A future that’s #Trending

TikTok has been a trendsetter in its own way, influencing the world over by leading with the video format. Leaders in retail have also been influencing the movement of change with their strategies and plans. What happens when these two powerhouses come under one roof? They influence, converse and set the future-looking plan to action.

Aref Yehia, Head of Business Partnerships for Retail & E-Commerce, TikTok for Business took to stage to talk about this ‘New Future’ and its silver lining at the THINK! I CAN! Symposium.

Through his several conversations with retail leaders, Yehia has tried to decode ‘the future of retail’. However, he mentioned that the future is too profound and is a mix of several themes and construct. There is no one big plan for the future. Rather retail is evolving and at every nook and corner, across sectors and brands the ecosystem is getting built in a new way and that is giving way to new horizons. From circularity to quick deliveries that started with 1-day to now within a few minutes to presenting customer experiences at the convergence of physical and virtual, retail is giving birth to new horizons. And that future is #trending.

He highlighted that one common denominator that connects all leaders is ‘Customer’. All of them univocally agree that customer is the absolute truth and every plan undertaken by them can only be successful if they are able to satisfy the customer rightly. This is the intent of TikTok too and that’s why the team always analyses customer behaviour to understand what works and what doesn’t.

Through varied research and understanding they have been able to maintain that the customer today spends more than four hours of their day browsing content. Content drives the right point home, and it is ultimately the dawn of the age of entertainment. Yehia said that what a consumer browses or what a platform like theirs give them access to is all decided by the customer. What’s #trending is what becomes the showstopper and that is a cue for retail to catch the customer attention on these platforms with hyperpersonlised content, which the consumer wants and values.