(Re)Building a sustainable utopia - 2021 Change Report - Kin + Carta
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2021 Change Report
2021 Change Report
(Re)Building a
sustainable utopia
2
Change Report Introduction
As business leaders, we have a choice Introducing the 2021 Change Report,
when faced with a global crisis: change our annual snapshot of how the world is
with it for the better or be changed by it changing, what this means for business
for the worse. leaders, and how change always brings
opportunity on which to capitalise for the
For those organisations that took the reins good of people, profit, and planet.
in 2020, there’s no denying that agility
and digital preparedness became the We look beyond momentary trends and
lifeline to reshape their current realities hone in on the momentous changes that
and to reimagine the future. are keeping us all connected in an ever-
evolving commercial landscape.
As we look ahead, we believe we’ll see
greater strides towards sustainable digital Born from our 1,600 strategy, digital, data
transformation across all industries, and consulting experts, the 2021 Change
as businesses keep building resiliently Report represents everything we stand
towards a utopian outcome. for at Kin + Carta: helping businesses
embrace change to make the world work
better, together.
2021 Change Report : (Re) Building a sustainable utopia
Top 9 changes of 2021 Data democratisation: The paradigm of company culture 5 The turn of the MACH (Here it is) 11 Sustainability and the digital do-gooders 17 The contactless economy: Mind the gap 22 The great inclusion: Bridging the digital divide 28 Turn and face the change: The agile evolution 33 Just another malleable Monday: Investing in tomorrow’s workplace 38 Hyperconnected humanity and the urgency of now 44 When physical met digital: A marriage of convenience 49
Data democratisation: The paradigm of company culture
Data democratisation: The paradigm of company culture 5
If language is the roadmap of a culture,
it’s time to get fluent in data. Whose data is it anyway?
Tomorrow’s organisations are depending
on data to change the way we speak, the
way we think, and the way we act on our
paths towards barrierless business. Most business leaders are probably data democracies that, in an ideal world,
familiar with the feeling that more data know no bounds regarding access and
doesn’t necessarily mean more value. Far understanding for all instead.
from it, in fact: the growing reserves of
data at their disposal have become more In reality, however, the language of data
of a burden than a benefit - until now. has many layers 1 , so organisations must
overcome operational and cultural
The pandemic has magnified the value of challenges to realise an all-inclusive,
insights and the power of putting them product-focused utopia in which
in the hands of (or, at least, within reach everyone can access, analyse, and report
of) the employees who need them. As on data. This is a necessary culture shift
we make sense of this new world, leaders upon which the success of full data
are changing their relationships with data democratisation depends, and it is led by
for the better. They are moving beyond one fundamental question: how powerful
self-serving data dialects that incentivise can a language be if nobody within an
neither sharing data nor approaching organisation is taught how to speak it?
it with a product mindset, to creating
2021 Change Report : (Re) Building a sustainable utopia
Data democratisation: The paradigm of company culture 6
The truth is out there as a knowledge asset that is available
to anybody with basic data literacy It means that
requirements, anytime. data can be treated as a
knowledge asset that’s
It means that the mindset can shift from
more data to more accessible data to
available to anybody
The United States alone knows all too the abundance of data dialects and facilitate better customer experience, with basic data literacy
well that vast amounts of data are more bottlenecks. Now, organisations are more timely decision-making, and more requirements, anytime.
money-burner than money-maker if changing this by democratising data and, engaging content marketing (to name a
they are inaccessible, unintelligible, and thus, empowering more people to do few benefits).
unusable. It’s a problem that costs the US more with it.
economy $3 trillion every year 2 . Businesses that have more data than
they know what to do with simply run the
Even if the data is intelligible and usable, Access all areas risk of unnecessary operational expense
many employees have neither the ability when it comes to people, projects, and
to access it nor the capacity to analyse The legacy of the data warehouse processes. One Gartner survey found
it: only 10 percent of sales departments, ‘owned’ by specific departments has that three in five organisations don’t
for instance, can take advantage of their restricted the realisation of true return even bother to measure the annual
company’s data, and a staggering 79 on investment (ROI) for businesses cost of storing data that nobody can
percent of people must call on IT for help with valuable data sets. The advent of understand 4 .
when a problem arises 3 . the data marketplace and, indeed, its
effective adoption as a new wave of tech, More accessible data by way of well-
These issues, of course, have existed means that leaders can finally unlock structured, well-managed warehouses
not at an operational level but at an the potential value of these data sets by and marketplaces means more options
organisational level because of the giving everyone a set of the proverbial for people, more potential for projects,
absence of data-driven cultures and keys. It means that data can be treated and more of a common language around
2021 Change Report : (Re) Building a sustainable utopia
Data democratisation: The paradigm of company culture 7
internal processes and the ways data sets instant insights foster instant connections
are used. Microsoft’s user-centric Azure between people and businesses.
Purview 5 is a good example of how this
democratisation can be managed with Walmart’s Data Café, a state-of-the-art
data governance front-of-mind. analytics hub, processes 2.5 petabytes
of data every hour – and people are
With greater access to data, of course, the liaisons 6. At this scale, lightning-
comes a greater need for data literacy, fast insights can lead to lightning-fast
so business leaders must create reactions, such as correcting in-store
democracies in which everyone who price miscalculations to recover sales.
needs it is equipped with the capacity
to interpret, analyse, and use the data In agriculture, John Deere’s data-enabled
available to them. services allow real-time monitoring of
data collected from the company’s
equipment, which is aggregated and
Power to the people synced with external data sets like the
weather to help farmers optimise their
It’s becoming increasingly important in farms and machinery 7.
this age of real-time, self-service analytics
to adopt a data-driven culture as a In banking, digital marketing leaders
competitive advantage. at RBS hold the torch of data
democratisation after encouraging
Such a shift in mindset means that on- interdepartmental collaboration to
demand access to information from single improve customer experience8 .
sources of truth can benefit everybody
because insights become instant – and
2021 Change Report : (Re) Building a sustainable utopia
Data democratisation: The paradigm of company culture 8
Colleagues from across the business 61% of people said, ‘I don’t processes, which is evident in financial
– from HR to legal to the call centre – mind sharing my data with institutions, too.
analysed the same data and offered organisations so long as I know
transformative insights that were what it’s being used for, and it’s Anti–money-laundering procedures
previously invisible to the marketing team. useful to me.’ can now be bolstered by automated
This kind of cross-functional and cultural connections between disparate data
approach to data is creating a virtuous Kin + Carta Consumer Research 2021 sources to modernise compliance
cycle of value acceleration for businesses processes. The credit criteria of at-risk
because time to value is shortened and customers can now be automatically
power to the people is strengthened. This is where automation comes into its monitored thanks to the integration
own. Retailers can automatically monitor of multiple data sets and real-time
purchasing trends and stock levels via in- analytics, so institutions can understand
Insight, foresight, more sight... store sensors and cameras, for instance, and, crucially, respond to their financial
and use the data to trigger orders from requirements at speed.
This acceleration of value is vital suppliers well in advance.
for businesses that are dealing with The value of velocity and capacity in
increased demand from increasingly Thus, with greater data fluency for many other industries can be realised,
demanding customers. all, customers are happier because too, if data automation is adopted to
businesses can give them what they want streamline clunky processes and pre-
Everybody saw the pandemic’s effect on exactly when they want it, and businesses empt behavioural changes, something
habits and behaviours in commerce. Lest are slicker because they can order what that the US Small Business Administration
we forget, those customers are savvier they need exactly when they need it. found out the hard way 9.
than ever about the data they share via
transactions, so businesses are not only Automation mitigates the need for
getting more data, but they’re expected to predictions and eradicates the nuisance
use it more responsibly and effectively, too. of long lead times and drawn-out
2021 Change Report : (Re) Building a sustainable utopia
Data democratisation: The paradigm of company culture 9
The
Business-changing decisions can be
made in seconds, minutes, or hours rather
democratised
than days, weeks, or months when the
right data can be accessed by the right
data years:
people at the right times.
2021–
With governance to maintain trust,
technology to enable action, and faculty
to turn raw data into useful insights, the
productisation and democratisation
of data will allow more businesses to
become digital natives and galvanise
A data-driven culture won’t come at the inclusive, sustainable progress.
expense of culture itself. In fact, it will
enrich it in an environment where people
are inspired to share ideas for mutual
benefit and reap the rapid rewards of
company-wide data fluency.
Everyone from marketers to analysts to
executives will be empowered by growing
portfolios of harmonised data sets and
targeted data products when they share a
common language and no longer have to
wait on support from IT as a result.
2021 Change Report : (Re) Building a sustainable utopiaThe turn of the MACH (Here it is)
The turn of the MACH (Here it is) 11
It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, A coming of age
it’s a new set of customer expectations
in almost every industry in the world.
People are more digital, diverse
and demanding than ever before, Before the pandemic, a few early adopters It’s not a magic elixir, though.
so organisations of all shapes and were reaping the benefits of the MACH Organisational pain-points like skillsets,
sizes need to be more agile to meet approach and reaching more customers security, resilience, and recruitment
them at their various points of need. with the right content on the right must be nursed if legacy systems and
At enterprise-level in particular, this channels at the right times. processes are to become nothing more
kind of agility might have seemed like than nostalgia.
a pipedream for many - but then came In 2021, everyone can see that this
the MACH* architecture revolution. dynamism for the dynamic is now a The good news is that we can now stop
precondition for survival, and the MACH telling people that microservices-based,
ecosystem has stepped up to the task. API-first, cloud-native Software as a
Its maturity primes it not only for post- Service (SaaS) and headless solutions are
pandemic recuperation but also for the way forward because we can show
future-focused innovation at pace. them just how achievable, adaptable, and
enterprise ready they are for 21st-century
By 2025, 80% of interactions businesses.
between suppliers and buyers
in B2B sales will occur in digital
channels.
*Microservices-based, API-first,
Cloud-native, Headless Gartner Future of Sales 2025
2021 Change Report : (Re) Building a sustainable utopiaThe turn of the MACH (Here it is) 12 Modular modernity and Key traits of MACH technology the demand for more One of the main challenges holding System reboot: brands back from MACH was not simply Consulting the MACH book a fear of the unknown but a fear of the cost of the unknown. The familiarity of Those who have replaced old tech legacy tech provided comfort blankets to with new MACH solutions can discover Microservices API first pull over the eyes of those suffering from economic benefits in terms of total cost technical debt – until the pandemic burnt of ownership (TCO) because of their sheer giant holes in them. flexibility. Now, many more businesses can see the SaaS providers, for instance, offer benefits of optimising digital experiences integrations that can be achieved in a for the benefit of their customers. few clicks, so large-scale, lift-and-shift Thanks to headless technology, for replatforming jobs are becoming distant instance, continual iteration is possible memories. on a modular level, so development and Cloud Native Headless delivery comes down to making things better instead of making things again. 2021 Change Report : (Re) Building a sustainable utopia
The turn of the MACH (Here it is) 13
Multi-cloud solutions supply the kind 74% of respondents agreed that £10,000+ cars and not £20 toasters in
of resilience enterprises need to cope ‘It’s important to me and people this manner meant that designing with
with outages, so multiple providers are in my household that websites trust to create confidence was crucial.
sharing the responsibility of protecting and apps be accessible for
trust in business-critical applications people with different needs.’
and lessening reliance on debilitating on- We live in exciting times
premise solutions. Kin + Carta Consumer Research 2021 for online experiences,
and 2020 has shown us the
In addition, using cloud-native technology need for a new playbook –
ensures that only the necessary computer This is all possible because of leading platforms that can allow
resources are used. Instead of overpro- headless technology providers such as businesses to build compelling
visioning an entire virtual machine, system Contentful and commercetools, which and differentiated experiences.
designers have the flexibility to choose the take an API-first approach to content This requires flexibility, the
cloud functions, database technologies, management. Such is our faith in the scope to experiment at low
and SaaS-driven APIs to meet their needs, headless approach that Kin + Carta cost, and technology that
with flexible time-based cost models that worked with the Co-op and Contentful converts ideas into market-
scale with the growth of their solution. to deliver an experience that resulted in facing content within hours
a 300 percent increase in dwell time and rather than weeks.
The MACH approach packs ethical wins, a 40 percent decrease in bounce rate.
too, insofar as the digital divide and the Kevin Zellmer, VP of Partnerships
Purple Pound are concerned. Headless We also worked with the UK’s fastest- at Contentful
technology is delivering the kind of agility growing startup, Cazoo, to build an
businesses need to adapt to legislative end-to-end platform with all the benefits
requirements in new markets and of cloud-native architectures and MACH Combining the availability of data and
accessibility requirements in new and solutions such as commercetools. The programmability of structured content
underrepresented audiences. complex and emotional nature of buying has allowed Nike10 and IKEA 11 to create
2021 Change Report : (Re) Building a sustainable utopiaThe turn of the MACH (Here it is) 14
Fix up, look sharp
category-leading, story-forming customer It’s the kind of transformation that
experiences, too. Even fast-moving breeds differentiation because of
consumer goods (FMCG) businesses are the collaboration it facilitates within
getting involved. teams. This comes with its own unique
challenges, of course, but, in the wake of
One of Kin + Carta’s clients – a global the pandemic, the potential rewards for
leader in the industry – chose a headless overcoming them are simply too great to The ability to easily distribute content to There is no denying that many needed the
approach for the efficiencies in time ignore. multiple channels at speed sounds like change, but they also needed the teams
and cost it could bring to its corporate a daunting task to undertake. Indeed, it and trust to absorb it, which manifested a
platform network and 48 local network was for years, but 2020’s seismic shifts in two-fold challenge in training existing staff
sites. culture and behaviour forced unprepared and hiring prospective talent.
The MACH businesses to find their footing again in
Quicker time to market can save approach’s flexibility unfamiliar landscapes. Legacy-focused staff might lack the
costs, simpler user journeys can boost SaaS experience to see the light and be
means freedom,
accessibility, and better testing and inherently reluctant to relinquish control
pivoting can open doors to services and
not frustration, 75% of respondents in our of their data. Moreover, technical talent is
technologies that would otherwise be out so marketers can consumer research agreed that tough to find: notions of rocks and hard
of reach. focus on creating ‘an old-fashioned or out-of-date places spring to mind.
valuable and engaging app, store or website reflects
poorly on a brand.’ There is, however, a way out and the
experiences.
sooner those moves are made, the sooner
Kin + Carta Consumer Research 2021 businesses can gain from ever-changing
customer needs.
2021 Change Report : (Re) Building a sustainable utopiaThe turn of the MACH (Here it is) 15
MACH to the future
The MACH approach’s flexibility means
freedom, not frustration, so marketers can
focus on creating valuable and engaging
experiences.
When the weight of legacy suites is lifted
and the liberty of global collaboration Clearly, old technologies no longer Those that have made prudent tactical
becomes reality, businesses can engage support new markets, so businesses that adjustments will start to embrace cloud
not only more international talent but also were previously hesitant will now become modernisation and realise the potential of
a more intentional client in face-to-face, impelled to make a change. agile ways of working.
screen-to-screen, person-to-person
interactions. In our recent survey, 70 percent of Customers will enjoy richer and more
consumer respondents said that they rewarding relationships with brands,
have abandoned an online purchase while employees will be able to pivot at
because the website or app was a moment’s notice because they’ll have
complicated, slow, or unfamiliar. tighter control of their stack.
A modern, MACH-based architecture Ultimately, businesses will grow much
can help overcome this challenge and more comfortable with the fact that they
allow organisations to harness the don’t need fixed platforms, off-the-shelf
cloud-native technologies developed by products, and five-year plans.
commercetools, Google, Microsoft, and
Amazon to deal with the highest traffic Rather, they need nimble ways to meet
estates online. the needs of markets that can shapeshift
from one day to the next.
2021 Change Report : (Re) Building a sustainable utopiaSustainability and the digital do-gooders
Sustainability and the digital do-gooders 17
The North Star of responsibility
If we are meeting the needs of the
present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet
their own needs, we can all be part of a
brighter and better (digital) ecosystem.
This is only true, however, if we choose Businesses across verticals had their It’s this holistic approach to (digital)
the right partners and walk the right sustainability credentials put to the test sustainability – one that considers every
paths with them – arm in arm, shoulder by the coronavirus crisis. The ability consequence of every action on people,
to shoulder, carbon footprint by carbon to cope with compound shocks to planet, and profit – that can help today’s
footprint. operations, behaviours, and work–life leaders build better businesses for tomorrow.
balances was inextricably linked to pre- There is, of course, a market for doing
Indeed, choosing the wrong partners pandemic decision-making. well by doing good12 , and its ear is firmly
and the wrong paths for any kind of pressed to the ground beneath our feet.
digital transformation can be more Often, those who led with sustainability
damaging than simply standing still. and digital enablement came out on top.
