Norwegian retailers must rethink their strategies to stay ahead, according to experts at Digital Mind Oslo, an event attended by Nexer’s Industry Partner Retail, Caroline Thorén. During the event, experts shared fresh insights on changing consumer behaviors, evolving business models, and the increasing pressure on retailers to transform. Here are the main takeaways.
Alexander Haneng, Director of Innovation and Sustainability at NHO Service og Handel, highlighted the challenges facing the sports industry in Norway. Post-pandemic, turnover has declined, and even industry giants like Nike are seeing downward trends. Yet, some companies are defying the odds. Direct-to-consumer (D2C) businesses, such as Revolution Race, are maintaining strong margins and profits. A comparison with Stadium shows Revolution Race has a 100% better operating profit and a gross margin that is 57% higher.
Consumers are cutting back and prioritising price over quality
KPMG shared eye-opening statistics on Norwegian consumers. One in five plans to reduce their purchases in 2025. While grocery spending remains stable, over 20% of consumers intend to cut back on clothing, shoes, and furniture. A shift in purchasing priorities is also evident. In KPMG’s survey last year, consumers favoured quality over price. This year, the trend has flipped and price now takes precedence. The sectors most impacted include:
• Travel
• Groceries
• Building materials and cosmetics
KPMG also explored brand loyalty, revealing that grocery store customer clubs have the highest levels of consumer commitment—perhaps linked to the increased focus on price. Travel companies came in second, possibly due to the benefits of advance booking and loyalty points.
Several presentations underscored the increasing complexity of the retail landscape. Businesses must navigate legal requirements on safety, accessibility, and sustainability while also excelling in customer experience, technology, and innovation.
Johan Sommar from Avensia stressed the importance of understanding and leveraging a strong Unique Selling Proposition (USP). A successful USP should align with a retailer’s strengths, directly map to customer needs, and ideally, not overlap with competitors’ key strengths.
Epinova shared a striking prediction: by 2030, 50% of retailer revenue in Norway will come from non-traditional channels. This shift demands transformation and new competencies, many of which retailers are now outsourcing. The most in-demand skills include:
• Technical architecture
• Technical SEO
• Data analysis
• Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO)
Another growing challenge is customer acquisition. Over the past decade, the cost of acquiring new customers has skyrocketed up 222%.
BeSafe, a company known for manufacturing child car seats, is embracing change with a rental model alongside traditional sales. Leadership buy-in was crucial for launching their rental business, which they now aim to develop into a ‘Car Seat as a Service’ model.
What did we learn?
Reflecting on the event, a few key insights stand out:
• Understanding your offering and mapping it to customer needs is critical for success.
• Retailers must embrace a mix of physical stores, resellers, and D2C channels, ensuring they meet customers where they prefer to buy.
•The future lies in building strong customer communities, not just customer clubs. Are they, in some cases, the same thing?
The future of retail will require a balanced approach, leveraging diverse sales channels and fostering genuine customer communities. By embracing these insights, retailers can position themselves for sustained success in an evolving market landscape.