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I’m not too sure about the first one, Amazon is so damn good at what they do I can’t see them getting challenged but I suppose eventually they will get some chinks in their armor.<\/p>\n
The second one is already happening where I work and will continue to be a thing for a while. \u00a0 #5 is inevitable and already begun (here’s looking at you, Radio Shack.)<\/p>\n
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The pundits have consulted their crystal balls and have zeroed in on trends poised to shake up, redefine and drive the retail<\/a> industry \u2014 and how we shop \u2014 in 2015.<\/em><\/p>\n Here\u2019s what they foresee:<\/em><\/p>\n 1. Amazon Will Finally Face Its Match\/Matches<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWhile Amazon still clearly rules the digital shopping roost, other retailers are finally getting their digital businesses in order such that shoppers don\u2019t always have to think Amazon first,\u201d writes Wendy Liebmann, CEO of WSL Strategic Retail in her report, \u201cTrends From the Edge.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Mass-market behemoths Walmart and Target TGT<\/span> +0.42%<\/span><\/span><\/span>, for one, have made the most dramatic improvements to their online shopping experience and value proposition, she says.<\/em><\/p>\n This holiday season \u201cthey worked hard to match Amazon\u2019s intensity for price, speed and creativity. Both leveraged their advantage of enabling shoppers to order online and pick up in store.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n What\u2019s more, Macy\u2019s, Bloomingdale\u2019s, Nordstrom JWN<\/span> +1.65%<\/span><\/span><\/span>, Crate & Barrel and Costco are enhancing their online services and the shopper experience. Also giving Amazon a run for its money is Alibaba, China\u2019s biggest online retailer that\u2019s eyeing the U.S. market, Liebmann said.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cNow I\u2019m not suggesting that Amazon has lost its luster or is about to disappear from the ether. [CEO] Jeff Bezos\u2019 \u2018everything store\u2019 has changed shoppers\u2019 expectations for just about everything. It has redefined service, selection, convenience and the overall value experience for one out of two American shoppers who regularly buy from it, according to our How America Shops research.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cFor the last 20 years it had the digital shopping world virtually to itself,\u201d she said. \u201cToday, however, that is no longer the case.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n 2. Retailers Will Exploit The Mainstreaming Of The Health And Wellness Trend<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWhat began as a fringe movement of people interested in organic food, yoga and shopping at Whole Foods and Trader Joe\u2019s has turned into a national trend, driven by a broad constituency of consumers of all incomes, ethnicities and genders,\u201d Liebmann said.<\/em><\/p>\n That\u2019s translated into a cross-section of shoppers seeking healthy choices beyond traditional health categories, such as food, beauty, home, active wear and technology.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThat creates opportunities for lots of brands, categories and retailers,\u201d she said.<\/em><\/p>\n 3. Beacon Technologies<\/strong> Will Come Into Their Own<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Amid the accelerating innovation of in-store mobile technology, beacons \u2014 sensors that are embedded throughout a retail store\u2019s digital touch points like shelves, signs and product displays, and can interact with mobile devices using low-energy Bluetooth signals \u2014 will continue to gain momentum in the next 12 months.<\/em><\/p>\n That\u2019s because retailers are increasingly looking to \u201cpersonalize the in-store shopping experience to compete with online retailers,\u201d said Ben Pivar, retail leader, North America, for consulting, technology and outsourcing firm Capgemini in his outlook on retail trends for 2015.<\/em><\/p>\n 4. Retailers Will Leverage Customer Data Beyond E-commerce And Marketing<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Retailers will mine new ways to leverage advanced shopper analytics earlier in their store planning processes.\u201cLocalization will be a big focus for retailers as they look to manage inventories more effectively, increase revenue, and improve margins by creating the right product assortments for the right stores according to local customer demand, store attributes, and product preferences,\u201d Pivar says. \u201cAdvanced analytics will also play an increasingly critical role in the design and development of new products, initial pricing decisions, and demand forecasting.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n 5. Online Surge Could Steamroll Store Closings<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n The rise in e-commerce may result in smaller stores and more store closings. For example, \u201cAmerican Eagle plans to close 150 stores, while Abercrombie & Fitch expects to close 60 each year for the next few years,\u201d according to the Bloomberg Intelligence 2015 Outlook for the Retail Industry.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a06.<\/strong>\u00a0Retailers Will Woo Shoppers With Food<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n As online shopping has captured consumer mindshare, retailers must find new reasons to lure shoppers into stores. More retailers are recognizing that a way to a shopper\u2019s heart is through his\/her stomach.<\/em><\/p>\n Some examples: Macy\u2019s Herald Square flagship in New York City is expanding its food and beverage offerings, from a full-service Italian restaurant Stella 34 Trattoria to several Starbucks, notes Liebmann. Meanwhile, Urban Outfitters has added restaurants to its Manhattan and Brooklyn stores, and Uniqlo has added a Starbucks to its Fifth Avenue Flagship.<\/em><\/p>\n 7. Apparel Sales Might See Only Slight Gains \u2014 Save For One Bright Spot<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Apparel retailers\u2019 sales may increase in 2015,\u00a0but \u201cthe lack of a major new fashion trend will likely prevent a sales surge,\u201d Bloomberg Intelligence predicts.<\/em><\/p>\n However, \u201cthe shift in consumer spending toward athletic, performance-based apparel, and away from fashion-related merchandise, have accelerated sales and profit margins at retailers such as Under Armour.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n From Barbara Thau on Forbes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I’m not too sure about the first one, Amazon is so damn good at what they do I can’t see them getting challenged but I suppose eventually they will get some chinks in their armor. The second one is already happening where I work and will continue to be a thing for a while. \u00a0 Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-retail-companies","category-retail-trends"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=474"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":478,"href":"https:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474\/revisions\/478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}