Scalapay, a leading Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) platform in Southern Europe, held the first edition of The Visionary Exchange in Milan, a new event format that brought together executives, managers, and experts from the retail, fashion, travel, and cultural sectors to discuss the evolution of leadership, consumer behavior, and innovation.
The event featured participation from renowned brands such as Adidas, Trenitalia, MSC Cruises, Decathlon, and Deporvillage, along with guests from the cultural sector.
Pietro Allievi, Vice President & General Manager of Adidas Italy, at The Visionary Exchange event
Scalapay understands that grasping how consumers are changing, along with their expectations and shopping habits, is one of the main challenges companies and brands face today. That is why The Visionary Exchange aims to serve as a meeting point that connects and fosters dialogue across different sectors, experiences, and perspectives.
At the same time, this initiative stems from Scalapay’s privileged vantage point, supported by a community of more than 12 million users and a network of over 12,000 partner brands. This vast data base allows the company to observe firsthand how shopping habits are evolving.
Luca Scelsa, CFO of Scalapay, explained: “Thanks to our daily relationship with more than 12 million users and over 12,000 partner brands, Scalapay is in a privileged position to observe the evolution of consumer behavior, expectations, and shopping habits. The Visionary Exchange was created with the goal of encouraging open dialogue among different perspectives, offering a space where those responsible for interpreting and driving change can come together, exchange ideas, and learn from one another.”
The launch of this forum also comes at a particularly strong moment for the BNPL sector. To put its scale into perspective, the value of transactions using this payment method in Italy rose from 1 billion euros in 2021 to 9.9 billion euros in 2025. In the last year alone, the market posted spectacular growth of 45%, a figure that exceeds 50% when focusing exclusively on the online channel. This shows that installment payments have become a key solution in the customer experience.
During the discussion sessions, several fundamental pillars for the future of business were brought to the table. Brands agreed on the need to build more agile and adaptable leadership models, capable of responding to the speed of today’s market. Likewise, the importance of strengthening genuine relationships with consumers was highlighted, through a commitment to constant innovation and by placing the customer experience at the center as the main differentiating factor against competitors.
The most disruptive aspect of The Visionary Exchange was the inclusion of perspectives from outside the traditional corporate world. The discussion was enriched by figures from film and the humanities. On one hand, psychotherapist Stefania Andreoli analyzed how our professional behavior models are tied to personal experiences and upbringing. On the other, actress and screenwriter Michèle Lonsdale Smith encouraged attendees to explore human nature in order to connect more deeply with society.
Stefania Andreoli, psychotherapist, at The Visionary Exchange event
In the end, the conclusion was clear: to attract talent and create relevant experiences, companies must be able to understand the cultural and social changes taking place around us.
Photo: The Visionary Exchange
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