Murvah Iqbal, co-CEO and co-founder of HIVED, is on a mission to revolutionise the delivery industry. Founded in 2021, the all-electric delivery start-up has already distributed millions of parcels across London for major brands including ASOS, Uniqlo, Nespresso and Zara, and is backed by investors like Maersk Growth, Pale Blue Dot and Planet A Ventures.
In this episode, Murvah shares her entrepreneurial journey, which began when she took over marketing and branding for her uncles’ fast-food chain at just 15 years old. She discusses the importance of decarbonisation in retail and how HIVED’s “sustainability-as-standard” approach differentiates them from competitors.
Murvah also shares her views on the evolving expectations of consumers, particularly Gen Z, when it comes to delivery, how to address some of the legacy challenges of the final mile, and what regulatory changes she’d like to see to support the growth of green delivery. Murvah and Natalie also discuss the need for collaboration within the industry and the role of technology in improving delivery efficiency.
Find out more about the Retail Disrupted Podcast by visiting retaildisrupted.com
Retail Disrupted
Decarbonising Deliveries
byNatalie Berg
Murvah Iqbal, co-CEO and co-founder of HIVED, is on a mission to revolutionise the delivery industry. Founded in 2021, the all-electric delivery start-up has already distributed millions of parcels across London for major brands including ASOS, Uniqlo, Nespresso and Zara, and is backed by investors like Maersk Growth, Pale Blue Dot and Planet A Ventures.
In this episode, Murvah shares her entrepreneurial journey, which began when she took over marketing and branding for her uncles’ fast-food chain at just 15 years old. She discusses the importance of decarbonisation in retail and how HIVED’s “sustainability-as-standard” approach differentiates them from competitors.
Murvah also shares her views on the evolving expectations of consumers, particularly Gen Z, when it comes to delivery, how to address some of the legacy challenges of the final mile, and what regulatory changes she’d like to see to support the growth of green delivery. Murvah and Natalie also discuss the need for collaboration within the industry and the role of technology in improving delivery efficiency.
Natalie discusses the launch of Amazon Haul, the retailer’s new Temu-like storefront where most items are under $10 and delivery takes up to two weeks. She also unpacks the reasons behind Vinted’s success – what consumer needs is it tapping into and what are the implications for the wider retail sector? And, finally, Natalie shares her thoughts on the explosion of advent calendars. What is driving the trend and what can retailers learn from it?
[4:20] Is Amazon terminating its online grocery service in Germany?
[6:08] Amazon Haul launch
[9:00] Vinted and the rise of pre-loved
[15:10] Advent calendars – history and why retailers of all varieties are jumping on the advent calendar bandwagon
Links:
Episode 45: Amazon Must Disrupt Itself, July 2024. Natalie and Miya explore whether Amazon and Temu can co-exist and thoughts on the (then) rumoured plans to launch an ultra-low price storefront.
Find out more about the Retail Disrupted Podcast by visiting retaildisrupted.com
Retail Disrupted
Amazon Haul, What Makes Vinted Special, Advent Calendar Fever
byNatalie Berg
Natalie discusses the launch of Amazon Haul, the retailer’s new Temu-like storefront where most items are under $10 and delivery takes up to two weeks. She also unpacks the reasons behind Vinted’s success – what consumer needs is it tapping into and what are the implications for the wider retail sector? And, finally, Natalie shares her thoughts on the explosion of advent calendars. What is driving the trend and what can retailers learn from it?
[4:20] Is Amazon terminating its online grocery service in Germany?
[6:08] Amazon Haul launch
[9:00] Vinted and the rise of pre-loved
[15:10] Advent calendars – history and why retailers of all varieties are jumping on the advent calendar bandwagon
Links:
Episode 45: Amazon Must Disrupt Itself, July 2024. Natalie and Miya explore whether Amazon and Temu can co-exist and thoughts on the (then) rumoured plans to launch an ultra-low price storefront.
Live from Barcelona, Green Retail World’s Editor Ben Sillitoe joins Natalie on the podcast to share what they learned at Manhattan Exchange this week. They explore how generative AI chatbots are going to revolutionize customer service, why the days of frontline staff being told to “sell, not think” are over and what sustainability looks like for retailers in 2025.
If you missed the episode with Manhattan Associates’ Pieter Van den Broecke, you can catch up here.
Find out more about the Retail Disrupted Podcast by visiting retaildisrupted.com
Retail Disrupted
Gen AI Chatbots, Empowering Staff and Sustainability
byNatalie Berg
Live from Barcelona, Green Retail World’s Editor Ben Sillitoe joins Natalie on the podcast to share what they learned at Manhattan Exchange this week. They explore how generative AI chatbots are going to revolutionize customer service, why the days of frontline staff being told to “sell, not think” are over and what sustainability looks like for retailers in 2025.
If you missed the episode with Manhattan Associates’ Pieter Van den Broecke, you can catch up here.
Jeremy Schwartz was the turnaround CEO of Pandora, the world’s largest jewellery company with 2,500 stores and e-commerce sites in 90 countries. Prior to that, Jeremy was Chairman and CEO of The Body Shop from 2013 to 2017. He also previously spent time at Sainsbury’s and, as Brand Director, he was the architect of the grocer’s turnaround in 2005 which saw a decade of growth after years in decline. He is the former Managing Director of L’Oréal UK and, as Innovation Director for Coca-Cola Europe, he invented Coke Zero. Jeremy is currently the Chairman of Kantar’s Sustainability Transformation Practice.
While watching my daughter at her gymnastics class last week, I overheard another parent talking about a kids’ birthday party they went to recently. It wasn’t the usual soft play centre but a more pleasantly scented… Lush store.
Now I must admit that, as both a retail analyst and parent, I had no idea that Lush hosted parties on its shopfloor. But it makes perfect sense – Lush isn’t just a shop but an experience. A wonderfully fragrant, sensory stimulating, bath bomb-making experience.
And that’s the kind of mentality that bricks & mortar retailers need today. You have to give shoppers something that a screen cannot. You need to embrace perpetual innovation. You need to continue to surprise and delight. And above all, as Theo Paphitis told me in an interview earlier this month, you need to have a reason to exist.
The Body Shop once had a reason to exist. Under founder Dame Anita Roddick, it pioneered ethical beauty in the 1970’s. Its focus on natural, fairtrade and cruelty-free products set the retailer apart from rivals, not to mention its strong stance on social and environmental justice issues. The Body Shop was genuinely ahead of its time.
Fast forward to 2024 and its overall proposition is still wildly relevant. The health and beauty category continues to thrive even in this tough climate and sustainable shopping has gone mainstream. And therein lies the problem. The Body Shop is no longer the only place on the high street that shoppers can turn to for ethical products. It’s not the cheapest. It’s not most convenient. And you could make the argument that it’s not the most inspiring. So what exactly is its USP?
The Body Shop may have once been a trailblazer, but they’ve settled into the status quo. Being an early mover doesn’t mean you stop moving. Standing still is the most dangerous thing you can do in retail. You have to continuously evolve in order to stay relevant to customers. If you don’t, someone else certainly will.
So how do you stay relevant in the ever-changing world of retail? Your customer should always be your North Star. Start with the customer and then work backwards. How can you elevate the customer experience? What needs aren’t currently being met? How can you ‘go beyond’?
In the beauty space, you only need to look to a brand like Rituals to see what’s possible. Their philosophy of slowing down and transforming routines into special moments is evident the minute you walk through the door. Customers receive a cup of tea or a hand massage. The store environment is calming and every product has a story. It’s unique, relevant and the perfect antidote to our fast-paced lives.
A key factor of Ritual’s success is its unique brand proposition. It views itself as a wellness and lifestyle brand, rather than a beauty brand, and therefore doesn’t see itself having any direct competitors. It also embraces technology to deliver a truly personalised experience and is continuously evolving its offer. This is how you win in retail today.
