This past year has been disastrous for non-essential retailers.
However, the fast integration of new digital technologies, such as online shopping platforms and live traffic monitors, has seen some companies boom during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking to Cuffnews Next for the Cannes Lions Changemakers series, Jeanne DiMaira, managing director, Paris worldwide hub at MediaCom, believes the adoption of these technologies has set the stage for the future of retail.
“I think a great example is one that our team in Turkey worked on with our client Carrefour, which is a big, global grocery chain. We put in place an online shop via addressable TVs,” she said.
“And so this online shop, through the smart TV platform, gave a new shopping experience, an opportunity for clients in that market. And it was just a tremendous success really overnight”.
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She says retailers will continue to integrate these technologies into the shopping experience as consumer expectations evolve.
“I don’t think anything will ever replace the in-store experience but I think the Covid crisis actually accelerated the usage of these technologies,” DiMaira said.
“The future will be a mixture of physical and virtual”.
- For more on this story, watch the edited video in the media player above or visit Cannes Lion Live to watch the entire episode.
The Changemakers series in partnership with Cannes Lions Live and Cuffnews Next is a one-to-one interview series with female leaders who are rethinking their roles and creating a better future for their industry.