Our founder discusses our plans and what the future holds for advertising and eCommerce
It has been an incredible year for us at TDG. eCommerce and marketing technology were among the small number of industries that actually benefited during COVID-19. This meant we were able to grow rapidly throughout the pandemic – adding more than 70 new employees across our EMEA offices.
As 2021 slowly winds to a close though, our founder and Managing Partner, Odysseas Ntotsikas, shared during a recent interview at the business portal, The Total Business, his thoughts on the ways our industry has changed as well as our plans for the years ahead.
The pandemic has digitized all commerce
The pandemic accelerated existing trends that would otherwise have taken considerably longer to be fully realized. Before the COVID-19, just 2% of Greeks ordered their groceries online; today, that number has risen to 12%. This speaks to a larger trend: the digitization of all commerce. Even when shopping is not actually done online, digital channels have become an integral part of the customer journey.
“Increasingly, consumers are drawn to the convenience eCommerce offers: they can choose from a huge number of marketplace and platforms, and the information they receive comes from a far broader range of sources than ever before”, as Odysseas said. eRetailers are also able to offer more dynamic communication, and the digitized customer journey is far more flexible and non-linear – featuring many more touchpoints, and therefore opportunities for persuasion.
According to Odysseas, “physical stores as we know them are also expected to change”. For example, it is possible that most brands will focus on a handful of flagship stores that communicate their brand and offer an immersive experience, rather than the traditional approach of having physical stores in every neighbourhood.
Ultimately, this means brands’ marketing strategies must adapt to make better use of the new possibilities digitization offers. But we believe this presents an opportunity for advertising. “By 2030, we expect experiences to become the new way of advertising”, said Odysseas. This will enable advertising to become more personalized, more creative and more effective.
What does the future hold for TDG?
“In the coming years, we plan to reinforce the corporate development we’ve begun over the past few years”, said Odysseas. “By investing in third-party companies, we are building an impressive portfolio – and hope to continue cultivating that. We will also continue to look for growth opportunities within our own companies. We will do this by investing both in expanding these companies into new geographies and developing new, innovative products. Ultimately, we are a group that is about one thing: investing in marketing and commerce. And increasingly what that means, is investing in the future.“
You can access the full interview here: