Betting on digitalization and innovation, the key to post-Covid commerce according to INNTEC 2021

Five presentations, two round tables and two case studies, all taking place at the Congress Center in Andorra la Vella and also live streaming on YouTube, explained the new paths opening to commerce. Key ideas: one must combine physical and virtual strategies and learn how to interpret data offered to us by the internet.

The fifth Edition of INNTEC, titled “Phygital commerce: the paths to omnipresence”, had over 100 attendees, split almost equally at fifty percent between in person and online. The event started with a talk given by Albert Moles, president of ACTINN, the Andorran cluster of new technologies that organize the event. Moles welcomed the attendees to “an Edition that we wanted to dedicate to retail businesses and to consumer businesses in general, after a complex year for the country´s actors caused by the restrictions placed on mobility by our neighboring states” and he concluded  by adding that the hope is “for an event filled with productive and inspiring reflection, as well as a day of personal re-encounters, socialization and progressive return to a human and relational normality.”

He was followed by Conxita Marsol, mayor of Andorra la Vella, who stated that Andorran commerce “must be at the forefront in digital aspects in order to offer the best experience possible to in person shoppers”, and she celebrated that a congress of these characteristics takes place, “where what the future of commerce should be is discussed, a question of utmost interest for a mainly commercial country such Andorra”.

Lastly, Jordi Gallardo, Minister for Presidency, Economy and Enterprise for the Government of Andorra, enumerated “four relevant fields in digital transformation”: electronic commerce (“if our customers are digital then we need a virtual store”), business intelligence (“understanding our clientele and how to offer them an interesting proposal”), omnichannelling and constant innovation (“we must interiorize a culture of innovation”), to conclude that “the key lies in the fact that these tools really provide value to the customer”.

Next, the minister presented a cheque for 5.000 € to the startup Road Solutions, that has developed a system to improve road conditions in winter, winner of the ACTINN Awards 2020, while Marsol presented one for 2.000 € to Parl’APP, the social entrepreneurship proposal who came away with the second prize. The announcement for the 2021 edition of the awards will be made public on Monday, June 28th.

This was followed by various presentations —given by Luis Font, expert in digital sales and entrepreneurship; Beatriz Irún, with great knowledge in international commerce and in particular Asian markets; Jordi Albanell, specialist in data driven marketing and blockchain; Alba Alonso, expert in data analytics; and Sergio Colado, specialist in 4.0 industry and cognitive psychology, two round tables —on emerging retail business models after Covid and on the cult of data— and two business cases, two practical cases of how different businesses are adapting to the new environment.

The organizers showed a high degree of satisfaction with how the event unfolded and thanked the involvement of the patrons, Crèdit Andorrà, FEDA and Andorra Business, the sponsors, Andorra Telecom, NAOS, the Comú of Andorra la Vella and Grandvalira, and of all the participants.

All presentations and speeches can be seen on the INNTEC Youtube channel.