The future of shopping—One-to-one commerce

Not since the Industrial revolution has shopping been in such upheaval, writes Henry Tricks

In both East and West, such an a malgamation of the off-line and online worlds is widely referred to as"omnichannel”. This is perhaps the most tangible trend affecting the future of shopping. The future will be both online and off-line. For consumers the benefits are obvious. They will gain greater convenience from being able to shop either physically or virtually, depending on their mood and circumstances. But for retailers, the challenges are immense.They have to pay not only for the costs of their stores but also for a form of digital "rent" to display their goods high up on online search channels such as Facebook.They must not only pay for delivery but also allow customers to pick goods up in their shops. And they face a growing nightmare of processing returns that now cost retailers more than $1trn globally every year, says Shopify, a big online platform. The struggle will be to find ways to make omnichannel more profitable。

Malgamation：融合           Omni/'ɒmnɪ/n. 全方位；泛光灯；pref. 表示“总”；表示“遍”

Omnichannel：多渠道，全渠道

It may yet become more lucrative simply because of the sheer size of the market left to conquer. According to Benedict Evans, who writes a tech newsletter, e-commerce sales globally in 2019 amounted to some $4trn. That was less than a fith of total retail sales, and a smaller fraction of overall consumer spending, which the World Bank estimates at $65trn.There are tens of trillions of dollars of extra spending left to battle over.

lucrtive  adj. /ˈluːkrətɪv/赚大钱的；获利多的 •a lucrative business/contract/market 利润丰厚的生意╱合同╱市场

sheer /ʃɪə(r)/ 1.（用来强调事物的大小、程度或数量） •The area is under threat from the sheer number of tourists using it. 这一地区由于游客人数太多而面临威胁。2.完全的；纯粹的；十足的•The concert was sheer delight. 这场音乐会是一次十足的享受。3. 陡峭的 •sheer cliffs/slopes 悬崖峭壁；陡坡 4.(织物等) 又薄又轻几乎透明的•sheer nylon 透明尼龙

Yet concerns are already growing that a few behemoths, such as Amazon in America, Europe and parts of Asia, and Alibaba in China, will hog the bulk of that. Regulators in America, the European Union and China are keeping the industry leaders under scrutiny. To keep the future a renaissance not a digital autocracy, this report assesses how entrepreneurs can standup to and even overcome the supremacy of the digital incumbents.

Behemoth  n. /bɪˈhiːmɒθ/  /ˈbiːhɪmɒθ/ 巨头（指规模庞大、实力雄厚的公司或机构）

the bulk of:大量，许多

hog/hɒɡ/ 1.（尤指喂肥供食用的）猪；2.（供食用的）阉公猪；3.  go the whole ˈhog 彻底地做某事；贯彻到底；4. （动词）多占；独占 •to hog the road (= to drive so that other vehicles cannot pass) 占着马路中间开车

Scrutiny  n. /ˈskruːtəni/ 仔细检查；认真彻底的审查 • Foreign policy has come under close scrutiny recently. 近来，政府的外交政策受到了认真彻底的审查。

Renaissance  /rɪˈneɪsns/ n.（艺术等的）新生，复活；n. (Renaissance) 文艺复兴，文艺复兴风格

Supremacy  n. /suːˈpreməsi/  /sjuː‑/ ~ (over sb/sth)  至高无上；最大权力；最高权威；最高地位 • the battle for supremacy in the region 争夺地区霸权的较量 • the dangerous notion of white supremacy 危险的白人至上观念

Autocracy  n. /ɔːˈtɒkrəsi/  1.独裁政体；专制制度；2.独裁国家；专制国家

Supremacy  n. /suːˈpreməsi/  /sjuː‑/ ~ (over sb/sth) 至高无上；最大权力；最高权威；最高地位 • the battle for supremacy in the region 争夺地区霸权的较量

Incumbent /ɪnˈkʌmbənt/ n 在职者；现任者 •the present incumbent of the White House 现任美国总统。 形容词：在职的；现任的•the incumbent president 现任总统；2.~ upon/on sb有责任；必须履行 •It was incumbent on them to attend. 他们必须出席。

In the midst of the covid-19 pandemic, with shops shut and doorsteps under siege from the latest Amazon delivery, the world may seem to be on the edge of a digital dystopia, with shops losing their age-old role as a place of social interaction, banter and succour for the lonely. But that is too pessimistic. Even a time traveller from Elizabethan England would find a lot to recognise in the commerce of the future. As this report will argue， the itinerant peddlers , merchants, food stalls, crafts, salespeople and shoppers will all continue to exist-albeit in new forms.The biggest difference will be the marketplace, the digital architecture dominated by the tech giants thatin future will underpin our urge to splurge.

