Specialist retail: where do we stand?

In 2021, specialist retail generated added value of 101 billion euros – 3 times that of the food and beverage industry –, activating a turnover of 451 billion. The sector provides direct or indirect employment for 2,6 million people (5 times as many as the textile and clothing industry) and brings investment of 9,7 billion euros in Italy alone.

The Ambrosetti research

The snapshot – captured through 50 million observations involving more than 500 thousand companies – was produced by The European House–Ambrosetti and is contained in the study “Retail put to the test by change. The new model of specialist retail: omnichannel, circular and inclusive”.

The analysis was presented at the forum dedicated to the second edition of the 5.0 Retail Community, a multi-stakeholder platform established in 2021 to develop scenarios, strategies and practices for relaunching our specialist distribution sector.

Why relaunch it? Because our economy, and trade above all, are facing numerous challenges, first and foremost the struggle with the cost of living, which, still in November 2022, was heavily affected by inflation of 11,8% (the highest level since March 1984); inflation that inevitably drives consumption down and the costs of the supply and sub-supply chains activated by the sector up: management of commercial spaces, cleaning, security, logistics, rents…

A severe downturn would become highly concerning, also considering the manufacturing component activated by a sector that generates 13,7% of Italian GDP.

Put another way: every euro of added value generated by (specialist) retail generates a further 1,10 elsewhere in the economy. The sector’s social impact, based on a multiplier of 2,1 (calculated on the basis of Istat’s interdependencies between sectors), rises to more than 3 million workers. In other words, every person employed in specialist retail supports more than one additional job in the economy as a whole.

Even in a complicated scenario such as the post-pandemic period, specialist trade has demonstrated a strong capacity to withstand and respond, recording growth across all the main indicators: number of companies, turnover, added value, employees and investment.

The figures, however, do not exhaust the report’s findings, given that trade remains the true link between production and consumption in all areas, thanks to its extreme capillarity, which ensures a service even in small towns and sparsely populated provinces.

Metaverse: early experiments

A starting point – investigated through a survey of 1.000 Italian citizens representative of the national sample – confirms that the sector is considered essential not only to help consumers overcome this unfavourable economic situation, but also to deploy and implement a change in perspective that places people at the centre of a new model of society, based on the three pillars of omnichannel, circularity and inclusiveness.

In this evolution, specialist retail can activate a new paradigm of relationships with end customers: from the concept of omnichannel (physical + digital) towards widespread omnichannel, through the inclusion of the Metaverse.

According to Ambrosetti, we should expect specialist retail experiences in the virtual world to grow in the coming years, also in response to consumer demand.

But who is already present in the Metaverse today? Numbers are scarce, but the names of those gaining experience are plentiful: Ovs, a new entrant on 9 December, and many other fashion brands, such as Gucci, Ray-Ban, United colors of Benetton, Nike, Kering, Dolce&Gabbana, Burberry. In large-scale retail, the experiences of Carrefour and Walmart stand out… An approximate list, certainly highly incomplete and destined to grow.

Around half of Italians believe that this virtual space, famously created by Facebook and now extended to many platforms, represents a tangible opportunity, even though only 20% have a clear understanding of the subject.

An opportunity for young talent

“Specialist retail, as an enabler of the new model of society 5.0, is called upon to respond to a twofold challenge: to position itself as a point of social reference for consumers and to establish itself as an attractive employer for young talent,” adds Valerio De Molli, managing partner and chief executive officer of The European House-Ambrosetti.

A significant part of the report is, in fact, devoted to the need for the sector to increase its ability to attract talented people. According to Benedetta Brioschi, food&retail and sustainability scenario manager and project leader of the 5.0 Retail Community, “the beauty of working in retail lies in placing people at the centre and identifying the main areas for action through constant dialogue between the sector and the world of education, continuous staff training, strengthening digital skills, transforming points of sale increasingly into spaces for experience and sharing, defining a fair and inclusive remuneration policy, and employment stability”.

This article was translated from the original Italian version with the assistance of artificial intelligence. In case of discrepancies, please refer to the original Italian version.