In other words, they proactively chose
their partners and paths because they
understood the impact of their business
on everything and everyone around them.
2021 Change Report : (Re) Building a sustainable utopiaSustainability and the digital do-gooders 18
O sustainability, where art thou? How seriously brands take that How seriously brands
responsibility is transforming their take that responsibility
relationships with people and, as a result,
is transforming their
altering their impact on an ever-changing
world.
relationships with people and,
as a result, altering their impact
The problem with buzzwords is that their The ethical odyssey It might be obvious enough for a on an ever-changing world.
widespread repetition makes them all too business to allow remote working to
tempting to ignore. However, the problem We live in a world in which a new doctrine reduce emissions, for instance, but
with ignoring sustainability is that the of Corporate Digital Responsibility 13 what if another facet of its digital
consequences become more difficult to has the potential to change the way we transformation strategy excludes people
ignore with every passing day. do business for the better. The people with impairments because ‘going digital’
demand it for the sake of equality and inadvertently pushed its products out of
That’s why the businesses that want to quality of life. reach?
do more to protect themselves and those
they serve are taking a more sustainable 81% of people agree that The truth is that it wouldn’t be taking
approach to digital transformation. ‘Brands and businesses have a full responsibility for sustainability. That
responsibility to do good in the digital divide, in fact, is shutting out
Ethical directives are newly bolstered world - not just to maximise their billions of potential consumers around the
by commercial incentives for leaders to profits.’ world, which is, in many cases, seriously
make better decisions, from reducing damaging brand reputation for those that
their carbon footprints to bridging the Kin + Carta Consumer Research 2021 aren’t holding themselves accountable for
digital divide by making their products doing good with inclusionary, digital-first
and services more accessible. thinking.
2021 Change Report : (Re) Building a sustainable utopiaSustainability and the digital do-gooders 19
74% of people agreed that ‘It's What are they offering? How and why Multinationals like Visa 15 and Mastercard 16 businesses grow their customer bases by
important to me and people in does it exist? Who will it affect at any have pledged hundreds of millions of up to 20 percent and, crucially, be more
my household that websites and given point of its journey? Who does it dollars to support small businesses in ethical in the process.
apps be accessible for people leave behind? coping with the crisis, while millennial
with different needs.’ investors are predicted to contribute to If that means staying out of the red,
This ethical shift in mindset shows that the ‘biggest-ever generational transfer of the onus must be on leaders to hold
Kin + Carta Consumer Research 2021 it’s not simply about modernising for wealth’ to the tune of $30 trillion (£21.2 themselves accountable for every
modernity’s sake; it’s about evolving for trillion) in the coming years. A change that decision they make, whether it has a
posterity’s sake. Nigel Green, founder and CEO of deVere direct or indirect impact on their people,
The reputational impact will be Group, says has been accelerated by their planet, or their profit.
generational, too, if businesses don’t COVID-19 17.
keep up with today’s digital natives who The commercial reality
are growing up in a much more ethically Organisations large and small want
awake world. Of course, this applies as The desire to be more B Corp is driven to move from happy accidents of
much to tomorrow’s consumers as it does not only by a changing customer base, sustainability to active investments in
to tomorrow’s job applicants. workforce and climate but also by a responsibility in light of the pandemic.
growing understanding of the impact
As more physical experiences become of funding and environmental, social, If that means going green, the scientific
digital and vice versa, people are and governance (ESG) investment studies and commercial warning signs 18
becoming more intentional about their opportunities 14 . are there to help businesses choose the
behaviours and decisions at home and at right digital strategies for good and not
work. This means that businesses must The conversation and its many benefits just for now.
become more intentional about their existed before the pandemic, of
products, services, and workplaces to course, but it has now given the global If that means going Purple, the global
ensure they are as aligned as possible. conscience a new direction and a fresh spending powers of people with
focus on the future. disabilities are enough to help some
2021 Change Report : (Re) Building a sustainable utopiaSustainability and the digital do-gooders 20
Follow the sustainable leader
The business landscape of the future will Leaders who take responsibility for
be filled with the business leaders who the footprints they leave behind – who
decide to act in the present. There will be embed sustainability in everything they
no other path to a fruitful future. There do – will weather storms and may have
will be no teleportation to the proverbial to reroute from time to time, but they will
promised land. almost certainly make better friends 20
and more money along the way 21 .
There will be – indeed, there is – a
physical, digital, ethical, commercial, and Are you ready to take responsibility?
sustainable journey that all businesses
must take together, and the directions for
it already exist 19.
2021 Change Report : (Re) Building a sustainable utopiaThe contactless economy: Mind the gap
The contactless economy: Mind the gap 22
Come closer (but not too close)
The whole world has quite literally
taken one step back to take two steps
forward.
Whether we must click and collect
or quickly disinfect anything and
everything around us, contactless Businesses must now adopt a people-first Leaders must understand and confront
experiences have become approach to profitability, so they have a a cacophony of challenges and
commonplace, and they are here renewed and sharpened focus on data, opportunities if they are to deliver
to stay. technology, infrastructure and customer the contactless experiences that the
experience (CX) in a world of change that economy now depends upon and which
they thought they had 10 years to adapt the people now demand.
to, rather than one.
The question is, then, how do we make
sense of that? How can we create
experiences that people will actually use,
and what is the cost of getting it wrong?
