HOW HAS THE DISRUPTION OF 2020 IMPACTED THE RETAIL INDUSTRY & THE ROAD AHEAD

 

The disruption of 2020 has sent shockwaves across global communities, displaced international supply chains, and activated exorbitant selloffs in financial markets. The external environment around the retail industry has significantly altered conventional wisdom and might develop new circumstances that can have multiple impacts on the economy and our lifestyles. The retail industry has severely affected when the restrictions on opening physical stores were applied, which eventually promoted work from home and online shopping. 

While retail businesses that handle daily necessities and food, such as drug stores and supermarkets, remained in good condition, retailers of luxury items and shopping goods deemed nonessential, such as home appliances and apparel, have stagnated.

What Trends Are Emerging & Will Become A New Normal In Retail Sector

• Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing was once all about highly edited product shots and thoughtfully structured captions, but after 2020 it has transitioned to a substantial aesthetic that will continue in 2021. From a media viewpoint, videos will be a vital medium for influencer collaborations to make the campaigns engaging.

• Social Commerce

The rise of eCommerce and online shopping will continue to increase, and social commerce is an excellent way for customers to experience seamless online shopping. Now shoppers can purchase directly from the brand’s social media append brands can establish virtual shelves of featured items to engage more customers.

• AI-Powered Chatbots

To meet consumer’s needs, retailers have embraced AI-powered solutions in the form of chatbots and personal assistants. Though there are multiple benefits of in-person visits through advanced technology, organizations can provide 24/7 customer support. Apart from the retail industry, other sectors will also adopt chatbots solutions to connect with customers on different platforms like Facebook Messenger.

• Retail Automation

By understanding the insights about sales, artificial intelligence can revolutionize the retail space. Retail automation is effectively helping businesses to acquire greater customer loyalty. Through automation, not only can customer satisfaction be maximized, but employee’s experience will also improve as they constantly hustle to keep up with the service and order inquiries. Furthermore, in the future, leading retail automation tools will involve a combination of mobile automation, physical robots, shelf-edge cameras, and computer vision (CV).

• Omnichannel Shopping

Omnichannel retailing refers to using different physical and digital channels to develop a seamless brand experience for shoppers. When done correctly, customer’s loyalty towards the brand will significantly increase. It’s no secret that clicks and collects offer advantages to retailers and shoppers by removing shipping and delivery costs and facilitating engagement. In the future, omnichannel shopping will become a new norm as retailers are reconciling their presence on multiple channels.

 

TAKEAWAYS

Retail businesses striving to acquire massive success in the digital world must immediately embrace emerging retail trends. 2020 was undoubtedly a rough and challenging year for the retail sector, but the recovery process has already started. Retail businesses have an excellent opportunity to expand their business in creative ways. 

This article has presented our perspective on the impacts of 2020’s disruption and emerging retail trends. We hope that it will be an opportunity for retailers to identify priorities and determine what actions should be taken to maximize business growth.

 

📷. Photo by Arturo Rey on Unsplash

📷. Photo by Mike Petrucci on Unsplash