The year 2016 brought much technological evolution to the fore, and it has merged with many industries to give an output that can be calculated to see the growth of each of them.As we are already in the first leg of the New Year, here are some of the retail trends that will affect the masses, and in turn affect the retail industry positively.
Retail industry will rely more heavily on technology
Retail business relies heavily on providing a unique experience to its customer base, without that it is tough to achieve the growth that has been forecasted by the firm. We saw how AR (augmented reality), VR (virtual reality), AI (artificial intelligence) and IoT (Internet of Things) saw a subtle incorporation into the retail sector especially in the brick and mortar establishments.
The most popular example these days is Amazon Go. Read More on “Amazon Takes A “Go” At The Grocery”.
We might also see many smart apps get developed for enhancing the shopping experience and take it to a whole new level.
Watch out for same-day shipments
This should be a boon for consumers who are in a rush for getting a gift for any occasion. Retailers have understood that most of the consumers have a sense of urgency on many occasions.
Answering this kind of need will be a key in the enhancement of the customers’ overall experience.
In a study conducted by Temando it was discovered that “80% of shoppers surveyed want same-day shipping, while 61% want their packages even faster — within 1-3 hours of placing an order.”
Though, same-day shipping isn’t practical in much of the cases and is an impractical method as considered by the retailers (depends majorly on demand created in an area for the same product, location, logistic pricing, etc.). The expectation of a speedy delivery of the favorite product is here to stay, and eventually, the retailers will come up with a viable solution for the same.
Personalization will become more customer centric
Personalization has always been a fascinating way of attracting the customers and it has been the tool that has helped many companies in creating a huge customers base. When we stumbled upon this study by Accenture Interactive we were not that amazed, as per the study, “56% of consumers are more likely to shop at a retailer in store or online that recognizes them by name.”.
We know that personalization has been around for years, but the tactics that were used by retailers to connect to the customers have become outdated. We hope that the year 2017 will be a game changer for the retailers as they will come up with new and better ways of connecting with their customers.
When we heard about the custom-lacing HyperAdapt by Nike, our reaction was “Woah!!”
Nike has always been customer centric and has relied heavily on personalization, its strong financial background, and massive scale of production is the factor, but we are not writing this article to dishearten the small and medium businesses.
Medium and small businesses can make the most out of it too. How? Tailoring the products and the retail contents based on the customer purchase history is one way that retailers will be able to make the most out of personalization.
Location-based technologies such as beacons can be used for push notifications and will come in handy in such situations. They are comparatively cheap and take less space, which will allow the retailers to get the maximum advantage to great population centers.
Mobile payment solutions will be a must have across the board
The retail industry has made a mark for itself by moving ahead from the traditional card and online payments methods, the immediate future is in favor of mobile payments, and in 2017 we will see retailers adapt to this trend.
As per the estimate made by TechCrunch, 70 percent of all mobile users in the US will make mobile payment at least once in 2017. In general, the figure will touch the $60 billion mark.
Retailers will soon acclimatize the method of mobile payment. And if we go by the predictions made by the industry specialists and analysts, if retailers fail to implement these plans there will be a massive loss in the sale, which in turn will mean losing out on a huge portion of the business money.
Go small will be the retail store mantra
Small-format stores will be more in focus with the evolution in consumer preference. In 2017, less will be the new more, as far as the brick and mortar establishments are concerned.
We have seen giants like Target, Amazon Best Buy, Ikea and much more adopt this shift.
Convenience and accessibility have always been a major player when it comes to understanding the consumer behavior and buying pattern. The general population doesn’t like to waste a whole day stuck between the long aisles of a mega mall or a superstore.
Quick access to the essentials makes the customer click.
Retail stores will back In-Store experience
What is more exciting than getting hand-on experience of the product. Or the different ways in which customers get seamless shopping experience.
Following the footsteps of many retail giants, soon the retail industry will back up the in-store experience. Some honorable mentions can be the scan and go app in Sam’s Club which is a warehouse store.
Another example is the Crate+Barrel’s Mobile Tote; here the shoppers use store-provided tablets to browse the shelves, scan the barcodes and learn additional information about the products.
Omni-channel will see more investment by retailers
A standard has been set by omnichannel, and the retailers all over the world are equipping themselves with omnichannel retail platforms to stay ahead in the market race.
2017 will see them fight it out in a more rigorous way as every retailer will be adopting the omnichannel strategy and the best-suited one as per the consumer experience will surely steal the show.
Specialty stores will smartly compete with department stores
As the year 2017 progresses, the consumer inclination towards curated products will aid the specialty stores to grow intelligently and at a high pace. The major advantage of the specialty stores is that they concentrate on the millennials, which as we all know by now are the most sought after shoppers.
The specialty stores also provide better in-store experience to their shoppers with personalized product and service at a better price. With all these offerings, these stores successfully build a better relationship with the customer base in comparison with departmental stores.
Consumer Data will be the most sought after phenomena
If the history of data has taught us one thing, it is that no data is worthless. If it is compiled and processed in a better way, then it is the answer for every retailer out there.
And the year 2017 will see the dominance of data in the success story of the retail sector.
This year the realization of making data-backed decisions will be a hit back for many retailers, and the sooner they understand the importance, the better they will be in luring the best of the best into their retail outlets. Building a personalized customer experience based on the data analysis will be beneficial to many retailers as it plays a significant role in managing the merchandise and inventory as well.
A live example of the same is Patagonia, which takes the current trends and matches it with the historical data and helps in figuring out which products to purchase and which ones to distribute in its stores. It helps in predicting the demand accurately, helping the stores stocked with ample amount of merchandise and decrease the wastage throughout the supply chain.
Apps and third party services will infuse with retailers for the modern shoppers
2017 will see an increase in the number of retail-centric apps, because of the fact that consumers have brought the retailers in demand. Keeping the fact in mind that the consumers shop on multiple channels and are more eager to get their hands on the purchased product in a convenient and swift fashion, and this is where in-store pickup and same day delivery come in.
To meet all these demands, the merchants will have to come up with a solution in collaborations with apps and third party service providers that will help them get closer to their consumers.
Let’s explain this with an example of AT&T that recently has collaborated with Enjoy, a personal commerce platform. With this collaboration, A
T&T consumers that purchase the phones won’t have to waste their time by visiting the AT&T store. An expert from Enjoy will simply set up the phone purchased by them and deliver it to them in person.
These kinds of Omni channel efforts will be the one that will decide the winner in the end of the game.
Quality product, transparency with customers and sustainability will be the factors for flourishing
If you browse through the internet, it will give you almost every information that you want. This is the reason when a consumer doesn’t find the information they require regarding the product of their choice, they are left unsatisfied and are vary about purchasing the product.
And it’s not their fault, anyone who is shelling out money would be interested to know where the money is going, and if the money invested in the purchasing of that product is worth it or not. Selling high-quality product is not enough, you need to be transparent about the details of the product so as to gain the consumers trust.
If as a retailer, you are able to do so, even if you are not that popular, hang on tight, the customer base of satisfied customers will make you reach out the stars.
2017 seems to be in favor of retailers who will come up with, smart and bold ways of personalizing & elevating every facet of the shopping experience.
Seamless Omni channel strategies will finally take the center stage and retail will get the boost that is needed to steer into the future of experience-enhancing technology such as artificial intelligence and augmented reality.
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