Erika Serow, head of Bain's Americas Retail Practice, says the retail revolution has arrived
The Retail industry has undergone massive changes lately with the advent of digital and mobile shopping, proving a challenge for retail consultants to keep up with rapid shifts in consumer behavior. Erika Serow, Bain & Company's newly appointed head of its Americas Retail Practice, says the industry experiences similar periods of disruption every 50 years or so. Starting with department stores in the mid 1800s, the shopping mall around the turn of the century, and the big box retailer in the 1960s. Each represents a revolution in retail that forever changed the way consumers shopped. Serow says Retail is at one of those pivot points right now, and retailers will have to evolve to keep up with the times or be consigned to the dustbin of history. Consulting magazine sat down with Bain's newly minted leader of the America's Retail Practice to discuss her new role, the market and the future of retail.
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