More than 200 retail industry experts from 120 participating companies including 40 speakers will discuss the roadmap for the future of retail experiences at the upcoming 10th Middle East Retail Forum in Dubai, UAE.

The event takes place on November 24 at the Conrad Dubai Hotel.

Market capitalisation of the big 25 publicly-listed global retailers jumped 35 percent from $4.58 trillion in February 2020 to $6.18 trillion in April 2021 – due to their shift to e-commerce, according to a research report by McKinsey & Co, reflecting the seismic shift in the retail landscape that will come under the radar at the 10th Middle East Retail Forum.

The biggest beneficiaries of the pandemic have been online retailers whose market capitalization jumped a whopping 192 percent. Among the bigger players, Amazon.com saw its market cap jumping 62 percent to $1.75 trillion at the end of April 2021, up from $1.08 trillion in February 2020, McKinsey & Co research found.

Held under the theme, Unveiling Tomorrow’s Retail Experience, the leading panellists will discuss the roadmap for the future of retail, exploring trends in e-commerce, malls and shopping centres, and data and emerging technologies.

Justina Eitzinger, Chief Operating Officer of Images Group Middle East, organiser of the Middle East Retail Forum and RetailME Awards, said: “As the world economy witnesses uneven recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the retail industry is also undergoing an uneven recovery that is determined by the level of technology adoption by retailers – to offer seamless multi-channel retail experiences.

“The Middle East Retail Forum serves as an aggregator of innovators and leaders of the industry to come together and chart the masterplan for what the industry standards and trends of the future are going to be. The movers and shakers of the industry will convene under one roof to discuss the retail experiences of the future that they are bringing to the region.”

“With a CEOs Conclave, insightful panel discussions, and power-talks by some of the biggest leaders from the industry, MRF 2021 is going to be one of the most important retail thought-leadership symposiums of the year,” she added.

In many cases, the strengths enabling some companies to surpass their industry peers—tech-forward and asset-light business models propelled by the tailwinds of growing demand—became even more important during the crisis.

“In our cross-industry analysis, we found a group of companies that rode those tailwinds to such massive valuation gains that they represent their own sector; we dubbed them the Mega 25.A similar elite category emerged in the retail industry. The extreme outperformers included in our Super 25, most of which epitomize the powerful shift to digital, represent more than 90 percent of the sector’s increase in global market capitalization,” McKinsey & Co said.

The Middle East Retail Forum will examine the changing dynamics of the region’s retail landscape, with the top retailers sharing their views, opinions, and insights on the transformations they’ve witnessed and incorporated in their organizations.

The Panel Discussion on The New Retail Revolution, which will see the CIOs and CDOs of major retail conglomerates discussing the implementation of omnichannel retail, creating the experiences of the future, and ensuring an integrated retail delivery model where offline, online, logistics, and data, converge to enhance customer experience.

Images RetailME Awards

Middle East’s best retailers will also be announced at a gala ceremony at the annual Images RetailME Awards, held alongside Middle East Retail Forum (MRF). It will recognise the achievements of retailers from the region who have had the courage to think out-of-the-box to bring innovative retail concepts and experiences equipped with emerging technologies and data that the world has access to today.

Images RetailME Awards aims to serve as a benchmark in the Middle Eastern retail industry by honouring best practices and efforts of the retail fraternity, which serves as a massive contributor to the overall economy. The categories have been carefully designed to ensure equal opportunities to all verticals across the board.

Middle East Retail Forum is supported by Zebra Technologies, Adyen, Altavant, Dubai Outlet Mall, Board International, Dalma Mall, DViO Digital, Ithra Dubai, LPFlex and CION Lightings. – TradeArabia News Service