Siege  n. /siːdʒ/  1.（军队对城镇的）围困，包围，围攻，封锁 •the siege of Troy 特洛伊之围；2.（警察对建筑物的）包围，封锁 3. UNDER ˈSIEGE：(1) 被包围；被围困；被封锁；(2) 一再遭到批评的；受…困扰的4. LAY ˈSIEGE TO STH (1)  围困，围攻（城镇、建筑物等）；(2) 包围（某建筑物，旨在和里面的人对话或质询）

Dystopia  n. /dɪsˈtəʊpiə/ 反乌托邦，反面假想国，敌托帮（极度恶劣的假想处境或状况）

banter /ˈbæntə(r)/（善意的）玩笑，打趣 •He enjoyed exchanging banter with the customers. 他喜欢和顾客开玩笑。

Succour /ˈsʌkə(r)/ 救助；救援；帮助

Itinerant  adj. /aɪˈtɪnərənt/巡回的；流动的；（尤指为找工作）四处奔波的 • itinerant workers/musicians 流动工人；巡回乐师

Albeit  conj. /ˌɔːlˈbiːɪt/尽管；虽然 •He finally agreed, albeit reluctantly, to help us. 尽管勉强，他最后还是同意帮助我们。

Underpin  v. /ˌʌndəˈpɪn/ 1.加强，巩固，构成（…的基础等） •The report is underpinned by extensive research. 这份报告以广泛的研究为基础。2. (术语) 加固（墙）基

Splurge /splɜːdʒ/ 乱花钱；糟蹋钱；挥霍； ~ (sth) (on sth) 乱花（钱）；糟蹋（钱）；挥霍

译文

In both East and West, such an a malgamation of the off-line and online worlds is widely referred to as"omnichannel”. This is perhaps the most tangible trend affecting the future of shopping. The future will be both online and off-line. For consumers the benefits are obvious. They will gain greater convenience from being able to shop either physically or virtually, depending on their mood and circumstances. But for retailers, the challenges are immense.They have to pay not only for the costs of their stores but also for a form of digital "rent" to display their goods high up on online search channels such as Facebook.They must not only pay for delivery but also allow customers to pick goods up in their shops. And they face a growing nightmare of processing returns that now cost retailers more than $1trn globally every year, says Shopify, a big online platform. The struggle will be to find ways to make omnichannel more profitable。

在东方和西方，这种线下和线上世界的融合被广泛称为“全渠道”。这也许是影响未来购物的最切实的趋势。未来将是线上和线下并存的。对消费者来说，好处显而易见。他们可以根据自己的心情和环境进行实体或虚拟购物，从而获得更大的便利。但对零售商来说，挑战是巨大的。他们不仅要支付店铺的成本，还要支付一种数字“租金”，以便在Facebook等在线搜索渠道的高位展示他们的商品。他们不仅必须支付送货费，还必须允许顾客在他们的商店提货。大型在线平台Shopify称，他们还面临着处理退货的噩梦，每年全球零售商的退货成本超过1万亿美元。攻坚这点将是找到使全渠道更有利可图的关键。

It may yet become more lucrative simply because of the sheer size of the market left to conquer. According to Benedict Evans, who writes a tech newsletter, e-commerce sales globally in 2019 amounted to some $4trn. That was less than a fith of total retail sales, and a smaller fraction of overall consumer spending, which the World Bank estimates at $65trn.There are tens of trillions of dollars of extra spending left to battle over.

仅仅因为有待征服的市场规模之大，它可能会变得更有利可图。据科技通讯撰稿人本尼迪克特·埃文斯(Benedict Evans)称，2019年全球电子商务销售额约为4万亿美元。这还不到零售总额的五分之一，在世界银行(World Bank)估计为65万亿美元的总体消费者支出中所占比例更小。还有数万亿美元的额外支出有待争夺。

Yet concerns are already growing that a few behemoths, such as Amazon in America, Europe and parts of Asia, and Alibaba in China, will hog the bulk of that. Regulators in America, the European Union and China are keeping the industry leaders under scrutiny. To keep the future a renaissance not a digital autocracy, this report assesses how entrepreneurs can standup to and even overcome the supremacy of the digital incumbents.

然而，人们越来越担心一些巨头，如美国、欧洲和亚洲部分地区的亚马逊，以及中国的阿里巴巴，将占据这一市场的大部分。美国、欧盟和中国的监管机构都在密切关注这一行业的领导者。为了保持未来是复兴而不是数字独裁，本报告评估了企业家如何对抗甚至克服数字霸主的霸权。

In the midst of the covid-19 pandemic, with shops shut and doorsteps under siege from the latest Amazon delivery, the world may seem to be on the edge of a digital dystopia, with shops losing their age-old role as a place of social interaction, banter and succour for the lonely. But that is too pessimistic. Even a time traveller from Elizabethan England would find a lot to recognise in the commerce of the future. As this report will argue, the itinerant peddlers, merchants, food stalls, crafts, salespeople and shoppers will all continue to exist-albeit in new forms.The biggest difference will be the marketplace, the digital architecture dominated by the tech giants thatin future will underpin our urge to splurge.

在新冠肺炎大流行期间，商店纷纷关门，亚马逊(Amazon)最新的快递服务也在围攻实体，世界似乎正处于数字反乌托邦的边缘，商店失去了其作为社交、玩乐和帮助孤独者的古老角色。但这太悲观了。即使是来自伊丽莎白时代的英国的时间旅行者也会在未来的商业中发现很多熟悉的东西。正如本报告所述，流动小贩、商人、小吃摊、工艺品、销售人员和购物者都将继续存在——尽管是以新的形式。最大的区别将是市场，由科技巨头主导的数字架构将在未来强化我们挥霍的冲动。