2021 Change Report : (Re) Building a sustainable utopiaThe contactless economy: Mind the gap 23
All for one and one for all Close encounters of Businesses benefit from not having to
the convenient kind contend with lengthy lines that ultimately
limit the number of transactions that
The best thing about the added can be completed in any given day. They
convenience that comes with a can use the likes of Tiliter’s ‘plug-and-
Contactless solutions are nothing new – contactless society is that it can be play’ cashierless tech 25 to automatically
think key fobs and transit cards created for valuable for everybody. Let’s consider this identify products via artificial intelligence
speed and convenience – but the safety from the brick-and-mortar perspective. (AI) and, thus, reduce the need for
imperative of the pandemic means that physical staff, barcodes, and extra
businesses now require a more thoughtful Consumers benefit from not having to packaging and increase the ease and
orchestration of their customer touchpoints. wait in line for anything from financial speed of sales.
advice to fast food. They can use voice
It’s for that reason that the likes of assistants and chatbots to sort their Recognising the need for convenient
contactless delivery, scan-and-go finances from a futon while they order solutions that reshape physical and
commerce, and ID authentication a Whopper from Google Maps to their digital experiences is only part of the
technology, amongst others, have been doorstep 22 . puzzle, though; the real challenge is in
fast-tracked into society. understanding how to action them in a
Employees benefit from not having to way that enhances human connections.
On the one hand, the digital leaders meet so many customers face to face 23 Even the best intentions of CX can come
embracing the universal need for safety or repeat themselves over the phone 24 . undone if operational and even emotional
are not only gaining ground, but they Thanks to the acceleration and complexities aren’t considered.
are cutting costs with better customer automation of certain processes, they
experiences, slicker supply chains, and can be more productive in repurposed Before convenient contactless tech is
smarter manufacturing processes. and more rewarding roles that take their installed, store planners need to ask how
The world’s digital laggards, on the other safety and wellbeing into account. they will slip seamlessly into the in-store
hand, are scrambling to keep up. experience. Will some customers feel
2021 Change Report : (Re) Building a sustainable utopiaThe contactless economy: Mind the gap 24
alienated because they aren’t digitally Some of the world’s most fervent Despite all of that, we can’t shy away
The prospect of astute enough? Are staff trained to field consumers might have been reticent from the fact that, regardless of whether
a cashless society is one questions from customers who don’t about it as recently as 2019 26 , but people carry cash or not, the fear of
know what to do? Mastercard still reported in May 2020 coronavirus transmission has drastically
example of a shift that’s forcing
that 78 percent of all its transactions in affected global transactions 29. When we
businesses into this mindset as Before agile cloud and machine learning Europe were contactless 27. Alipay and consider that the eCommerce share of
they come to terms with a technologies are adopted, employee WeChat Pay are growing increasingly global retail sales is expected to rise from
contactless economy. experience (EX) and CX managers need popular for contactless payments in 14.1% in 2019 to 22% in 2023 30, businesses
to understand how they will affect the China, while data from Juniper Research are left with an existential quandary to
productivity of a distributed workforce suggests that 53 percent of global point- solve: how do they digitally onboard
or the proclivity of a customer base of-sale transactions will be contactless everyone to make sure no-one gets
to engage with a chatbot that asks for within five years 28 . left behind?
personal information.
Such solutions can provide stability 75% of people agreed that they ‘...
in some areas, but they might cause used contactless payment more
shockwaves in others if they are not often in the last 12 months than in
applied with a full view of the landscape previous years,’ and ‘...used less
78 %
in question. cash in 2020 than in previous
years.’
The prospect of a cashless society is
one example of a shift that’s forcing Kin + Carta Consumer Research 2021
businesses into this mindset as they Mastercard […] reported in
come to terms with a contactless May 2020 that 78% of all its
economy. transactions in Europe were
contactless.
2021 Change Report : (Re) Building a sustainable utopiaThe contactless economy: Mind the gap 25
We come in peace The opportunity of inclusion, however, is Customers, employees, and businesses
evident in technologies like Internet of alike can enjoy the mutual benefits of
People can feel the friction of change for a Things (IoT) devices and voice biometrics. a contactless, tech-centric economy
variety of reasons. They might like the way because it has the potential to meet
things were, they might not get the way In 2018, Kohler 31 introduced voice- everyone’s needs.
things are, and they might struggle to see controlled fixtures for bathrooms and
the way things will be. kitchens that create more accessible and AI product recognition can reduce the
hygienic environments for everybody. need for plastic packaging to protect the
With that in mind, it’s of paramount In 2020, Phonexia 32 made speaker planet. Encrypted payment technology
importance that businesses take identification for contact centre agents can enhance the security of transactions
inclusivity and sustainability seriously possible with only three seconds of net to protect the people. Motion sensors and
when it comes to becoming part of a speech, benefiting those who would cameras can improve stock management
safe, contactless economy. If they don’t prefer to speak on the phone than in stores and warehouses to protect the
make consumers or employees feel like struggle with an app. profit of businesses that want to be more
they’re a part of their vision and purpose, responsible.
then they might not be a part of the The role of contactless technology
contactless economy at all. is not to displace people of different We can even get back to enjoying live
socioeconomic status. It is to help us all performances again in a contactless ‘gig’
The urgency of inclusion is evident in the stay connected in a safe and sustainable economy, thanks to initiatives like Busk in
digital divide that has widened because of way, so business leaders must start by London 33 , through which iZettle, a PayPal-
the pandemic. Some older people don’t get pinpointing the precise (non)touchpoints owned Swedish fintech, provides buskers
on well with smartphones, for instance, and at which it can be most effective. with card readers so passers-by can tap
some poorer people can’t afford them to to tip 34 .
begin with, so the prospect of ‘automated
this’ and ‘contactless that’ fills them with Is that an encore we hear?
dread when they already feel out of touch.
