'Future garden (r)etail' plants a first seed

The brief of ‘Future garden (r)etail’ is digital innovation within the gardening sector which up until now has not fully exploited the potential of e-commerce. Tuinbranche Nederland and CloudSuite put together the panel of experts to plug this gap. The focus will be on two themes: the consumer in 2022, and business models, partnerships and fulfillment. 

The consumer 2022

The body of experts intends to set out a strategic vision based on the expected purchasing behavior of a typical consumer in 2022. How will this consumer want and expect to shop within the gardening sector? Does he or she shop on digital platforms, via social media or in any other way? And will this future consumer make use of, or expect to make use of, technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR)? What other factors will come into play to influence buyer behavior?

Business models and partnerships

Consumer behavior is changing – and this change will only accelerate in the coming five years. To respond, the sector needs to change its business models and relationships (supplier – retailer, retailer – retailer, retailer – logistics providers, subscription structures, private-lease and so on). What are the opportunities here and how do you scope those to become realistic projects? What are the overriding issues today and in the coming five years? A problem that preoccupies a lot of businesses is data normalization, drop shipments and stock control. Is there a way to confront these problems that is unique to the gardening sector?

The experts

The group intends to publish a ‘bluepaper’ with answers to the above questions as they relate to the gardening sector. The list of experts participating in ‘Future garden (r)etail’ is a roll call of prominent gardening businesses which as a sector has an annual turnover of €3.8bn in the Netherlands.

Go to Shopping Tomorrow for more information.