Nisreen Shocair, President of Virgin Megastores MENA and Rick Vlemmiks, Managing Partner at SG Retail
The ability of retailers to put the customer at the front and centre of their business will determine the industry’s future success, according to the region’s leaders speaking today at the Retail Leaders Circle MENA in Dubai.
The first day of the annual exclusive summit taking place on 6th to 7th March at The Address Dubai Mall Hotel saw 100 industry delegates benefit from the insights of the region’s retail experts and business heads.
Nisreen Shocair, President, Virgin Megastores MENA who delivered a keynote address on “Redefining Customer-Centricity”, highlighting a common retailing misperception that price promotions are at the heart of customer-centricity. “This is about knowing your customer, understanding what they want, listening and acting. Your brand alone does not guarantee customer loyalty because the market is saturated. Neither does exclusivity because there is no such thing as exclusivity anymore. It is not going to be your location in a mall either if people aren’t going to the mall anymore. What is going to be paramount to the success of your business today is your relationship with your customer.”
Consumers increasingly expect a seamless, connected experience across channels (including web, mobile, social, and in-store) and delivering this effectively requires real time data. According to Shocair, “the days of waiting six months to run a campaign and then bringing in a market research company to run the results are gone. It’s all about real time. Retailers need to maintain their competitive edge by gaining real time information on their customers. Customer-centricity is about delivering a more tailored and personalized shopping experience – one that delivers the right products, services, and value to each customer at the right time.”
The post MENA Retail Leaders’ conference discuss the sector’s future appeared first on Reseller Middle East.