2021 Change Report : (Re) Building a sustainable utopiaThe contactless economy: Mind the gap 26 Let’s keep in touch If anything good has come out of the Clean and COVID-free stores and supply pandemic, it’s that the protection of our chains will be just as vital for shopkeepers physical and mental health is much more and warehouse workers as hassle and deeply ingrained in the global conscience contact-free collections will be for than it was before. customers and delivery drivers. This will be the beacon of hope for the Businesses that can develop the digital contactless economy as we set about maturity that is required to make the designing better experiences and building world a safer place will ultimately reap the better societies for everyone, from those rewards that an efficient, inclusive, and who are used to digital to those who are sustainable digital approach can offer. new to it. It will be especially pertinent to Are you ready for contactless everything? stay connected when social distancing is required. 2021 Change Report : (Re) Building a sustainable utopia
The great inclusion: Bridging the digital divide
The great inclusion: Bridging the digital divide 28
To be (inclusive) or not
Five people have the same destination,
but only four can access the directions.
One gets lost.
to be (inclusive)
Now, multiply that by a billion and
you get an idea of how many disabled
people felt further away than ever after
the whole world went digital in 2020.
Multiply that further still and you start
to account for the billions of socially
excluded people, too. When digital poverty gets disregarded, This is, of course, as much a commercial 53% of people make purchasing
underrepresented people can’t even and legal question as it is a moral one decisions based on how diverse
When exclusion points in eCommerce afford to get online in the first place. for a variety of reasons, especially as we and inclusive they know a
get overlooked, underrepresented The digital divide is costing businesses ‘build back better’ after the pandemic. business to be.
people can’t shop online. dearly – literally billions35 and billions36 It’s our shared obligation to embrace
in commercial terms but irreversibly inclusivity to build digital estates that Kin + Carta Consumer Research 2021
When skills gaps in digital get ignored, in reputational terms – so it’s time for appeal to everyone and not merely (and
underrepresented people can’t work ethics to prevail as we usher in the great often inadvertently) a privileged few.
online. inclusion.
2021 Change Report : (Re) Building a sustainable utopiaThe great inclusion: Bridging the digital divide 29
Who’s in? Bridging the digital divide Poverty is a barrier to internet access,
and this digital divide is widened because
online-only businesses can offer cheaper
To proactively affect the inclusive nature prices with little or no overhead. In fact,
and culture of a business, this strategy for online shopping was found to be 13
progress must acknowledge, understand, percent cheaper on average than in-store
and address two concerns: cost and access. shopping, so some people spend more
simply because they can’t afford the
Cost concerns the affordability of the technology to spend less.
In October 2019, Gartner identified inclusion as a box-ticking, virtue-signalling technology and the connections that open
Inclusive Design as one of its Top Digital exercise. Progress became a prerequisite digital doors to bigger, better, cheaper things. Access concerns the ability or capacity
Experience Trends for 2020 37, and many for profit, and everyone was watching. to engage with products and services
businesses, such as Procter & Gamble In this age of activism, movements like For instance, the UK’s Office of National online. Millions of people are excluded
and Unilever, were already blazing trails Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, ExcludedUK, Statistics (ONS) 38 stated that, in early from CX or EX because either they lack
as far as Diversity and Inclusion were and Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) have 2020, 96 percent of households had the skills or knowledge to access them
concerned. collectively bumped equality up on the access to the internet, but the nature and or the experiences are not Designed with
global agenda, which has led millions of quality of that ‘access’ was undefined. Empathy (DwE) to allow them to do so.
The subsequent pandemic accelerated people to reassess how and why they
demand for online access to products engage with businesses. The UK’s government subsequently Staggeringly, 98.1 percent of the one
and services for shop-from-home allocated £84 million to providing devices million homepages analysed in WebAIM’s
customers and productivity tools for This means it is no longer about what for children without suitable remote 2020 report 39 contravened the Web
work-from-home employees, which, in businesses say; it’s what they do that learning access during the pandemic, Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
turn, accelerated the need for the wider counts (as ESG investors will testify). which raises questions about equality and 2.1, which means that those who can
business world to shift itself into gear. access in relation to such a statistic. Was access the internet are presented with
the equal access already there or not? immediate exclusion points.
Businesses could no longer afford to treat
2021 Change Report : (Re) Building a sustainable utopiaThe great inclusion: Bridging the digital divide 30
Adults with a disability are less The good, the bad and the It goes to show that data sets will always
likely to have recently used exclusionary be biased because they are built by
If customers reach the internet (78%) than adults humans, but, naturally, more diverse
points of exclusion and without a disability (95%). Both Procter & Gamble and Unilever teams will build more diverse data sets,
have recently set the precedents for so it pays to plan.
can no longer shop,
– ONS, May 2019 40 progress in inclusive design. The latter’s
revenue is lost. If CEO, Alan Jope, has been vocal about Reactive readjustments, on the one hand,
employees can’t access its D&I strategy for ‘attracting and can be expensive and reputationally
the right tools to work These difficulties indicate not only an retaining the very best talent,’ 41 while damaging, to say the least; proactive
remotely, productivity ethical shortfall but a financial one as well the former, whose workforce comprises planning, on the other hand, can save
(the UK has $352.2 billion USD in spending over 140 nationalities 42 , has re-evaluated time, money, and, indeed, face in the
is lost.
power, and the US has $490 billion USD everything from product design to long run.
in disposable income). If customers reach advertising to support blind and
points of exclusion and can no longer deaf people.
shop, revenue is lost. If employees can’t
access the right tools to work remotely, Not everyone is getting it right, however.
productivity is lost. Amazon’s AI-driven recruitment tool 43
was doomed 44 after it was trained to vet
Businesses that don’t consider designing applicants based on a 10-year database
with empathy from the beginning – that is of previous job applications. Because
to say, businesses that don’t remove bias most were from men, the tool favoured
before building – will struggle to attract male applicants.
and keep customers and employees in
the years to come.
