The future of shopping—One-to-one commerce

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

DTC businesses have flourished.Early on in lockdown,Nike hit a target,which was originally set for 2023,of selling 30% of its goods online.Over the past year 70m people have become"members", bringing the total to 250m. It connects to these loyal customers via apps offering everything from free running guidance to access to sneaker vending-machines.

Supermarkets,which had earlier hoped that a mass stampede online was still five years away,suddenly found that even grandparents were mastering the dark arts of ordering groceries and booking slots. Such was the surge in demand in the early days of lockdown that Ocado,a British online grocer,thought for a while that it was under cyber-attack.

stampede /stæmˈpiːd/  

名词：1.（人群的）奔逃，蜂拥；（兽群的）惊跑，狂奔 •A stampede broke out when the doors opened. 门一开，人们蜂拥而出。2. 热潮；风尚；风气 •Falling interest rates have led to a stampede to buy property. 不断下降的利率引发了一场购房热。

动词：1.(兽群或人群 )（使）狂奔，涌向 •a herd of stampeding elephants 一群狂奔的大象；2.~ sb (into sth/into doing sth) 使仓促行事 •I refuse to be stampeded into making any hasty decisions. 我不愿仓促行事，草率作决定。

The e-commerce explosion does not herald the death of the physical store, however. When lockdowns have been lifted,shoppers have flocked back to high streets and shopping malls. Even a digital evangelist like Nike inaugurated a flagship "interactive" store on Paris's Champs-Elysées last year, one of several new stores it has recently opened. After covid-19 is tamed, the pace of e-commerce growth will moderate.As Mark Shmulik of Bernstein, an investment firm, puts it, generations of shoppers "muscle memories" will not vanish overnight.

herald  /ˈherəld/  

动词：1.是（某事）的前兆；预示 •These talks could herald a new era of peace. 这些谈判可能预示着新的和平时代的来临。2.~ sb/sth (as sth) 宣布（好或重要）•The report is being heralded as a blueprint for the future of transport. 这份报告被宣称是未来运输的蓝图。

名词：3.预兆•The government claims that the fall in unemployment is the herald of economic recovery. 政府宣称失业人数减少是经济复苏的先兆。4.（旧时的）信使，传令官，使者

flock /flɒk/  

名词：1.[ C+sing./pl.v. ] ~ (of sth) （羊或鸟）群；2.[ C+sing./pl.v. ] ~ (of sb) （尤指同类人的）一大群 •a flock of children/reporters 一大群儿童╱记者 ；3.[ C+sing./pl.v. ] ( literary )（常跟随某圣职人员等学习的）信众；4.（填充垫子、椅子等的）小块软填料；5.（植绒用的）短绒，绒屑

动词：群集；聚集；蜂拥 1.[ V + adv./prep. ] •Thousands of people flocked to the beach this weekend. 这个周末有好几千人蜂拥到了海滩。2.[ V to inf ] •People flocked to hear him speak. 人们成群结队地去听他演讲。

evangelist /ɪˈvændʒəlɪst/ 1.（基督教）布道者televangelist；2. 福音作者，圣史（写作《圣经》中四部福音的人）

Inaugurate  v. /ɪˈnɔːɡjəreɪt/ 1.~ sb (as sth) 为（某人）举行就职典礼•He will be inaugurated (as) President in January. 他将于一月份就任总统。2.为…举行落成仪式（或创建仪式） •The new theatre was inaugurated by the mayor. 新落成的剧院由市长主持了开幕典礼。3.引进；开创；开始 •The moon landing inaugurated a new era in space exploration. 登陆月球开创了太空探索的新纪元。

flagship  n. /ˈflæɡʃɪp/ 1.旗舰 2.（某组织机构的）最重要产品，最佳服务项目，主建筑物，王牌 •The company is opening a new flagship store in London. 这家公司将在伦敦新开一家旗舰店。

Champs-Elysées：香榭丽舍（法国巴黎），香榭丽舍大道

tame /teɪm/  1.(兽、鸟等) 养驯的；驯服的；2.平淡无奇的；枯燥乏味的 •You'll find life here pretty tame after New York. 这里的生活相当枯燥，与纽约形成对比。3. (人) 听使唤的；温顺的 •I have a tame doctor who'll always give me a sick note when I want a day off. 我的医生对我有求必应。我想要休一天假时，他总会给我开病假条。

Vanish  v. /ˈvænɪʃ/ 1.（莫名其妙地）突然消失 •The magician vanished in a puff of smoke. 魔术师在一股烟雾中突然不见了。 2.不复存在；消亡；绝迹 •the vanishing woodlands of Europe 濒于绝迹的欧洲林地

