Around 5,000 of Vodafone's stores are in Europe, with the remainder in markets such as Asia and Africa. Customer service offered by Apple and Amazon had changed expectations, and Vodafone hopes to improve its services faster than former incumbent rivals like BT, Deutsche Telekom and Telefonica with targeted and personalised marketing, he said.

"If you believe that 40% of your transactions are going to be digital, then how does that impact why someone goes to a store. The journeys and the purpose of the store changes," Read told reporters at a briefing in Duesseldorf, Germany.

Read said the group would use new technology such as its AI-powered chatbot to help customers buy products and services in just three clicks. Vodafone, the world's second largest mobile operator, however, plans to continue store openings in of Britain. In September, it announced plans to open 24 new franchise stores in Britain this year, and it is examining the possibility of opening 50 more stores in 2020 in conjunction with new online services.

Copyright Reuters, 2019