Chart of the week: “Just get it online”

<p>In some ways, retail is going through a similar transformation to that of the auto industry, when greater automation and systems seeped into manufacturing decades ago. Nowadays, retail shopping is less about swamping high streets with clothes or sofas in every size and colour. Far better to save your property budget for creating a huge and efficient logistics network to deliver what consumers want, to their door, overnight. In this just-in-time environment, quality data is pivotal. But, very few companies have it, and they tend to reside in Silicon Valley.</p>
15 March 2019

In some ways, retail is going through a similar transformation to that of the auto industry, when greater automation and systems seeped into manufacturing decades ago. Nowadays, retail shopping is less about swamping high streets with clothes or sofas in every size and colour. Far better to save your property budget for creating a huge and efficient logistics network to deliver what consumers want, to their door, overnight. In this just-in-time environment, quality data is pivotal. But, very few companies have it, and they tend to reside in Silicon Valley. Read more about our views on the future of retail in “The technology sector is no longer flavour of the month”, one of the articles in our latest InvestmentInsights.