Yet the data-driven shopping upheaval is unstoppable.It will change the nature of stores,so that physical and digital shopping seamlessly interact. It will disrupt marketing, because online ads target shoppers more accurately than any broadcast jingle or billboard. And it will lead to new forms of production. Nike offers an example.Thanks to its apps and interactive shops,it acquires reams of real-time data from its pavement-pounding customers. When it noticed that traffic on its apps was showing more people doing yoga, it swiftly produced new yoga gear,Ms O'Neill notes. Mr Johnson would have been delighted.

seamlessly /ˈsiːmləsli/ 无缝隙地

ream  /riːm/ 1.大量的文字（或写作）•She wrote reams in the exam. 她在考试中写得很多。2.[ C ] (术语) 令（纸张的记数单位，等于500张）动词：3. 不公平地对待；欺骗 •We got reamed on that deal. 那笔交易我们上当受骗了。 4.ˌream sb←→ˈout训斥；斥责；责骂

pounding  n. /ˈpaʊndɪŋ/ 1. 连续的重击声；剧烈的心跳（声） •We were awoken by a pounding at the door. 我们被砰砰的敲门声吵醒。2.遭重创的情景；严重破损的情况•The boat took a pounding in the gale. 这条船在狂风中严重受损。

译文

DTC businesses have flourished.Early on in lockdown,Nike hit a target,which was originally set for2023,of selling30% of its goods online.Over the past year 70m people have become"members", bringing the total to 250m. It connects to these loyal customers via apps offering everything from free running guidance to access to sneaker vending-machines.

直销业务蓬勃发展。在封锁初期，耐克达到了最初设定的2023年目标，在网上销售30%的商品。在过去的一年里，有7000万人成为“会员”，使总数达到2.5亿。它通过提供从免费跑步指导到运动鞋自动售货机等各种服务的应用程序与这些忠实顾客联系。

Supermarkets,which had earlier hoped that a mass stampede online was still five years away,suddenly found that even grandparents were mastering the dark arts of ordering groceries and booking slots. Such was the surge in demand in the early days of lockdown that Ocado,a British online grocer,thought for a while that it was under cyber-attack.

超市原本预测网购狂潮要到5年后才会到来，但它们突然发现，就连祖父母们也掌握了订购杂货和预约时段的“黑魔法”。在封锁初期，需求激增，以至于英国在线杂货商Ocado一度以为自己受到了网络攻击。

The e-commerce explosion does not herald the death of the physical store, however. When lockdowns have been lifted,shoppers have flocked back to high streets and shopping malls.Even a digital evangelist like Nike inaugurated a flagship "interactive" store on Paris's Champs-Elysées last year, one of several new stores it has recently opened. After covid-19 is tamed, the pace of e-commerce growth will moderate.As Mark Shmulik of Bernstein, an investment firm, puts it, generations of shoppers "muscle memories" will not vanish overnight.

然而，电子商务的爆炸式发展并不预示着实体店的消亡。当封锁解除后，购物者们蜂拥回到大街和购物中心。就连像耐克这样的数字传播者，去年也在巴黎香榭丽舍大街开设了一家“互动”旗舰店，这是耐克最近新开的几家门店之一。新冠肺炎疫情得到遏制后，电子商务增速将有所放缓。正如投资公司伯恩斯坦的Mark Shmulik所说，一代又一代购物者的“肌肉记忆”不会在一夜之间消失。

Yet the data-driven shopping upheaval is unstoppable.It will change the nature of stores,so that physical and digital shopping seamlessly interact. It will disrupt marketing, because online ads target shoppers more accurately than any broadcast jingle or billboard. And it will lead to new forms of production. Nike offers an example.Thanks to its apps and interactive shops,it acquires reams of real-time data from its pavement-pounding customers. When it noticed that traffic on its apps was showing more people doing yoga, it swiftly produced new yoga gear,Ms O'Neill notes. Mr Johnson would have been delighted.

然而，由数据驱动的购物剧变是不可阻挡的。它将改变商店的性质，使实体购物和数字购物无缝互动。它将扰乱市场营销，因为网络广告比任何广播广告或广告牌更准确地瞄准消费者。它将带来新的生产形式。耐克提供了一个例子。多亏了它的应用程序和互动商店，它可以从网购爱好者那里获得大量的实时数据。奥尼尔女士指出，当该公司注意到其应用的流量显示有更多的人在练瑜伽时，它迅速生产了新的瑜伽设备。约翰逊先生看到应该会很高兴的。