Key trends retailers, restaurants, and consumer product companies need to plan for in 2018. Includes: Experience, Flexible stores, Unified Commerce, Consumer Engagement, Voice Control, Mobile Wallet, Data usage, Acquisitions and expansion, and Employee Engagement. See our thoughts on AR, VR, and AI too!

1. retail trends for 2018
…and beyond
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2. Experience
Many consumers are seeking experience
over consumption. Over the past 15 years,
discretionary spending on many
consumable goods has decreased while
food, travel, and recreation have increased.
How will retailers find new ways to engage
customers that are consistent with their
brand?
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3. unified commerce &
consumer engagement
Love in the time of Amazon…
Acquisitions, multi-channel fulfillment,
personalization, & service. Consumer engagement
is more than just easy-to-navigate websites.
How will retailers meet customers where they are?
How will they address lines, cancellation rates, and
transparency?
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4. new & flexible stores
The number of traditional stores is decreasing,
but there’s an increase in non-traditional
concepts such as pop-up-stores, mobile, and
limited purpose stores.
How will companies meet consumer
expectations across their expanding network of
storefronts?
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5. voice control
Using Alexa and her frenemies - Apple’s Siri & Google’s Allo - for research,
purchasing, and payment
How will that change the information required to make a decision?
What form factors will be needed?
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6. mobile wallet
More and more it is possible to pay by using a
mobile phone. People barely carry cash
anymore.
What does that mean for retailers and banks
alike?
How do credit costs and data acquisition
challenges increase?
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7. data everywhere
Companies have access to more data than they
can accommodate: POS, in-store and on-line
behavior, social media, product and experience
reviews….
How will companies make sense of the massive
volume of data available and determine what to
use and which problems to solve with this data?
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8. New conquests
Acquiring non-competitors to attract next customers, achieve new brand
positioning, deploy core capabilities in new domains.
Amazon, Walgreens, Wal-Mart, Hudson Bay: making investment in unexpected
places. Which sector will Amazon (and its fast followers) pick next?
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9. Employee is QUEEN
Retailers rely on armies of low-wage workers
to be the face of their brand on the retail floor.
Rising hourly wages, declining unemployment
and the high cost of turnover is causing
retailers to re-think compensation policies and
employee engagement.
What can retailers do to keep employees
engaged, meet regulatory compensation
requirements and reduce the incidence and
related cost of turnover?
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10. technologies looking
for application…
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11. Virtual and augmented reality
How will VR investments influence
the shopping experience?
Will this really have a play for
consumers?
What will this mean to remain
competitive?
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12. AI
Will artificial intelligence play a role for retailers?
How will chat bots evolve? Will purchase decision
making be delegated to digital assistants?
What do retailers need to do today to prepare for
the robot overlords?
Copyright © 2017 Point B. All rights reserved.