News & Insights

Retail is one of the industries that has been most dramatically transformed by the digital revolution in terms of the rise of e-commerce. Over the past two decades, there has been spectacular growth in online shopping which has changed the face of the retail landscape. This shift has been further strengthened and accelerated by the lockdowns introduced as part of the anti-COVID-19 measures.

In Q1 of 2021, Amazon’s profits rose by 220% to US$8.1 billion and Etsy reported a net profit of US$143.8 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 1,048%. At the same time the profit of Shopify, the software company that makes it easy for vendors to open a web shop, grew by 110% to US$988.6 million.(Source: Financieel Dagblad).

In this latest broadcast available through De Nieuwe Wereld’s YouTube channel, journalist and philosopher Ad Verbrugge discusses the impact of these developments on the retail industry with three experts: Michiel Vos (CEO and founder of Zupr), Wouter Seinen (partner at Pinsent Masons) and Douwe Lycklama (founding partner at INNOPAY). What’s going on exactly? What are the pros and cons of the growing power of e-commerce platforms from a retail perspective? Are there alternatives to the platforms? And how important is the sustainable use of data in this context? 

This broadcast is part of a series organised by De Nieuwe Wereld and INNOPAY on the topic of digital sustainability.