2021 Change Report : (Re) Building a sustainable utopiaThe great inclusion: Bridging the digital divide 31
A change is gonna come Are you designing with empathy?
The key to inclusion is to embed this
thinking into the way your business
operates at every level.
The Purple Pound presented a huge for companies concerned with safely Are your product designers considering
opportunity for business growth via better implementing inclusive design for all. how a blind customer will distinguish
D&I before the likes of the pandemic and between different drinks in identical bottles?
Brexit hit, but its potential is unequivocal What’s more, ageing populations with
now. more access to technology suggest Are your web designers considering how
a growing number of prospective dyslexic people will engage with your
75% of disabled people and their customers and employees, so the digital content?
families have refused to give their divide could become much wider if
custom to UK businesses after businesses don’t act now. Are your marketers considering how
they provided poor accessibility underrepresented minorities will feel
or customer service. Governmental focus on D&I is also about your communications?
sharpening around the world with the
WeArePurple.org.uk WCAG2.1 criteria becoming law in the UK, Are you considering those who are stifled
the USA, and Canada and with WCAG2.2 by digital poverty?
In the short-term, refocusing on ‘the landing in summer 2021, so exclusionary
missing 20 percent’ who were previously choices could have (and have had) greater Good design is compassionate design
neglected will be crucial to recovering legal consequences. that avoids tokenism and stereotypes and
revenue in a dramatically reshaped instead intentionally includes everyone.
market. In the long term, contactless user It’s time to be the change or react to
interfaces (UIs) will be critical it later.
2021 Change Report : (Re) Building a sustainable utopiaTurn and face the change: The agile evolution
Turn and face the change: The agile evolution 33
The era of the agile
When the biggest shopping event of Not even Jeff Bezos and the
the year for the biggest online retailer Amazonians were built to withstand
in the world gets postponed because such a force of nature, but withstand it
of supply chain shortages and delivery they did, in a robust display of agility,
delays, you know there’s a seismic shift from warehouse prioritisation to
afoot. workforce optimisation.
Entire business models collapsed under COVID-19 accelerated a true agile
Amazon’s Prime Day was moved from The company reported $125 billion+ in the stress, while others absorbed the evolution where change is the only
July to October last year after record quarterly sales46 for the first time and shockwaves and harnessed their energy constant and the future-proofed promise
Q2 sales rocked its logistics45. It bought hired 425,000+ people in 10 months47 to with nimble approaches to serving for prosperity is made through flexibility
the company time to contend with the buck the trend of a crisis that shook so customers, sorting supply chains, and and a full view of people, products,
unprecedented demand caused by many businesses to the core. doing business on any channel, anytime, and processes.
the pandemic while forcing many other anywhere.
retailers to recalibrate their campaigns The companies that can now find their
around the holiday season, Black Friday, feet will gain stability from agility in
and Cyber Monday. unpredictable landscapes. Those that can’t
might fall through the cracks for good.
2021 Change Report : (Re) Building a sustainable utopiaTurn and face the change: The agile evolution 34
Strong minds and (fr)agile hearts COVID-19 took what was probably Pret’s
biggest strength and brutally exposed its
operational constraints, which compelled
its leaders to adopt a more holistic
channel strategy 48 .
Even with the best predictive analytics, The seismic business shift Part of its response was to pivot to a
no-one was prepared for the full extent subscription-based loyalty programme,
of 2020’s disruptions. Movement There is no one-size-fits-all approach to YourPret Barista, to streamline in-store
restrictions and trade wars challenged implementing an agile business model, experiences for subscribers via in-app
the expectation of easy cross-border but there is one common thread: the orders and QR codes. Perhaps its ultimate
shipments, while social distancing openness and capacity to change. success will depend as much on reaching
requirements urged hubs to revise pre-pandemic traffic levels as it will on
staffing practices overnight. The leaders who have shunned rigidity winning post-pandemic price wars, but,
in favour of flexibility have set the by 3pm on launch day, it had eclipsed
Businesses of the agile variety, though, precedents for post-pandemic business. the number of sign-ups it had expected
have been able to rethink and reshape that day five-and-a-half times over. 49
the way they work, and reshoring and Take Pret a Manger, for instance. The UK-
hyperlocal production are only the based sandwich shop chain relied heavily Pret also put its money where its
beginning. on footfall thanks to a high concentration customers’ mouths were by opening a
of city-centre stores, but its operating ghost kitchen in North London and hastily
Agility paves the way for better model buckled at the knees when millions joining every major food delivery platform
experiences for customers, better roles of workers started lunching from home. in the city. Supermarket shelves and
for employees, and, ultimately, better Amazon listings were added to the mix,
results for those who get it right. too, as the business strove to sate the
changing habits of a nation.
2021 Change Report : (Re) Building a sustainable utopiaTurn and face the change: The agile evolution 35
Meanwhile in the US, the concept of Physical spaces can be repurposed as Manufacturing decisions must be
‘going ghost’ continued to change anything from in-store vertical farms 53 shrewder, supply chains must be slicker,
Recognising fulfilment, too. Whole Foods opened to logistical assets in localised storage and recruitment choices must be wiser
the need is one thing; permanent dark store facilities 50 from lockers 54 . Interestingly, Walmart is and wider in international scope if leaders
which employees pick products for pioneering ways to further narrow the are to lead.
delivering it seamlessly
quicker delivery so customers don’t physical gaps between customers and
sans friction is another. have to leave home, which is especially products with InHome Delivery 55 and at- In a kind of global hyperlocalisation, it is
important when they can’t. home smart boxes 56 , moves that could now more about bringing the business
redefine the concept of the ‘convenience to the people than bringing people to
From manufacturing to marketing and store’ forever. the business.
development to delivery, the impact of
an agile business model is more cross- Proactive advancements like these have 72% of people agreed with
functional than it was before customer defined the agile evolution that was only the statement: ‘I prefer to eat,
needs and employee expectations were hastened by the pandemic. socialise and shop local to where
rocked by the pandemic. I live.’
