Retail in the upswing: opportunities through AI and innovative change!

Retail in the upswing: opportunities through AI and innovative change!

Wien, Österreich - In 2024, trade, in which women are mostly working, had increasingly fighting challenges, especially in the first half of the year. At a press conference of the trade association in Vienna, it was emphasized that inpatient retailers recorded a real drop in sales in 2022 and 2023, but hope for 2024 increases from 0.7 percent to 77.2 billion euros in the previous year. However, sales representatives warn that the positive consumer mood should not be stirred up by excessive economy, which the managing director of the association, Rainer Will wants. 39 percent of the entrepreneurs expect a profit, while 23 percent have to expect losses, as can be seen from the current surveys, vienna.at .

technological innovation and international competitive conditions

The trade association emphasizes the increasing importance of artificial intelligence (AI), which is intended to penetrate all areas of trade. President Stephan Mayer-Heinisch sees AI a chance of survival for the industry. In addition, managers are calling for a fair competitive environment in e-commerce, since customers are increasingly shopping for Chinese online giant. Otto manager Harald Gutschi explained that in 2024 Chinese provider alone had a drainage of 900 million euros. The demands for a nationwide technology offensive and improvements in cyber security are also loudly expressed. Knorr-Bremse confirmed this need for the future.

In addition, further claims to overcome bureaucratic hurdles were expressed. C&A managers Norbert Scheele advocates a "one in-two out" regulation, which says that two old regulations should be deleted on each new regulation. These measures and the desire for reforms in the labor market, in particular with regard to employment incentives and non -wage costs, determine the current agenda of the trade. In the furniture trade, a decline in sales was last experienced 8 percent, driven by the bankruptcy of Kika/Leiner, which reinforces the urgency of the required reforms.