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Digital platforms are changing and influencing economic and social processes in a variety of ways. Economic geographer Dr. Sina Hardaker is researching their impact on the retail industry.

The increasing platformization of retail is most clearly evident in the example of online retail platforms. Thirty years have passed since Jeff Bezos founded Amazon. What began as an electronic bookstore has established itself as the (still) undisputed number one in e-commerce in the US and Europe. Other players such as Shein and Temu are transforming retail structures and leading to far-reaching changes within the industry.

A lot has changed and will continue to change for brick-and-mortar retailers. The use of online marketplaces and social media platforms such as Meta, Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok has become indispensable as communication and, more recently, sales channels. This is also completely redefining workflows and processes in brick-and-mortar retail.

The research project at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU), funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), aims to examine these developments in more detail. Which platforms play a role? How far has platformization progressed? What legitimacy underlies these processes, and what dependencies do retailers find themselves in?