The retail industry is one of the main drivers of employment around the world and a major contributor to the GDP increase of most Asian countries. The retail arena has been transformed through multiple market upheavals and strategic developments – from opening economies leading to true globalization in the industry to emerging markets rising as dominant competitors. Parallel to this, technological evolution created burgeoning business domains e.g. ecommerce, mobile applications, social media communication etc. establishing changing consumer preferences and expectations.
The industry has been historically the first avenue of employment for many new workers. The changing rules of retail combined with the upsurge of young, educated workforce in Asian countries has greatly propelled business growth and foreign investment. There is a need for stabilizing business culture and engagement which encourages the workforce to pursue opportunities in retail and form a stronger industry foundation.
“Asia has the potential to drive innovation in areas such as e-commerce and in developing new products. Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are home to some of the world’s leading electronics companies. And, China and India’s consumers are some of the world’s most active users of mobile technology and social media,” says Michael Cheng, PwC’s Retail and Consumer Leader for Asia Pacific and Hong Kong/China. “While shopping via social media platforms is still a new trend, it won’t be long before consumers jump on the s-commerce bandwagon.”
To understand and harness the dynamics of new-age retail, leading retailers and industry experts from across the world will be congregating at the 5th Annual Retail Congress Asia Pacific 2015, Singapore. As Key Partner to the event, ETP will be leading discussions on Asian retail and its emerging markets.
