What is it and is it really new?

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I'm sitting with a group in Robot.He, Alibaba's robot-run restaurant, inside its Hema supermarket (now called Freshippo) in Shanghai, China. A robot server slips silently next to our table, swivels gracefully and opens its lid to deliver our dessert. Does it mean a "New Retail" service?

Later in the day, our team travels to Starbucks Reserve Roastery, the largest Starbucks in the world, also in Shanghai. I watch locals take advantage of the augmented reality (RA) feature built into their Taobao mobile app (powered by Alibaba) and delve into the story of the giant copper keg that contains freshly roasted coffee beans. Is it a "new retail" experience?

"New Retail" is the phrase coined by Jack Ma, co-founder of Alibaba and executive chairman who will soon retire. In a letter to the shareholders of 2017, Ma announced that this strategy was "the starting point of our" five new "strategy: new business, new finance, new manufacturing, new technologies and new energies." But what? is "new trade"? is this really new?

Ma explains as follows in the letter: "E-commerce is rapidly evolving into the new retail business. The line between offline and online commerce is disappearing as we focus on meeting each customer's personalized needs. " OK, but it's still not clear.

During a briefing at Alibaba's 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, the image became a little clearer. Freshippo CEO Hou Yi said the supermarket (now about 65 expanding stores) is an "experience center, a consumer center and a logistics center" – a seamless convergence of offline and online systems.

At a private dinner with Michael Evans, President of Alibaba, he told a personal story that also illustrated the concept. Evans was returning a jacket to a physical store, which he had purchased via e-commerce. The store was not able to recognize the item and establish the connection between online and offline inventory, and did not accept the return. "That's where I understood what a new business is and what it is not," Evans said.

He went on to discuss the intersection of the "consumer value proposition" and the "market value proposition" inherent in online and offline processes. From the point of view of the consumer, it is simply easier to shop and the store adapts to the individual needs of the buyer. From an operator's point of view, when everything is connected and data is visible and abundant, efficiency and productivity are maximized.

I did not quite understand when I was on a tour of Freshippo. As a customer, I can interact with the supermarket according to the desires and needs, thanks to the Freshippo or Taobao applications of my phone (integrated with the Alibaba platform of Alibaba, of course). I can shop traditionally in stores. I can "click and collect". Or I can order and deliver the products (in 30 minutes or less in a radius of 3 km – about 1.8 km from home). (Side story: Yichung Tay, co-CEO of VMLY & R * Asia, was cooking at home and realized that he did not have any more garlic.) He ordered it on his cell phone and Freshippo delivered it. Ingredient in time to allow him to finish the meal.With this type of service, the proximity of a Freshippo store begins to come into play in people's real estate choices.)

I can also order fresh seafood in any way – delivered, picked raw or cooked, or prepared for in-store consumption.

In the physical space, everything is driven by the application. When I scan a code on the product label, it tells me everything I need to know about the origins and route of the item, from the farm to the tablet, in addition to access product details, rankings and reviews, such as online. Because Freshippo can analyze a constant flow of real-time data, merchants can ensure that the right amount of fresh produce is on the shelf for the day's trading. (A central element of the concept is to encourage daily purchases, and some fresh produce is packaged for display on that day of the week – for example, Sunday.

At checkout, I use my app to complete the transaction or make the payment via biometric face recognition. My purchase history is fully consolidated. Alibaba thus has a complete view of my buying behavior.

The store also serves as a distribution center. The collectors travel the ground to fill the orders online, then load the bags on treadmills, placed above the heads of the buyers, intended for delivery. Starbucks is also testing "star cuisines" in two Freshippo supermarkets – non-customer coffee kitchens that only prepare drinks for delivery (also in 30 minutes or less) via Alibaba's Ele.Me service.

In the Robot.He restaurant, I also use my app to order and pay.

So it's "New Retail" in action. And that does not stop in supermarkets. Alibaba's new retail platform is used to digitize hundreds of thousands of stores in China. Through their Ling Shou Tong ("Retail Integrated") program, the "mom-and-pop" convenience stores are being upgraded, as are selected locations for RT-Mart, Intime Shopping Centers. and Easyhome have all changed their look for the 11.11 Global Shopping Festival. .

Which brings us to the other question. Is "New Retail Marketing" a hype or is it really revolutionary? After all, UK department store John Lewis has been at the forefront of omni-channel innovation for many years. And Nike's new flagship product on Fifth Avenue in New York – "House of Innovation 000" – promises a hybrid digital / physical data-driven experience, all linked by the Nike app.

My point of view is that the "new retail" is not 100% "new" and I do not believe that Alibaba claims that it is totally unique. However, what sets it apart is the breadth and speed of implementation, as well as the variety of formats to which it applies. When you put it all together, "New Retail" is a critical chapter in the history of physical physical return and the evolution of retail digitization. And because we're all looking for ways to describe what retail is today and where it's going, "New Retail" is a useful addition to vocabulary.

