Transformation of Retail 25: The End of the Online Shop – Why Only Platforms Survive
On October 14.10th, brickfox CEO Dietmar Hoelscher As part of the iBusiness series “Transformation of Retail 25”, it was shown how commerce can remain successful in challenging times – practical, cross-channel and data-drivenThe core thesis:
The webshop as the primary channel is a thing of the past. Success comes to those who understand and utilize platform logic.
What generates reach today
Not "pretty" shop templates, but Aggregators, feeds and recommendation enginesIt becomes visible who:
- Data quality provides (complete, clean, consistent product data),
- Availability ensures (stock levels, delivery times, reliability)
- Service documented (shipping, returns, answers, reviews).
The new gatekeepers: AI chatbots
AI-powered assistants are preferred Sources with depth, authority, and clear structure – currently often large platforms.
So small shops aren't out of the woods, but without Product range depth and reliable signals They remain a footnote.
What doesn't work – and what doesn't.
- Brand Creating a monopoly? Only a few succeed.
- Price leadershipRisky in the short and long term – margins are eroding.
- What to wear: Product range + service + information - radical in the niche.
From shop to platform: the three-stage practical formula
In the presentation, brickfox demonstrates a three-stage, field-tested approach, which niche providers can use to scale – concrete, pragmatic, implementable.
The essence: Platform thinking instead of channel thinking – interconnected data flows, Marketplace integration, measurable performance.
For everyone who missed it
The entire session is available as recording ready:
If you want to know how to make your product range visible on the right platforms – and how to take that step from shop to platform If you're going – talk to us. brickfox connects product data, processes and marketplaces to measurable sales power.