After a busy first half of the year 2021, the Echangeur will pack its bags for the summer vacations. But before taking a little rest, which we hope is well deserved, the month of July is also an opportunity for the team to prepare for the new school year and to get ready for the end of the year!

Review of the 1st semester

Commerce Reloaded

The beginning of 2021 has been rich for all experts. The highlight of the first half of the year was the Commerce Reloaded conference. This new edition, organized in May, brought together more than five hundred digital participants from some twenty different countries! Proof, if any were needed, that the event created ten years ago to examine the evolution of the world of commerce and better understand the major trends that structure it has found its audience!

As Guillaume Rio indicates, this tenth edition of Commerce Reloaded was placed under the sign of an irreversible Mutation(s) around six variants:

• DIGITAL LIFE: the hyper-digitization of our lives without return

• RETAIL RELOADED: the trade of the new world

• MOBILITY : the new king of the automotive sector

• HEALTH: digitalization is disrupting the established health sector

• FUTURES AS A SERVICE: the rise of ecosystems beyond GAFAM and BATX

• SYNTHETIC WORLD: from the living world to the virtual world, algorithms have the upper hand

Since its first Commerce Reloaded, the Echangeur has never stopped anticipating and following the mutation of the world of commerce! Organized in early 2010 around a frontal relationship between brands and individuals, it has evolved enormously. Today, with permanent interactions thanks to connectivity (Internet of Things, smartphones, voice assistants, etc.), it is becoming an economy for the perfect management of our more or less conscious aspirations and needs. This is the advent of Ambient Commerce!

Delivery in ten minutes

As a direct consequence, the boundaries between business sectors are disappearing. From one day to the next, new players emerge from nowhere and quickly become fierce competitors. An example? For Matthieu Jolly, one of the highlights of this year is the emergence of ten-minute delivery in major cities. While Amazon took a stake in Deliveroo’s capital in 2020, new players are emerging. But beware, they are positioning themselves not as simple delivery players but as real food brands.

Six months ago, who knew Flink or Cajoo? No one did! The recipe for this success: important and rapid fundraising. The German player Gorillas has become a unicorn, valued at more than one billion dollars, in only nine months of existence! Thanks to Flink for having accepted to open the doors of its dark stores to the members of the Club Echangeur during the last Store tours organized in Paris to make us discover this new business model.

The 10 Lifestyles & the Circular Economy

Behind this appearance, the consumer. Ever more demanding, his role is evolving from that of a buyer to that of a seller, an influencer and, most importantly, an actor of change. Actor of the positive and sustainable transformation of our environment, of our society. For almost a year now, the second life, the second hand, are in all discussions. But who are these buyers converted to this virtuous economy? This is the question that Caroline Veyret Prudhon and the Access Panel teams have answered by publishing the practical booklet “Strategic Targets and Circular Economy”.

Based on the data from the Access Panel 2020 and on the 14,000 individuals interviewed in France, Belgium, Spain and Portugal, the Echangeur has identified 10 strategic targets. We then analyzed them according to their willingness to engage in a circular approach.

While Wealthy Families are the champions of circular consumption, Carefree Young Adults, Evolving Couples, Tactician Families and Golden Middle-Aged follow. It should be noted that not all consumers have yet integrated the circular economy into their consumption practices in the same way. Thus, there are notable differences regarding their appetite for C2C or mobility-related services, their interest in leasing services or the importance given to the price and sustainability criteria in their purchasing decisions.

The new forms of labels

To help them in their daily commitment, Elisabeth Menant notes the appearance of new forms of labels. Objective: to make sustainable and eco-responsible products visible and accessible to consumers. How can this be done? By launching a dedicated marketplace like the British company Ocado, which now offers more than 1,000 products such as Ben & Jerry’s ice cream or Innocent smoothies.

South By Southwest

Was this trend around sustainability and commitment present in the virtual aisles of South By SouthWest?Yes, the American trade show remains a must for identifying the emerging trends that will shape tomorrow’s commerce and consumption. For Nicolas Diacono, the SXSW show allows its visitors to discover new perspectives on the latest technological advances.

While the topics covered are numerous, it should be noted that progress in genetic knowledge is such that today there is real hope of a cure for many monogenic diseases. Companies such as Taysha are currently testing clinical solutions to treat epilepsy or diseases impacting the central nervous system. In addition, digitalization obliges, many conferences have turned this year around Tik Tok. The social network is becoming a real media, a meeting point for GenZ to debate on societal issues. Thus, the Washington Post launched on Tik Tok and became a reference for information sharing.

These favorites from the beginning of the year can of course be found directly on the Exchange Club’s digital platform. Thanks again to the eight hundred and sixty members who, as of July 1st, have already joined us and honor the Echangeur with their trust! If you want to be part of it, contact us!

The calendar

Although the health situation unfortunately remains tense in many countries, the experts of the Echangeur will continue to cover major events in the second half of the year to share with you their vision of a changing business.

The second half of 2021 will therefore also be rich for the BNP Paribas Personal Finance Echangeur. We wish you and your loved ones a wonderful and happy summer vacation and hope to see you again in the autumn to continue our discussions.