* The author works for VMLY & R

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I'm sitting with a group in Robot.He, Alibaba's robot-run restaurant, inside its Hema supermarket (now called Freshippo) in Shanghai, China. A robot server slips silently next to our table, swivels gracefully and opens its lid to deliver our dessert. Does it mean a "New Retail" service?

Later in the day, our team travels to Starbucks Reserve Roastery, the largest Starbucks in the world, also in Shanghai. I watch locals take advantage of the augmented reality (RA) feature built into their Taobao mobile app (powered by Alibaba) and delve into the story of the giant copper keg that contains freshly roasted coffee beans. Is it a "new retail" experience?

"New Retail" is the phrase coined by Jack Ma, co-founder of Alibaba and executive chairman who will soon retire. In a letter to the shareholders of 2017, Ma announced that this strategy was "the starting point of our" five new "strategy: new business, new finance, new manufacturing, new technologies and new energies." But what? is "new trade"? is this really new?

Ma explains as follows in the letter: "E-commerce is rapidly evolving into the new retail business. The line between offline and online commerce is disappearing as we focus on meeting each customer's personalized needs. " OK, but it's still not clear.

During a briefing at Alibaba's 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, the image became a little clearer. Freshippo CEO Hou Yi said the supermarket (now about 65 expanding stores) is an "experience center, a consumer center and a logistics center" – a seamless convergence of offline and online systems.

At a private dinner with Michael Evans, President of Alibaba, he told a personal story that also illustrated the concept. Evans was returning a jacket to a physical store, which he had purchased via e-commerce. The store was not able to recognize the item and establish the connection between online and offline inventory, and did not accept the return. "That's where I understood what a new business is and what it is not," Evans said.

He went on to discuss the intersection of the "consumer value proposition" and the "market value proposition" inherent in online and offline processes. From the point of view of the consumer, it is simply easier to shop and the store adapts to the individual needs of the buyer. From an operator's point of view, when everything is connected and data is visible and abundant, efficiency and productivity are maximized.

I did not quite understand when I was on a tour of Freshippo. As a customer, I can interact with the supermarket according to the desires and needs, thanks to the Freshippo or Taobao applications of my phone (integrated with the Alibaba platform of Alibaba, of course). I can shop traditionally in stores. I can "click and collect". Or I can order and deliver the products (in 30 minutes or less in a radius of 3 km – about 1.8 km from home). (Side story: Yichung Tay, co-CEO of VMLY & R * Asia, was cooking at home and realized that he did not have any more garlic.) He ordered it on his cell phone and Freshippo delivered it. Ingredient in time to allow him to finish the meal.With this type of service, the proximity of a Freshippo store begins to come into play in people's real estate choices.)

I can also order fresh seafood in any way – delivered, picked raw or cooked, or prepared for in-store consumption.

In the physical space, everything is driven by the application. When I scan a code on the product label, it tells me everything I need to know about the origins and route of the item, from the farm to the tablet, in addition to access product details, rankings and reviews, such as online. Because Freshippo can analyze a constant flow of real-time data, merchants can ensure that the right amount of fresh produce is on the shelf for the day's trading. (A central element of the concept is to encourage daily purchases, and some fresh produce is packaged for display on that day of the week – for example, Sunday.

At checkout, I use my app to complete the transaction or make the payment via biometric face recognition. My purchase history is fully consolidated. Alibaba thus has a complete view of my buying behavior.

The store also serves as a distribution center. The collectors travel the ground to fill the orders online, then load the bags on treadmills, placed above the heads of the buyers, intended for delivery. Starbucks is also testing "star cuisines" in two Freshippo supermarkets – non-customer coffee kitchens that only prepare drinks for delivery (also in 30 minutes or less) via Alibaba's Ele.Me service.

In the Robot.He restaurant, I also use my app to order and pay.

So it's "New Retail" in action. And that does not stop in supermarkets. Alibaba's new retail platform is used to digitize hundreds of thousands of stores in China. Through their Ling Shou Tong ("Retail Integrated") program, the "mom-and-pop" convenience stores are being upgraded, as are selected locations for RT-Mart, Intime Shopping Centers. and Easyhome have all changed their look for the 11.11 Global Shopping Festival. .

Which brings us to the other question. Is "New Retail Marketing" a hype or is it really revolutionary? After all, UK department store John Lewis has been at the forefront of omni-channel innovation for many years. And Nike's new flagship product on Fifth Avenue in New York – "House of Innovation 000" – promises a hybrid digital / physical data-driven experience, all linked by the Nike app.

My point of view is that the "new retail" is not 100% "new" and I do not believe that Alibaba claims that it is totally unique. However, what sets it apart is the breadth and speed of implementation, as well as the variety of formats to which it is applied. When you put it all together, "New Retail" is a critical chapter in the history of physical physical return and the evolution of retail digitization. And because we're all looking for ways to describe what retail is today and where it's going, "New Retail" is a useful addition to vocabulary.

* The author works for VMLY & R