Brick-and-mortar retail coupled with leveraging technology will continue to be a big factor in 2020. Consumers want convenience so whether you increase your email campaigns, start offering free shipping for over the phone or online purchases, or offer easy in-store pickup you will find yourself keeping up with consumer trends.
Starting in 2015, a group called Absolunet started predicting the following year’s trends in eCommerce. Their accuracy rate has been 87.5% thus far and they recently have unveiled the trends for 2020.
1. Malls Will Make a Comeback
As weather patterns and customer shopping behavior changes, so does the shopping destination. This is why more malls and some retail centers have already begun incorporating technology into the shopping experience. Customers are motivated to GO shopping when their will be an experience at the end. Adding impressive lighting, having ambient temperate controls in the shopping centers, and offering an experience beyond just the shopping will attract more shoppers.
Think modern. Think experience. Your customers want both and 2020 may be when we see more customers prefer mall shopping to park-and-shop locations.
2. Delivery to the house, car, or even the fridge
It is expected that more merchants in 2020 will find ways to deliver their products directly where customers are demanding it. Be it in-house, in-car or in-fridge this is a trend that is expected to rise in popularity.
3. Distribution Fulfillment Centers
As we’ve discussed most of 2019, the rise of Canadian mixed-use projects with retail and industrial and stand-a-lone distribution centers has been on rise. This trend is expected to continue thanks to Amazon and other popular retailers that want to be unstoppable in 2020.
4. Rising Digital Influence
Digital influence in retail will continue rising thanks to the world leader in digital commerce, China. If you have any questions on how to blend your digital commerce platform with you retail stores look at China as an example as they continue to unleash its technologies and its shoppers on the world.
5. Online Sales and Marketing Campaigns
Absolunet predicts that retailers and brands will begin to look beyond Facebook and Google to target their sales and marketing campaigns. This could be good news as that opens up more channels that are actually influential to capturing retail demand, plus coupled with consumers rising trends of selling their own privacy shopping behavior by design. Taking control of their privacy helps customers improve the information they receive thus saving them time and helping retailers as well.
Summary
Overall, it is no surprise that digital influence in retail is on a rise. We’ve highlighted just a few of the predictions of how retailers and their customers are expected to behave in 2020. Understanding how customers shop and what customers expect in their physical and digital retail shopping experience are vital in how you choose your retail investments.