Almost no industry is as affected by globalization and digitalization as the fashion and lifestyle market. Consumer trends and innovations within this segment are growth drivers for other areas of retail.

Markus Heckhausen founded the Berlin iconic brand Ampelmann and is a member of the city’s next retail platform: “First Store by Alexa”. In an interview with ACROSS, he explains why the German capital is fertile ground for start-ups in bricks-and-mortar retail.

RETAIL TECHNOLOGY | Gift cards are becoming more and more popular. With a shopping center gift card, consumers are always sure to give the right present. That is why it is also important for malls continuously to adopt to this trend and offer their own individualized gift cards.

The Alexa shopping center in Berlin is celebrating its 10th anniversary in September 2017. That’s reason enough for Sonae Sierra, Union Investment and Alexa to launch an innovative retail casting competition.

The “First Store by Alexa” contest gives wings to new business ideas. Fabian Hellbusch, Head of Marketing at Union Investment Real Estate GmbH, and Jens Horeis, Head of Property Management at Sonae Sierra Germany, tell ACROSS all about it in an interview.

As a member of the “First Store by Alexa” jury, Jens Peter Klatt, Head of Multichannel at Mister Spex, insists the participants must offer a unique customer experience.

It is important for retailers in shopping centers to offer state-of-the art payments. Payment methods and behaviors are changing. Prepaid cards are one of the shopping trends that meet the needs of modern consumers and they are becoming increasingly popular. The concept of gift cards is especially highly rated. For malls, they are a way to ensure customer loyalty by offering their own individualized gift cards. SIX Payment Services has issued its 1 millionth prepaid card and will continue to focus on them.

Spar is entering a new era of price labeling with Umdasch Shopfitting. ESL.inclusive was initiated by Umdasch Shopfitting’s newest corporate division, viBIZ—Digital Shopfitting—developed together with Spar and Imagotag. Its first installation was launched in Spar’s store on the campus of the Vienna University of Economics and Business.

Samsung’s store in Paris is a high-end shop for electronic products that sets standards for equipment and design. Umdasch Shopfitting is therefore proud to have been selected by the Korean company as a partner.

The seventh edition of “How Active Are Retailers Globally?” prepared by CBRE, looks at the target markets for over 150 international brands based in the Americas, Asia Pacific, and the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region.

Tokyo is the most exciting retail city in the world. Christian Mikunda is leading a shop dramaturgy learning expedition to the Japanese capital on behalf of Umdasch Shopfitting; a short cruise from Rome to Barcelona is also on the agenda.

iBeacon technology provides shopping center operators and retailers with useful services. First and foremost among these is to increase stores’ sales, but their potential uses extend well beyond that.

Europe’s most luxurious high streets recorded another year of robust rental growth in 2015, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

In the year 2016, robots are, for now, an unusual sight in shopping centers. The helpful androids bring customers special moments and thus enhance the malls’ quality of stay.

Long delivery times have so far been one of online retail’s few weaknesses. So-called prime and air services using drones should now bring packages to your front door more quickly.

It doesn’t always have to be a case of online vs. offline. New retail technologies are helping make the experience of shopping more digital at point of sale. This benefits both customers and retailers.

The ever-growing e-commerce trade is having a significant impact on bricks-and-mortar stores: Omni-channel services an integral part of store concepts, retailers continue to “trade-up” their market presence, as more and more online merchants are opening stationary shops.

Shopping behavior as a success factor of the bricks-and-mortar retail trade.

Samsonite wants to keep innovating. In an interview with ACROSS, Graham Carter, Vice President Direct To Consumer, explained how a recent deal has increased the company’s commitment to shopping centers.

In an interview with ACROSS, Michael Scheithauer, CEO of the internationally active Barthelmess Group, explains the increasing importance of visual marketing and why facades will become ever more vital in the future.

The mobile app shopkick aims to turn shopping into a kind of mini vacation. ACROSS spoke with shopkick co-founder and CEO Cyriac Roeding about bonification systems and the future of retailing.

According to Tanja Nedwig, Marketing & Communications Director of Cross Jeans, the denim market is benefitting from the current oversupply. It makes the market interesting, since differences can and must be underscored. In an interview with ACROSS, she explains that the company also plans to expand into Scandinavia, the UK, and Asia.

Carlos Romero is responsible for international expansion for the Spanish fashion chain El Ganso. In an interview with ACROSS, he explains that the first store in a city is usually opened in a high-street location. Only after that do they move into the mall, and by that they mean the local market leader.

Head of Representation Expansion at Decathlon Germany Ludger Niemann explains in an interview with ACROSS that the company is currently focusing on Germany, Turkey, and the BRIC countries. The business concept works better in power centers with good transport connections than in shopping centers.