Retail trends in 2017: What should retailers invest in to win customers

We have taken a deeper dive into the trends that retail industry experts are buzzing about, and we wanted to share the ones we believe are most important for 2017.

In 2016 a combination of the rise of e-commerce, new digital and technological trends and new customer segments with new behaviors and expectations (baby boomers, Hispanic consumers and millennials) have put the industry under pressure. Retailers must use innovation to stay alive. This year we will see a lot more of new concepts and boundaries being pushed

First, there are a couple of digital trends that we would like to look at: Mobile commerce, social shopping and virtual retail.

1. Mobile commerce:
This is a growing trend that really took off during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. U.S shoppers purchased for over $2.4 billion worth of goods using their mobile phone or tablet. The mobile check-out process has been improved by Apple Pay and Android Pay, and the use of mobile wallets is predicted to grow.

2. Social shopping:
This will apply to both online and offline retail. Through channels such as Instagram, shoppers can tap into the product descriptions and learn more before making a purchase. Many will make purchases using the mobile channel, but many will also choose to visit a physical retail location to look at, feel, try and buy the product.

3. Virtual retail:
Probably one of the most exciting new trends and it’s really expected to have a huge impact on the retail landscape. Virtual Reality (VR) makes it possible to test products or chat with employees without visiting a store. VR is still in the early stages of developing, but there are endless opportunities for retailers using this technology. Augmented reality (AR) is also worth mentioning here even though it’s further down the line. For instance, there are now apps that lets you see how furniture would fit your living room through cameras.

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Digital trends are very interesting and worth mentioning because it impacts the whole industry.

With that said, Proxloop is a firm believer of physical retail locations. A lot has happened in the brick-and-mortar space recently and retailers have been struggling to keep their stores alive. Digital trends are threats in many ways for the offline environments, but brick-and-mortars can also take advantage of these new trends and technologies. Here are some of the most important trends we believe retailers should focus on in 2017:

1. Beacons:
Beacon technology is not new for the retail industry. Many has already invested in beacons and are using them to track movements of customers or push out marketing campaigns to smart phones. Even though it has existed for a couple of years, the trend is picking up pace. Combined with artificial intelligence and facial recognition the location based data about customer behavior can be stored and analyzed.The goal is to learn more about customers to get a bigger share of the customers’ wallet. We would also like to point out that the wrong usage of location based technology can backfire if the retailers don’t understand the consumer’s limit.

2. Personalized experiences:
New customer expectations are challenging physical retail locations on providing a personalized experience. Per a report from Accenture Interactive, 56% of consumers are more likely to shop in the store (or online) if they are recognized by name. Also, 58% are more likely to make a purchase when a recommendation from the associate is based on the previous purchases or preferences. In general, 75% of shoppers are likely to buy from a retailer if they can provide any of these services.

3. Virtual reality and augmented reality:
As we mentioned above, virtual reality is up-and-coming. For physical locations, it can be used to improve the shoppers experience by showing products virtually. An example could be to show people who are renovating how the apartment will look like when it’s finished. Augmented reality is also worth mentioning, because it may have an even bigger impact on the physical locations. Augmented reality is all about enriching the real world and an example of usage for retailers can be virtual fitting rooms and interactive windows.

There are many more interesting trends for the retail industry. Maybe you’ve heard of some and would like to share them with us?

We want to end this by sharing our “tip of the year” for retailers:
In order to win the most customers, retailers have to focus on a complete omnichannel strategy. This means including both digital and physical channels when investing in new technology to improve customer experiences. Shoppers want a coherent experience through every touch point a retailer can offer. Many retailers have put all their effort into digitalization these past years, which causes them to lose on physical spaces. It’s now time to pick up the speed on improving brick-and-mortars to complete the omnichannel experience.