The partnership between Epta and the School of Management of the Polytechnic of Milan renews itself with the participation of the Group in the 5th edition of the Digital Innovation Observatory in Retail. The initiative, now a benchmark for operators of the Large-scale Retail sector, will be the opportunity to investigate the key innovations which are redesigning the processes, build awareness among Decision Makers and promote constructive dialogue among all players of the production chain. 
The research develops in three areas of study: Digital Strategy, Impact of the digital on Innovation&Design processes and its influence on the Marketing Strategies geared to the consumer, investigated thanks to surveys and interviews with Top Retailers, small-medium size Retailers, national and international Start-ups, digital and non-digital users. The main items, subject to analysis, will include the trends and the priorities of digital investment, the new technologies (IoT, AI, Big Data…), the level of adoption of omni-channel innovation and integration of the physical store with e-commerce in the store of the future.
Following the first appointment, the presentation workshop on 24 May this year, dedicated to the Internet of Things in the Retail sector, Epta will participate in the workshop "Innovation in designing customer experience in & out of the store" with interesting accounts from experts in the sector on 26 September 2018. Subsequent meetings are scheduled for 15 November 2018, “The Retail store of the future" and 7 February 2019, date on which the final results of the Observatory will be presented.
