On June 23, 2022, Dublin time, Dr. Zhang Wenzhong, the founder of DMALL, attended the CGF2022 Global Summit in Dublin, the capital of Ireland, and had a conversation with the well-known host Isabelle Kumar on the topic of "Latest Retail Trends in China", believing that digitalization will be the long-term trend of future retail development.
More transactions are completed through digitalization, which has the important significance of "accumulating digital assets". For example, consumers using the same APP for home delivery and in-store shopping allows retailers to understand consumers' needs more comprehensively. And all the work of retailer employees, such as inventory checks, category management, and promotion management, can also be completed using a unified digital tool to check all real-time data of each store and each product online. More broadly, retailers and suppliers can establish a closer and more transparent relationship to achieve efficient collaboration between retailers and suppliers.
"Digitalization can enable retailers to develop their businesses more efficiently and better serve consumers," Zhang Wenzhong said. "Chinese consumers, especially young people, are also like consumers all over the world, concerned about topics such as environmental protection, sustainable development, and what impact the consumed goods will have on the climate."
When it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic, Zhang Wenzhong pointed out that the pandemic has objectively accelerated the digitalization process, and physical retailers have provided more online services and home delivery services through digitalization. People's pursuit and yearning for a better life have not changed, and their willingness to make efforts for it has not changed. During this special period, digitalization has played an important role, such as improving the stability of the supply chain. Retailers with digital supply chains such as METRO China and Wumart can flexibly deploy other distribution centers as supplementary forces to ensure consumers' living needs when a certain distribution center is affected.
Zhang Wenzhong said that CGF is a very good platform that enables exchanges and learning with outstanding peers from around the world. And in the exchanges in the recent three years, more and more people are forming a consensus: "There is no doubt that digitalization is the future."
"Many entrepreneurs are seriously considering using digital solutions to replace the original IT systems to save costs, improve efficiency, and increase user satisfaction. Fortunately, seven years ago, I and outstanding young people such as Zhang Feng and Yang Kai founded DMALL as a service provider and promoter of retail digitalization. Now, we are pursuing the same future: The future is the integration of online and offline based on comprehensive digitalization."
The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) is a global, equality-based industry network that brings together CEOs and senior managers of more than 400 retailers, manufacturers, service providers, and other stakeholders from nearly 100 countries/regions. The total sales of the forum's member companies are 4.6 trillion euros, directly or indirectly providing 100 million jobs. It is also the only truly global association in the consumer goods industry, and its governing body, the Board of Directors, includes the CEOs and chairpersons of 55 globally renowned manufacturers and retailers.
