In the world of commerce and retail, the only constant trend is change: this is how we can accurately summarise the turbulence that hit the retail segment last year and that will continue to revolutionise the way we buy and sell.
A profound transformation analysed by two retail experts, namely Pablo Pérez and Georgie Altman of Google, capable of photographing the arrival of new retail models and predicting the retail sector’s evolution over the next 5 years.
Ready to take a trip in 2024 to see what awaits us?
The study: which retail formats will prevail?
Together with Euromonitor, the two retail experts from Google observed the sector’s trends in an attempt to define which strategies must be put in place today to meet the consumer of tomorrow and have discovered that:
1. 78% of the shopping will still be offline: long life to the shop
Even if e-commerce is the great protagonist of contemporary retail and will continue being so in the near future, the definitive transition to the online market will be neither clear nor rapid. The consumer is habitual and still prefers physical contact with the shop and product. If out of € 100 spent, only € 22 will be the result of a click, making it clear that having a solid physical presence, albeit accompanied by an online identity, is essential. Therefore, it is not yet time to lock up shop.
2. Also be online to resist lockdowns and changes in consumer lifestyle and buying behavior
We cannot exclude that we will again find ourselves having to make sacrifices and respect new closures in the future. Furthermore, changes in consumer shopping behavior could favor digital.
For these reasons, integrating an online channel into your business model lets you attract a good portion of the purchases of limited-in-mobility consumers or those who simply want to buy from the comfort of their home.
According to the study conducted by Google and Euromonitor, in the event of lockdowns, retailers with a web store will benefit from higher revenues: in 2024, 1 out of every 5 consumers will buy from retailers with digital channels, continuing to shop online, instead of in-store.
3. Bricks and mortar, but not too much
The study clearly demonstrates: among the existing retail formats, the hybrid one will expand the most over the next 5 years. A growth that will reward the model that bases its core business mainly on a physical presence, with a partial – but fundamental – opening to online sales. In 2024, retailers applying this business model can expect a 3% increase in market shares. Who will lose ground? According to estimates, the turnover of offline-only brands will drop by 5%, while growth will be very limited – almost imperceptible – for purely online operators.
3 retail trends to ride for growth
Change today, to win tomorrow: if the retail transformation towards an integrated model is inevitable, what is the right set-up to put in place?
Here are 3 tips to successfully configure your sales strategy, satisfying the needs of the post-Covid consumer:
1. Multichannel: the prerequisite of the new retail era
Over the next 5 years, consumers will continue to shop on and offline, moving freely from one space to another. Being present both physically and online, with e-commerce portals or more streamlined and accessible digital showcases such as those offered by the ShopCall video commerce platform, will be the winning combination to ride the wave of retail growth.
2. Integration and coherence between bricks and mortar and digital
By browsing your online store, customers need to recognise your identity and feel as if they were in the shop. The answer to buyers’ growing fluidity – who purchase indiscriminately on the web or in the store, without paying attention to where they are – is consistency. This translates into uniqueness and is the key to standing out from competitors and retaining customers.
3. More value, thanks to online
The digital channel has enormous potential to enrich the customer shopping experience in virgin territory.
Consumers obviously flock to the web to get information and look for insights on the products to buy.
Online customers want to talk, discuss and receive answers in real-time. A smart and advanced retailer should abandon the idea of the web as a simple e-commerce channel, where to exhibit and sell, to provide added value to their customers’ shopping experience, and go the extra mile. How? More competitive prices, for example, but also greater customisation and unprecedented assistance, taking advantage of the most innovative tools such as live streaming platforms or video commerce tools such as ShopCall to offer both online and in-store expert advice.