Look at some of the more notorious retail disruptors like Amazon. I’ve often attributed Amazon’s success to a relentless dissatisfaction with the status quo. Other high street retailers are now adopting a similar approach. Marks & Spencer CEO Stuart Machin refers to the business as being “positively dissatisfied” and now requires its head office staff to spend to spend a week on the shop floor. Morrisons is even inviting shoppers to join management meetings. Listening to your customers has never been more important. In today’s retail climate, no one can afford inaction.
After years of volatility and disruption, might 2024 bring some much-needed stability?
I’m optimistic that we are safely out of ‘permacrisis’ mode, but that doesn’t mean that 2024 will be uneventful. Technology will continue to disrupt the status quo, improving operational efficiencies and taking the customer experience to new heights. Here are 3 areas to watch:
AI: From Intrigue to Implementation
The buzz and excitement of generative AI bursting into the mainstream dominated the headlines in 2023, with ChatGPT alone reaching 100 million users within just a couple of months. But things will really begin to heat up in 2024: this will be the year of deployment. AI is no longer hype; it’s reality. We are on the cusp of another ‘smartphone moment’ where AI will disrupt every aspect of the value chain – from product development right through to consumption.
From a customer experience perspective, the holy grail of hyper-personalisation is finally within reach. AI-powered shopping assistants are not the future, they are here now. Rich, real-time, relevant experiences are rapidly becoming the norm. I’m personally excited to see how AI develops in our kitchens, helping consumers not only with meal inspiration but also reducing food waste, and also how AI-enabled virtual try-ons might help tackle the perennial problem of returns.
Tech-Enabled Human Touch
As retailers recognised the value in repurposed, tech-infused stores, the collective view on bricks and mortar shifted from ‘liability in a digital era’ to ‘top asset’. The industry’s primary goal of the past decade has been digitising our physical spaces. As we look ahead to the next decade, the focus will shift to making our digital spaces more physical, more immersive, more lifelike. We’re already seeing this with the rise of virtual try-ons, liveshopping, social commerce and virtual shopping consultations, to name a few. Mixed reality is coming. In the future, we really won’t know where the physical world ends and the digital one begins.
As e-commerce transitions from its current static, transactional state to one of multiple dimensions, physical retailers will need to ensure they are leveraging their staff to provide a unique, elevated experience. Retailers must look to technology here to help democratise concierge-level service, allowing staff to serve the customer in both an efficient and highly personalised way – that’s everything from clienteling to allowing customers to pay on the spot or swiftly collecting or returning an online order. Tech-enabled human touch will differentiate the winners from the losers in 2024.
ESG: Firmly Back on the Agenda
In recent years, progress on the ESG agenda may have been quietly stunted as both retailers and consumers prioritised cost efficiencies. However, it’s safe to say that this is one trend that is never going away, and I believe sustainability will be a top priority for retailers in 2024 and beyond.
Transparency will be a key theme this year. Consumers look to retailers to guide them in their decision-making and, with heightened awareness around both greenwashing and bluewashing, there is simply no hiding behind false claims or labels. Retailers will be judged on their authenticity. They should be striving for honesty over perfection. Retailers must have full visibility over their supply chain and be able to effectively communicate their practices and standards to consumers. I believe we’ll see greater demand for product durability and traceability around retailers’ broader circularity efforts. Increasingly, shoppers will want to align with brands whose values reflect their own.
Recording live from the retailer’s new Second Chance store in London, Amazon UK Country Manager John Boumphrey joins Natalie on the podcast to discuss:
How is Amazon extending the life of returned goods through its Second Chance programme?
How can the wider industry overcome the returns challenge?
Futureproofing – with more disruption on the horizon, how does Amazon ensure it stays relevant to customers?
Consumer outlook – does JB expect consumers to remain relatively resilient as we move into 2024?
From drones to generative AI: what technologies and innovations should we be watching?
