6.4.2022
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
C 152/1
I (Resolutions, recommendations and opinions)
OPINIONS
EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 565TH EESC PLENARY SESSION – INTERACTIO, 8.12.2021–9.12.2021
Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on ‘Digital transformation opportunities for retail companies and its advantages for European consumers’ (own-initiative opinion) (2022/C 152/01)
Rapporteur: Felipe MEDINA MARTÍN
Plenary Assembly decision
25.3.2021
Legal basis
Rule 32(2) of the Rules of Procedure Own-initiative opinion
Section responsible
Single Market, Production and Consumption
Adopted in section
18.11.2021
Adopted at plenary
9.12.2021
Plenary session No
565
Outcome of vote (for/against/abstentions)
190/1/4
1.
Conclusions and recommendations 1.1.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) welcomes the fact that the retail sector is being considered as a strategic ecosystem for European recovery in the revision of the European industrial strategy recently presented by the European Commission (EC).
The EESC considers that the eco-system approach provides an appropriate framework, reflecting on the one hand the complex interlinkages among sectors and businesses in the Single Market in given value chains and, on the other, the need to support them in successfully embracing the digital and sustainability transitions and contributing to the recovery strategy.
The EESC notes the importance, diversity and scale of initiatives undertaken by retail companies to support the green and digital transitions by investing in new technologies to respond to new demands from consumers, as well as their needs.
1.2.
The European retail sector, as the biggest private employer in Europe, is in the middle of a digital transformation that has been drastically accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The digital transformation is fundamentally changing retail business models, but also changing interaction with customers, and the most successful businesses are seamlessly integrating the online and offline environment into an omnichannel.
The EESC has noted that two-third of retailers had no online operations before COVID-19, and that the pandemic has shown how important an omnichannel strategy is for many companies’ survival, in particular — but not only — the survival of SMEs.