business & strategy > business & retail insights > the

Business & Strategy > Business & Retail Insights > The Future of Retail

2015 signals a new reality at retail driven by an increasingfamiliarity with emergent technologies, the maturing ofconsumer behaviour, and lessons learned from the Holidaytrading period. The retail trends for 2015 include some of the questionsbusinesses need to address this year, a perspective on next-wave technologies, and a look at the specific functions retailersshould be fine-tuning to improve the shopper journey. Underpinning why to prioritise these is the customer, becausegetting to grips with how your shoppers' expectations arechanging and putting in place responses is key to maintaininga competitive edge in an increasingly competitive landscape. 10 Retail Trends for 2015 1. The Experience Gap2. Eliminating Returns3. Mobile Payments: Essential, Reassuring & Experimental 4. Mobile: The Investment Priority5. Search for Differentiation: Co-creation & Collaboration6. Travel Retail7. Inventory Visibility for Customer Tools8. Technology: Simple Up Front9. Reorganising for Customer Experience10. Changing Trading Patterns

H&M

Uber RushH&M


http://lp.wgsn.com/Feb-15-Pnewsletter_Request-a-demo.html

There is evidence the experience economy is growing,as consumers switch their spend to 'doing' rather than'buying'.

In the UK, for example, retail as a whole enjoyedpositive momentum in monthly sales towards the endof last year, but it was the restaurant and barscategory that benefitted most, up 10.7% year-on-yearin November alone.

It is a consumer desire for experience that is beingreplicated in markets worldwide. A global studyreleased by IBM this month found 43% of 115,000consumers polled in 19 countries like to shop online.However, just 29% had made their last purchase viathe internet, signifying the rich digital experiencesconsumers have online are not being met by the digitalcommerce offer. At the NRF Retail’s Big Show, theclear message was that 2015 is the year US retailersfocus on plugging the experience gap.

For fashion retailers, this represents a major challengeover the year and years ahead. As shoppers moveaway from relationships with retailers defined bytransactions to those that are instead defined byexperiences, how do you make that work for yourbusiness and across touchpoints?

Experiencing cold-weather gear at Globetrotter Ausrüstung, Munich



Uber Rush

Uber Rush

Macy's

Speedy shipping and delivery were top of mind for2014, and this will continue throughout 2015, but thenext frontier is tackling returns – by making it moreconvenient for customers to return goods andultimately taking steps to eliminate returns altogether. The question for retailers is whether they can findways to stop shoppers buying multiple sizes whenordering online and improve the customer experienceat the same time. Fit TechnologiesInvestment in 'right first time fit' technologies is oneapproach. Better virtual fitting tools will providecustomers with clearer information on sizing and fit,and help them make more informed and assuredonline purchasing decisions. New Paths to PurchaseCreating a new path to purchase is an approachMacy's has introduced with its e-gifting mechanism.Using Loop Commerce technology, the service allowsgift-givers to send an apparel gift digitally, allowing therecipient to pick out the correct size and colour orchoose another item before the order is even fulfilled.



Barclays

Zapp

Despite uneven consumer adoption of mobilepayments globally, the ability to pay using asmartphone is an increasingly essential part of thecustomer journey in some markets, which could makeor break retail success.

China is one such market. Integration of mobilepayment solutions into smartphone technology andmessaging apps has unlocked digital commerce formany consumers and is viewed as the norm –anything else is a barrier to purchase.

In more mature markets, where consumer adoption isslower, brands could start to incentivise customers toshop on mobile by offering mobile-only deals, as flashsales site Gilt has already done. This is a way to testthe technology, be seen as innovative and create anew habit among early-adopter shoppers.

Later in the year, mobile-app-based payments systemZapp will launch in the UK. Backed by major banksand with an expected uptake among major high-streetretailers, this could reassure customers enough toexperiment with mobile payments in the nextHoliday trading period.



According to Deloitte, 19% of sales in 2013 wereinfluenced by mobile ($593 billion) compared to 5% in2012 ($159 billion), and consumers who use theirdigital devices during a shopping journey convert at a40% higher rate than those who do not. These figures call for retailers to rethink how theyapproach all their digital development. Mobile is notsimply another channel or retail destination, and itscontribution to the business is not measured byoutdated sales metrics alone. In 2015 forward-looking brands and retailers will investin mobile experiences throughout the path to purchaseand beyond. They will be both contextual and personalwith the aim of positioning their brands as the go-todestinations for their customers.

The mobile experience should be a priority for retailers



House of Voltaire

Julep

Under Armour

The idea that fashion consumers no longer want to besold to in the same way is not news to fashionretailers. But 2015 is the year of more in-depth soul-searching as retailers look for ways to differentiate andreposition to drive consideration.

Collaborations, whether product or artistic, willcontinue to be key, and co-creation will change theemotional investment consumers have in product.

Online beauty retailer Julep, for example, has takenco-creation to the next level, creating a customergroup called Mavens to test and invest in new productprior to launch. Customer involvement in the businessmeans 90% of what Julep manufactures is sold out inthe first month.



business & strategy > business & retail insights > the

Documents