What makes cities better places for us all? What stake do retailers have in the city of the future?
The online boom has sent shockwaves through retail and is adding pressure onto an already failing city infrastructure. The consequences are being felt by us all.
Our desire for fast, on-demand deliveries is leading to more workers being exploited by an unfair gig economy; rising air pollution is affecting our health; and congestion from increasing numbers of polluting diesel vans is making daily life more stressful.
36,000 UK deaths are attributed to dirty air each year; congestion costs the UK economy £6.9billion each year and online retail is still growing, with the WHO predicting the delivery vehicles will rise 36% by 2030.
In a new report from Zedify, experts on sustainable retail, customer experience, urban placemaking and the circular economy come together to look at some of the most pressing issues facing city centres, retailers and shoppers in the post-pandemic period.
Contributors include Abigail Forsyth, founder of KeepCup and Peter Andrews, Head of Sustainability at The British Retail Consortium.
Also hear from returns and reverse logistics brand ReBOUND Returns, online second hand clothing company Thrift+, urban placemakers Mark London, packaging-as-a-service innovators Packoorang and customer experience agency UXUS for inspiring and insightful contributions that help push forward the conversation around what constitutes the better cities of the future, and the stake that retailers have in realising it.
Retail commenter and CEO of Retail Economics, Richard Lim said, “Consumers are more aware than ever of the social and environmental impacts of their buying habits and increasingly, the investor community is challenging retailers to have clearer, more transparent ESG goals that drive forward real change and secure a sustainable business future. Now is the time to act on net zero, circularity, and last mile logistics to seize this moment and develop retail supply chains which create a better future, with better cities for us all.”
Rob King, CEO and co-founder of Zedify said, “We set up Zedify not just to be another tech-driven delivery start up but to bring about real change in our cities. There will never be a return to the traditional retail model and a key part of survival in the new retail landscape will be environmentally friendly delivery. We’re incredibly excited to be working with partners across the retail sector to kickstart an urban delivery revolution, together.”
