For more than 20 years, I've worked across retail, technology and commercial leadership in New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and the United Kingdom. I've managed stores, developed retail networks, led commercial teams and worked alongside some of the world's largest retailers.
Throughout that time, one prediction has remained remarkably consistent: physical retail is dying.
First, the internet was going to kill it. Then Amazon. Then mobile commerce. Now artificial intelligence is supposedly the next threat.
Yet physical retail is still here. Some businesses are thriving, while others continue to struggle.
The difference isn't simply technology, pricing or location. It's how well retailers understand their customers and how effectively they deliver on their promises.
Amazon isn't killing retail. Bad retail is.
Customers Didn't Abandon Stores. They Abandoned Poor Experiences.
When e-commerce began transforming consumer behaviour, many traditional retailers focused on the competitive threat: lower online prices, reduced overheads and the convenience of home delivery.
Those concerns were legitimate, but they overlooked a more uncomfortable reality.
Customers weren't necessarily abandoning physical stores because they preferred shopping online. They were abandoning experiences that no longer justified the effort.
Consider a familiar scenario. A customer travels to a store, struggles to find assistance, encounters an employee with limited product knowledge and discovers the item they want isn't available.
Why wouldn't they purchase online instead?
The answer for traditional retailers was never simply to compete with Amazon on price. It was to offer something that couldn't easily be replicated digitally.
That starts with the customer experience.
The Experience Is What Sets Great Retailers Apart
Early in my career, managing department-store operations in New Zealand, I learned that successful retailing wasn't simply about having the right products on shelves or offering competitive prices.
It was about creating an experience that gave customers a reason to visit, purchase and return.
That experience starts long before a customer speaks to a salesperson. It's shaped by the store environment, product presentation, ease of navigation, stock availability and the atmosphere created by the people working there.
Every interaction contributes to how customers perceive a retailer.
The best retail experiences make shopping feel effortless. Customers can discover products, explore alternatives, receive knowledgeable advice and make purchasing decisions with confidence.
And while digital shopping offers convenience, physical stores provide something different: the opportunity to touch, test, compare and experience products firsthand.
During my years working in consumer technology, I saw how important this distinction could be. Customers increasingly arrived in-store having already researched products online. They didn't necessarily need more information. They needed reassurance, practical demonstrations and help understanding which solution best suited their needs.
This is where capable, engaged employees make a real difference.
But exceptional retail experiences don't happen by accident. They require thoughtful store design, well-trained teams, effective merchandising and operational consistency.
The experience isn't simply about customer service. It's the combination of every interaction a customer has with a retailer, from initial discovery through to after-sales support.
Retailers that get this right create something far more valuable than a transaction. They build trust, loyalty and a compelling reason for customers to return.
In a market where products and prices can be compared in seconds, the experience itself becomes one of retail's most powerful competitive advantages.
Omnichannel Isn't a Strategy Anymore. It's an Expectation.
One of the biggest mistakes traditional retailers made was treating e-commerce and physical stores as competing businesses.
Separate teams, separate targets, separate inventory and sometimes entirely different customer experiences.
But customers don't think in channels. They think in brands.
Someone might discover a product online, visit a store to experience it and complete their purchase through an app.
To the customer, that's one journey.
To many retailers, it's still three separate transactions.
This disconnect creates unnecessary friction, whether through inconsistent pricing, unavailable inventory or complicated returns.
True omnichannel retail isn't simply offering multiple ways to purchase. It's creating one connected customer experience.
Achieving that requires more than technology. It demands organisational alignment, shared objectives and a willingness to rethink established operating models.
Strategy Means Nothing Without Execution
Throughout my career, I've seen businesses invest considerable time developing ambitious commercial strategies.
But even the strongest strategy delivers little value if it doesn't translate into consistent frontline execution.
During my time at 2degrees in New Zealand, I helped expand the retail network from four stores to eighteen.
That experience reinforced something I've carried throughout my career: growth isn't simply about expanding your footprint. It's about building an operating model capable of delivering consistent results.
The same principle applies to improving sales performance.
A strategy to increase average transaction values through complementary products might look excellent in a presentation.
But have employees been trained? Are the products available? Do incentives support the desired behaviour? Are managers coaching their teams? Is anyone measuring the results?
If those fundamentals aren't addressed, the strategy remains little more than an ambition.
Retail success is rarely the result of one revolutionary idea. It's built through thousands of small decisions executed consistently well.
The Real Threat Is Becoming Average
I believe one of the greatest risks facing established retailers isn't disruption itself.
It's mediocrity.
Being reasonably priced, reasonably convenient and offering reasonably good service is no longer enough.
Customers have too many alternatives.
Retailers competing primarily on price face businesses with enormous purchasing power. Those competing on convenience face highly optimised digital platforms. Those relying on product selection compete with marketplaces offering almost unlimited choice.
The solution isn't to be everything to everyone.
It's to understand what customers genuinely value and deliver it exceptionally well.
Consider retailers such as John Lewis, Currys and Kmart. Their propositions and operating models differ considerably, demonstrating that successful retail doesn't follow a single formula.
A value retailer doesn't need to replicate a premium department-store experience. But both must understand their customers and consistently deliver on their respective promises.
The greatest danger is becoming a retailer that offers no compelling reason to be chosen.
AI Will Raise Expectations Again
Artificial intelligence represents another significant transformation for the industry.
AI-powered shopping assistants will increasingly help customers compare products and make purchasing decisions. Retailers will use AI to improve forecasting, inventory management, workforce planning and customer engagement.
These developments will create opportunities, but they'll also expose businesses with outdated systems and inefficient processes.
However, I don't believe AI will eliminate the value of physical retail.
As information becomes easier to access, genuine expertise, personalised service and human connection may become even more important differentiators.
The winning formula won't be technology replacing people.
It will be technology enabling people to deliver better customer experiences.
Retail Isn't Dying. Average Retail Is.
After more than two decades in retail and commercial leadership, I've come to believe that the fundamentals of successful retail haven't changed nearly as much as the technology surrounding them.
Understand your customers. Develop capable people. Create a clear proposition. Execute consistently. Measure what matters.
And never assume yesterday's success guarantees tomorrow's relevance.
Amazon didn't invent the importance of convenience, value or customer experience. It simply raised expectations.
The retailers that recognised this adapted. Those that didn't became increasingly vulnerable.
As artificial intelligence creates the next wave of change, the same principle will apply.
The future of retail won't be determined by whether a business operates online or offline.
It will be determined by how effectively it creates value for its customers.
Retail isn't dying. But the days of getting away with average retail are numbered.
Fabien Degueldre is a commercial and retail leader with over 20 years of experience across New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and the United Kingdom. His career includes senior leadership roles at Logitech, Belkin and 2degrees, spanning country management, multi-site retail operations, commercial transformation and go-to-market strategy.