Page 6 - Retail World March 2021

EDITOR’S LETTER FEDITOR’S LETTER ollowing a rollercoaster of a year defined by the global pandemic, the long-awaited Covid-19 vaccine has finally arrived in Australia, and rollout has commenced offering some big sighs of relief. However, it is far from over. There will continue to be outbreaks and challenges ahead while we tread day to day on an unpaved way to recovery. The challenges of the past year and disruption to supply chain have highlighted the need and opportunity to address the issue of packaging for food and beverage products. And top of the agenda is Australia’s 2025 National Packaging Targets. The Australian Food & Grocery Council is developing the National Plastics Recycling Scheme, the country’s first nationwide, industry-led recycling scheme for soft plastics. Retailers are ramping up their sustainability efforts, reducing plastic and packaging waste, and offering sustainable alternatives. In 2019, ALDI Australia announced its commitments to reduce plastics and packaging, and stopped selling single-use plastic tableware products in 2020. Woolworths stopped selling plastic straws across its stores in 2018, also removing single-use plastic bags, and continues to phase out unnecessary plastics. And Coles has phased out single-use plastic tableware from 1 March in line with South Australian law, with phase-out across the Coles Group to be completed by 1 July. We will have more trends and insights in our sustainability report in Retail World magazine next month. Health and wellbeing, sustainability, and digital enhancement are some of the key trends to watch in 2021 and beyond. Mintel has identified seven macro consumer trends that are set to impact global consumer markets for the near future. See pages 16-18. And IGD has identified five global trends predicted to reshape retail. See pages 20-21. In this issue, ShopAbility and Haley Group address the strategic advantages of a thought out and executed space plan in a category management context, the shift to multichannel, and the key pillars of success. Exceedra reveals how technology and IIOT are enhancing revenue management and making the supply chain and forecasting easier. And in the first of a series of Industry 4.0 reports for 2021, Retail World looks at how manufacturers are using connected technology and improving efficiencies. Head to Retail World 360 for more inspired thought leadership on the evolving world of IIOT, packaging, sustainability, manufacturing, logistics, automation and technology. Join our community and subscribe to our eNewsletter! We hope you enjoy this issue of Retail World magazine. Lorna Gloria Guest Editor 4 RETAIL WORLD MAR, 2021