Oxford Retail Futures Conference

Oxford Retail Futures Conference: The changing role of place in a digital world

The Oxford Retail Futures conference is an annual conference. It is being organised jointly by the Oxford Institute of Retail Management, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford and the Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC).

Overview:

The continued importance of physical locations for retailing has come into question, as the ways in which shoppers choose to shop are changing in fundamental ways. Three important drivers of this change are urbanization and the attendant growth of an increasingly demanding and affluent middle class (especially in emerging markets), the impact of technology, and the effects of regulation. As a consequence, pressures are beginning to affect the traditional roles of stores and the requirements for particular formats of stores are being revisited.

This year’s conference considers the implications of these changes for the physical landscape of retailing. We will address in particular how retailers’ space requirements are likely to change; to what extent the role of physical stores needs to be reimagined by retailers; how this will affect business models, local economies and communities; and how these changing roles will vary by sector as well as by geography; and what is at risk for stakeholders in retail property markets as well as for policymakers at national and local level.

Please find additional information regarding our call for papers here.

Registration: