RETAIL TRENDS REPORT 2017

As retailers roll into 2017, they have a lot of opportunity to win customers. That being said, the road to success may not be an easy one as customers expect more and want to spend less. Check out some of the top trends you can expect to see take shape in 2017.

FUTURE OF RETAIL

THE

ONLINE SPENDING IS SKYROCKETING

While in-store spending has stayed consistent over the past year, nearly all growth for retailers now comes in the form of online sales.

Thanksgiving Day saw $1.93 billion in online sales, an 11.5% increase year-over-year.

Cyber Monday saw record-high spending at $3.45 billion, a 12% YoY growth. While Black Friday generated only $110 million less in online sales than Cyber Monday.

Forrester Research estimates online sales will reach $414 billion by 2018.

MOBILE SHOPPING IS ALSO TAKING CENTER-STAGE

Desktop spending remains steady, much like in-store shopping. But mobile commerce continues to grow rapidly.

In Q3 of 2016, mobile commerce accounted for 20% of total digital sales.

This percentage is estimated to reach 27% by the end of 2018.

But poor mobile experiences can result in website and cart abandonment.

Users are willing to wait 6-10 seconds for a page to load before they abandon the site. Improving the load time by 1 second can increase conversion by 7 percent.

If a checkout page takes just 4 seconds to load, cart abandonment can reach 25 percent.

SOCIAL COMMERCE WILL TAKE OFF IN THE U.S.

“We have been able to send money through Google and Messenger for some time but this was a peer to peer exchange. Pinterest and Twitter are allowing for purchases and that will help with mainstream adoption for brands.”

— Chad Martin, North American Director, Social and Emerging Media at VML

Facebook Marketplace, Pinterest Buyable pins, and Instagram Shoppable posts are all ways consumers can engage with brands and purchase products through social platforms.

Introduction of social commerce also sets the stage for the adoption of new payment options for digital and mobile.

ONE-CLICK SHOPPING COULD HELP BOOST CONVERSIONS

Shoppers want a quicker way to checkout. Mobile cart abandonment is largely attributed to the lengthy checkout process.

Ultimately, it’s about delivering a seamless and easy shopping experience for customers.

Adoption of one-step checkout and mobile wallets may help retailers capitalize on the growing mobile commerce spending.

THE AMAZON PRIME EFFECT

Faster checkouts aren’t the only thing Amazon shoppers have grown to love. Fast shipping is now a must-have for shoppers.

High costs for slow shipping causes many shoppers to abandon their online purchase in the moment.

Shoppers now expect same-day or one to two-day shipping thanks to the ecommerce giant.

83% of shoppers think ‘fast shipping’ means within two days!

IN-STORE STILL MATTERS

Consumers are STILL shopping in-store and returning customers do spend MORE.

Even though future trends point to online, mobile, and social commerce taking off, nearly 90% of purchases still happen in-store.

It costs 5-10x MORE to acquire a new customer than it does to sell to an existing one.

AND returning customers spend 67% more than first-time customers.

CUSTOMERS WANT MORE

Customers want a personalized experience.

By 2020, customer experience will become the #1 factor for shoppers as the key brand differentiator, overtaking price and product.

TECHNOLOGY IS TAKING OVER BRICK-AND-MORTAR

Beacons, Smart Shelves, and Retails Apps are just a few examples of technology flooding into the brick-and-mortar experience.

With more options come more responsibilities (for retailers). Shoppers now have an array of options to choose from and are looking for options that save them time and money. Having an omnichannel presence and creating seamless, personalized experiences across each channel is now a requirement.

ARE YOU EQUIPPED FOR SUCCESS IN 2017?

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SOURCES