy.
Tailor made strategy
One size does not fit all, he said. Just because one shoe will fit one customer doesn’t mean it will fit the next. Pierre talked about that there’s a lot of different digital trends to try these days, and he’s optimistic about companies trying new things out, but it’s important to have in mind that everything does not work for all.
Pierre said that tech should be used to serve strategy. Omni is the future, and you need to tailor it for your clients. ”One important take away is that you don’t need to buy a Ferrari if you only need a Fiat”.
Karin Lindahl, CEO, Indiska – ”Reflections and (painful) lessons to succeed with a digital transformation”
Karin came on stage and gave an introduction about the Swedish retailer Indiska and how they have a 120 year old history in the industry. Indiska was a late bloomer when it came to Omnichannel, she said. They started working on their e-commerce store in 2012, and it’s been a rocky road due to the pandemic.
Investing in tech is key to enable a digital transformation
She shares that the company learned some painful lessons that has driven their e-commerce forward. They had to look into the future and take risks. Here’s what they needed to do and what they learned:
- Choose the right sales channels/countries for growth
- There are no short cuts – product is key!
- Value proposition based on facts
- Invest in tech.
The latter, they started doing in 2020. They launched a new e-commerce platform with the goal of improving their online customer experience. In 2021, 40% of their sales came from e-commerce. In 2023, they expect it to be 50%. The focus for Indiska has been to increase quality, fitting, trendiness and to broaden neutral essentials without loosing their DNA.
”Live Shopping is one of applications we have implemented and tried out that has been very successful and is driving sales both online and offline”, Karin said. The result? ”Sales from digital channels have blossomed with the same marketing budget and resources”.
Maxime Heutz, Omnichannel Lead, Google
When Maxime came on stage, he gave the day’s last speech and it was truly inspiring.
The first customer experience
He talked about his first great customer experience. He had been hiking in France and when he came home, he bought a jacket that he had seen and wanted.
15 years later, he experienced some issues and he calls the support. The response he got was: ”Yes, we can see that you bought it in our store 15 years ago. Is there any issues with the jacket? Let us help you.” The company repaired it for free, and it was truly an amazing customer service and experience for him.
All generations are using tech
Maxime said that when he hears people talk about the digitalization, some say it’s only for the younger generations – but he disagrees. His parents are using their phones, as an example, and a lot more generations are getting familiar with online shopping.
His speech was about sharing inspiration to other retail brands to focus on the customer experience, and that it’s the micro moments of the customer journey that really makes a difference.
The top 3 of the best retail performers – and the winner
Before ending the inspiring day with mingle and networking with industry peers, Impact introduced the top retail performances and the winner. It came down at the last to a competition between: H&M, Jysk, IKEA, and Matas.
And the winner, to our joy, was read out IKEA! Congratulations IKEA and all of the nominated retailers and thanks to everyone involved at this event – especially to the event organizers Impact!
Read the pressrelease in Swedish here