How to succeed in establishing a digital platform ecosystem?
On Monday 24 June 2024 Carolina Costabile will hold a trial lecture on a prescribed topic and defend her thesis for the PhD degree at NHH.
Seamless transactions – or knowledge through frictions?
Since 2021, the “Best in Retail” project has developed new knowledge, methods, and roadmaps for the Norwegian retail sector.
Funded by the Research Council of Norway and led by Professor Emeritus Tor Wallin Andreassen at NHH, the project has brought together researchers from the DIG Research Center, Sintef, and DIG business partners.
Their shared aim has been to explore the value, importance, and implications of seamless transactions and data sharing in a sector undergoing profound transformation.
Formally titled Business Models and Ecosystems for Seamless Transactions in Retail (Best in Retail), the project has examined how the recent wave of digitalization—driven by e-commerce and internet-connected technologies—has disrupted the industry and exposed Norwegian retailers to greater international competition. The findings underline that the disruption is not only technological but also structural. Retailers now operate within ecosystems that include logistics, payment, and digital service providers, meaning competitiveness increasingly depends on how effectively actors collaborate and share data across firm boundaries. This raises the central question: how can Norwegian retailers develop the methods and capabilities they need to thrive in the new digital reality?
Big potential in sharing data
A key theme of the project has been the potential for sharing customer data—covering choices, actions, and preferences—among different stakeholders in the retail ecosystem. Beyond retailers, this ecosystem includes logistics, payment, and service providers. Data sharing could enable seamless customer experiences across retailers, allow smoother transactions, and make possible highly personalized offers and services. At the same time, the research shows that the very ecosystems enabling seamlessness also create tensions around control and coordination. Who captures value, who governs standards, and how benefits are distributed between partners remain open and contested questions.
Personalization, powered by customer-facing technologies, can create significant value. But it depends on processing personal data in ways that align with customers’ expectations and respect privacy. While most retailers recognize the potential, the benefits of personalization are only partly realized.
Are businesses ready to share?
Retailers generally acknowledge the advantages of sharing data and collaborating with other firms. Yet widespread sharing is rare. Popularized as “the new oil,” data is viewed as a strategic resource, and firms worry that collaboration could erode their competitive advantage. At the core lies the fear of losing “customer ownership”: if retailers cannot interact directly with their customers, they fear losing relevance in the market.
From the customer’s perspective, joint offers created through data sharing may deliver convenience and personalization, but they also render individual brands invisible. Providers who contribute to such offers risk being hidden behind the ecosystem, without building recognition or relationships with end customers. Uncertainty over who owns customer data and who is responsible for customer relations further reinforces reluctance to share.
How do customers feel about all this?
Consumers appreciate personalized offers, but excessive targeting can cause annoyance or distrust. Acceptance depends on whether customers perceive the offers as genuinely valuable and whether privacy is safeguarded. The project shows that privacy concerns vary, underscoring the importance of balancing personalization with ethical and legal standards.
Moreover, shopping is more than a transactional act. It is a social activity, often undertaken with friends or family, and part of identity formation. Innovation in the retail sector must therefore move beyond efficiency and hedonic consumption. Instead, new business models should align with consumers’ search for meaning and enrichment, positioning shopping as a broader experience.
Knowledge through frictions
One of the most striking findings of the project is that frictions in the customer journey can be beneficial. Frictions arise when customers must make conscious choices—such as selecting suppliers, shippers, or payment providers—rather than being guided seamlessly through a single channel. These moments of choice foster reflection, stimulate competition, and can lead to higher service quality.
Seen this way, frictions are not merely inefficiencies to be eliminated but mechanisms of learning and market discipline. For policymakers, the implication is clear: markets designed with some degree of conscious customer choice may encourage competition, innovation, and diversity in service offerings rather than reinforcing monopolistic seamlessness. For businesses, frictions create opportunities to strengthen direct relationships with customers, build brand recognition, and differentiate on service quality.
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