Reshaping retail: the key retail trends for the next five years

Top retail trends for the next five years

Top retail trends industry professionals believe will have an impact in the next five years:

• Digitalisation: supporting online retail
• Channel shifts: cooking at home vs eating out, buying online vs buying in-store
• Personalising the shopper experience: using data to create more meaningful engagements
• Emerging retail channels: social media, livestreaming, and voice commerce (e.g. shopping using Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, Google Home)
• Reinvention of last-mile operations: new collection options like buy online, pick up instore
• Sustainability initiatives: reducing the environmental impact and catering to eco-conscious consumers.¹

I think where we are getting to is a really fine balance between understanding where human beings and that human touch is really, really important, and where we can automate away more mundane labour intensive tasks.

Miya Knights, Retail Technology Magazine publisher, author, and expert. 

Digitalisation: the top retail trend

Almost 90% of industry professionals say innovation in e-commerce technology will remain the most important retail trend over the next five years.¹ 

This technology shift has already altered the way we shop from discovery right through to the final transaction. Digitalising a shopper’s experience means retailers can collect richer data on consumers and personalise their journey even more. 

Learn more about personalising e-commerce

How AI is impacting retail 

And now with the explosion of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, AI can be used to help retailers manage their business more effectively, forecast and plan more accurately, and understand orders and sales processing in real time. 

Most importantly, AI enables retailers to automate tasks and create greater efficiencies. “I think where we are getting to is a really fine balance between understanding where human beings and that human touch is really, really important, and where we can automate away more mundane labour intensive tasks” says Miya Knights, Retail Technology Magazine publisher, author, and expert. This automation frees up employees to focus on improving customer experience, efficiency and sustainability – areas that have the biggest impact on a retailer’s business.

Learn more about the opportunities for AI in retail

Retail trends: last mile operations and sustainability

Other retail trends industry professionals identified as having an impact in the next five years included the reinvention of last mile operations (85%) and sustainability initiatives (75%).¹ These trends are expected to grow the most in impact in the coming years. The pandemic highlighted the importance of last mile operations, and rising inflation and awareness of global warming has further motivated businesses to find sustainable and efficient delivery and retail solutions.¹ 

¹Euromonitor: Voice of the industry: Retailing (including video)

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