If flexibility was a foresight before 2020,
Now, internally agile businesses can be it’s now a guiding light for those who must Kin + Carta Consumer Research 2021
externally tactile brands to more people be able to pivot at a moment’s notice.
at more touchpoints.
This means that the proverbially tight
Digital solutions can help banking Pulp friction: This is a tasty merger purse-strings of the supply chain are
customers move from in-branch to loosening and managers are increasingly
online 51 or equip employees with AI Recognising the need is one thing; likely to choose speed and resilience
assistance to better manage inventories delivering it seamlessly sans friction over cost efficiency 57 to meet people’s
and shipping processes. 52 is another. demands.
2021 Change Report : (Re) Building a sustainable utopiaTurn and face the change: The agile evolution 36
Into the agile: Pivot by pivot
It’s a change that’s manifested in the Such unlikely alliances are simultaneously
interdependent partnerships and multi- optimising precious real estate and
purpose spaces springing up globally. revolutionising the ways businesses
streamline supply to meet demand
Deliveroo, for instance, blazed the trail together. It has blown the potential for
for on-demand groceries 57 by teaming more global partnerships and, indeed,
up with 7-Eleven and Marks & Spencer better offshore talent acquisition If the vision is to become truly agile, the Is there a partner who can help you
to bring safety and convenience to Hong wide open. mission will be to iteratively evaluate the deliver better food to more customers?
Kong shoppers. way business is done in a world that can Is there an automated process that can
We know by now that the world can and probably will change with little to no help reduce wasted time, money, and
Kroger piloted a partnership with change overnight, so it has become a notice at all. resources in your supply chain? Is there
Indianapolis-based startup, ClusterTruck, competitive advantage for businesses to an existing process of your own that can
to run kitchens inside its stores and offer have goods and talent distributed globally The leaders who expand their horizons help you pivot to service an emerging
restaurant-grade food for pick-up or delivery58. because it makes them internationally into true agile business models driven by industry?
In an industry that’s expected to be worth available at any given moment. resilient stacks and flexible workforces will
$21.6 billion in 2022 59, this level of colla- achieve their objectives more profitably If we are collectively smarter about how,
boration will be a critical aspect of post- As both businesses and consumers, we and sustainably than ever. Those are the where, and why our business is done, we
pandemic recovery for many businesses. are so au fait with on-demand now that leaders who will strategically analyse sales can be collectively suppler about our
Even in manufacturing, the benefits of we expect it to be at least an option for funnels and tactically optimise operations organisational responses to that universal
co-operation became clear in the early everything from electric razors to electric not yearly or monthly, but weekly, constant: change.
days of the crisis when carmakers like cars, so leaders can only make it work if because being set up to do so means
Ford, General Motors and Jaguar Land they can make it seamless. being set up to do more before someone
Rover struck deals with global healthcare else gets there first.
partners, which meant repurposing their
plants for mask and ventilator production
at scale.
2021 Change Report : (Re) Building a sustainable utopiaJust another malleable Monday: Investing in tomorrow’s workplace
Just another malleable Monday: Investing in tomorrow’s workplace 38
You scratch my back...
We’ve been propelled into a world in
which flexible, remote, and distributed
collaboration technologies are
necessities for many instead of
nice-to-haves for a few.
Some businesses were prepared This change makes the undercurrent of It’s time to invest in the tech that fosters
and some were caught off guard, trust and understanding in the employee– connections between colleagues as if
but now everyone is faced with the employer relationship even more powerful they were still in the same workspace.
same challenge of becoming digitally and unpredictable than it was before the It’s time to show the kind of leadership
attached to physically detached pandemic. that creates a sense of purpose and
workforces. belonging among colleagues and
When four in five people in the US alone redefines our relationships not only with
When ‘normal’ vanishes, leaders must would quit their jobs to join a company work, but with each other.
leverage technology as a multiplier that cares more about mental health and
to craft company cultures that are as flexibility 60, it’s evident that the onus is on
fulfilling for those on the inside as they employers to do more to deliver the kinds
are alluring to those on the outside. of symbiotic relationships that people
truly seek.
It’s not enough to say that mental health
is ‘a priority’ now.
2021 Change Report : (Re) Building a sustainable utopiaJust another malleable Monday: Investing in tomorrow’s workplace 39
Work to live, not live to work We need to start by being more
intentional about sustaining better work-
life balances, creating more dynamically
productive workforces and, crucially,
nurturing more trusting relationships
between employers and employees.
We find ourselves in an opportune 58% of people can't see the way
moment to ask fundamental questions they do their jobs going back We need to start by choosing the right
about what home and work mean to us. to how they were before the tools for the job.
pandemic.
What do we ultimately want out of each
experience? How do we find the sweet Kin + Carta Consumer Research 2021
spot of enjoying both at the same time We need to start
(especially when both happen under by being more intentional
the same roof)? What will our work–life Businesses have always had the choice
about sustaining better
balances look like a decade from now? to invest in the tools that allow us to
work to live rather than live to work. Now,
work–life balances,
The answers differ from industry to that investment is a prerequisite for creating more
industry, but the commonalities of sustainability. dynamically productive
flexibility and personalisation are there workforces and, crucially,
for office, gig, and warehouse workers The world is moving from off the shelf
nurturing more trusting
everywhere. to of the self when it comes to bespoke
stacks with flexibility at their core – look
relationships between
no further than the move to microservices employers and
and headless systems for evidence of this. employees.
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