Shopify President Harley Finkelstein on Where the Industry Is Headed Next
"This is probably the most exciting time of retail of the last 100 years or so. There's a lot to be optimistic about," said Harley Finkelstein, president of Shopify, in a virtual panel at Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Summit on Tuesday. Finkelstein, whose Ottawa, Ontario-based company sells software that lets users create online stores, said that rapid changes to e-commerce and direct-to-consumer sales during the pandemic have created a retail landscape that might have otherwise not existed until 2030. And while so many businesses suffered in the past year, some not only stayed afloat but grew.
"When a tidal wave comes, you see two types of people. You see people that grab their surfboards, and you see people that grab their towels," he said. For retailers who want to succeed as the industry continues to evolve, he gave a few pointers and trends to look out for.
Go omnichannel
Instead of thinking of your company in silos or channels--say, e-commerce versus wholesale versus physical--start to take an omnichannel approach to your sales operations. Put another way, you need to give your customers options to choose their own sales experience. It's all about consumer choice and making the experience they have in each a strong one based on the customer data and feedback you've collected. "The future retail will be 'retail everywhere,'" Finkelstein said.
