Trends Reshaping the Retail Landscape: The Future of Shopping

The retail industry has seen a lot of changes in the last year. Long-term shifts have escalated in recent weeks and months as a pandemic has upended consumer habits.

Ideas and technologies that were just being contemplated have suddenly become available, prompting retailers to question "by when?" and "how?" instead of "should we adopt?"

We'll talk about four buying patterns that have been accelerated by the epidemic and hear from small and midsize shops who have adapted to these developments with new technologies and new ways of serving buyers' requirements in this study.

Small and medium retailers should keep these trends in mind when making future technology expenditures to provide a consistently excellent customer experience that increases revenue.

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Trend 1: Omnichannel shopping is the way of the future.

• What is the definition of omnichannel retail?

• At every point of the customer journey, from browsing/discovery to order fulfillment, omnichannel retail focuses on providing customers with a unified and frictionless purchasing experience across digital and physical channels.

• One of the major stories in retail over the last year was the abrupt change to e-commerce. Consumers who were unable to leave their homes turned to online shopping, and businesses quickly responded by introducing new technology and services to match the demand.

• Retailers are constantly shifting their focus to services that make it easier to meet their consumers' demands at every touchpoint. They do so through selling items and services on their websites and through social media, as well as giving online delivery and buy online, pick up in-store, and click-and-collect options. That is what multichannel buying is all about.

• We expect merchants to continue to invest in their shipping and fulfillment techniques, as well as their eCommerce presence, during the coming 12 months.

• Retailers must have a united omnichannel strategy to fulfill the needs of the newly developed customer in order to succeed today. It's critical to provide a variety of communication and purchasing channels when implementing an omnichannel strategy.

Put it in action:

1. To determine which channels to focus on, find out which platforms your clients use. Use Google Analytics to figure out which outlets are bringing the most visitors to your site.

2. Make sure that every accessible physical and digital retail channel/touchpoint can be used to shop. Make it simple for clients to find and purchase things immediately, regardless of the channel they use.

3. Ensure that your online and offline platforms have a seamless, consistent experience.

Trend 2: Ecommerce, BOPIS, and curbside pickup/click-and-collect are all threats to the future of shopping.

• Small and midsize retailers must improve the execution of their fulfillment operations and ensure that they give unified, consistent shopping experiences across physical and digital channels now that a major percentage of sales has permanently switched to eCommerce.

• Small and midsize retailers should keep investing in on-site/in-store fulfillment and curbside capabilities to stay competitive. This adds to the convenience of online buying and ensures that buyers have another means to get their hands on your product (such as BOPIS, versus shipping).

Put it in action:

1. Determine whether technology and software are required to support cross-channel procedures like BOPIS and buy online, return in-store.

2. Examine how you handle current inventory and make changes to guarantee you're clearing the shelves to make way for new items. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) and smart shelving are two technologies that can help you eliminate dead inventory.

3. With predictive visibility technology, you can improve the visibility of real-time inventory and optimize your order fulfillment operations. The more you can manage and track your products' movement, the more control you'll have over things like where to find them and order fulfillment speed and accuracy.

Trend 3: Flexible payment methods/options such as buy now, pay later are gaining traction.

• Consumers desire a variety of payment alternatives, and small and midsize businesses should respond by offering a variety of options. Consumers utilize BNPL for three main reasons, according to eMarketer:

• Fees and interest rates are made clear (42 percent )

• Ability to keep track of spending (39 percent )

• Affordability (37 percent )

• More traffic, greater transaction values, and a larger bottom line are all possible with BNPL. There are more ways to attract new clients and increase sales with several payment alternatives.

• Offering various payment options to satisfy consumers' financial demands is becoming an essential and expected aspect of the buying trip in an increasingly saturated online space.

Put it in action:

1. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of implementing BNPL. The chance to boost revenue is one of the benefits, although transaction costs may reduce profits.

2. Find out which providers are compatible with your current point-of-sale system. This will ensure a seamless checkout process and reduce back-end human labor.

3. Examine the fees that BNPL providers charge for payment processing. This is usually expressed as a percentage of the sale and includes a processing fee.

4. Determine your BNPL model by analyzing your consumer base and orders. Will you, for example, offer a split payment option or tailored installment loans?

5. To make consumers more comfortable and aware of the new payment option, use on-site messaging to inform and educate them early in the buying journey.

Trend 4: E-commerce will be driven by social commerce.

• The act of purchasing a product or service on social networking platforms is frictionless and seamless for consumers. It's as simple as viewing, clicking, and buying. The in-app checkout simplifies the purchasing process, making it simple to find a product and buy it with a single click.

• Targets your target audience more precisely: Social media allows you to target your advertising based on customer information. That implies your product can be placed in front of a certain consumer base, improving the chances of your customers buying it.

Put it in action:

1. Determine which social media outlet is best for your products. Consider the following questions: Where do your customers spend the majority of their time? Would visual sites like Instagram or Pinterest be more beneficial to your product?

2. Look at how you might include social commerce into your eCommerce platform. Inquire with your eCommerce provider about how you can better link sales channels and manage your omnichannel strategy.

3. Ensure a smooth checkout experience across social media platforms. When customers are ready to purchase your product, they want it to be as simple as possible. They are more likely to return if the checkout process is simple.

Equip your retail business with the right tools

Retailers are set to make massive changes and investments in retail technology to drive their customer experience, including omnichannel and social commerce, BOPIS and curbside, and alternate payment choices.

We understand how intimidating it might be if you're new to this and haven't made much progress in these areas.

We've put together some resources to help you get started and locate the correct tools: When you're ready, our retail management software category can assist you by delivering a selected list of options that fit your specific requirements.