Event CoverageWorld Retail Congress 2018, Day 1: Hearing About the “Retail Apocalypse,” Chinese Retail and the Need for Change in Brick-and-Mortar Coresight Research April 18, 2018 Executive SummaryThe Coresight Research team is attending World Retail Congress 2018 in Madrid this week. Here are our top takeaways from day one of the conference: The “retail apocalypse” story is “great clickbait,” but it is not taken seriously as an accurate depiction of US retail. JD.com’s Richard Liu predicted that the retail industry will be operated at some point by artificial intelligence (AI) and robots, rather than by humans—but he did not predict when. Alibaba Group sees Tmall as the “gateway to China” for Western retailers and brands and notes that the platform enables these companies to test products rapidly. Please Login to read the full report. Not a member? To access this content for free, register for a free account. This document was generated for Other research you may be interested in: CEO Brief: Iran Energy Shock—US Consumer Economy and Retail ImpactsUS Store Tracker Extra, June 2025: 120+ Million Square Feet of Retail Space To Close This Year, Outpacing Openings by Over 1.5XUS Back to School 2025, Part 2: Where Consumers Will Shop—Opportunities with Higher-Income Shoppers, in Retail Media and on TikTokSeptember 2025 US Retail Sales: Delayed Government Data Show Strong Retail Growth in September
