Trends Redefining Retail Market in 2019

Culture Connection with the Consumer

Consumers are becoming increasingly interested in the culture behind the brand; demanding a different kind of shopping experience. Millennials are shopping with their emotions, putting a different kind of pressure on businesses to increase a brand’s culture visibility. Consumers want to shop with brands who share the same beliefs they do. Using a blog, for example, to communicate your company values with consumers is a great opportunity to merge your culture with consumers.

Need for Experiences

Millennials are also changing the expectations of retail shopping from buying items to experiencing a store. These consumers value an engaging experience combining traditional shopping with the new innovative concepts that may or may not involve buying a product. Because of this, many companies are investing in app technology to give their consumers an experience in and out of the store.

A Booming Subscription Market

Customizable subscription e-Commerce options have made it easy for consumers to create a new trend for 2019. Consumers are finding new ways to discover new brands and items personalized to their wants and needs without having to shop themselves. This type of retail market is exploding as the sector continues to grow, feeding into the notion consumers want companies to provide an experience.

Convenient Shopping

According to HubSpot, the internet will continue to make shopping easier, cheaper and more convenient for consumers. The e-Commerce space has been growing rapidly with a 2017 study done by Statista showing the global e-retail sales grew 24.8% last year compared to 2016. As this space continues to grow, many brands are expanding their offerings online. Big brands with a current strong presence online are now finding new technology to connect with consumers’ smart devices allowing them to send targeted and relevant messages to customers through the different stages of the buyer’s journey.

Omni-Channel Shopping

Contrary to belief, brick-and-mortar stores are not becoming outdated in the e-commerce explosion, in fact, they are serving a different function. While still playing a significant role in the sales process for businesses, their new role is a larger strategic plan rather than a place to complete a sale. They are taking more actions to increase brand awareness and act as an experiential destination for consumers. This new trend is to create a strategy allowing multiple touch-points for the consumer to experience the brand.

The retail market has changed significantly over the years and will continue to evolve as new technologies emerge. These create new consumer preferences never seen before in the industry previously. Preparing your company for these new trends is vital to stay relevant in the ever-changing retail world