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Retail Trends and Predictions 2014
Vend's 12 predictions for retail in 2014.
Sometimes in the busy world of retail, it's hard to know everything that's happening now let alone what's coming next! Well, we're here to
help with that. Weve prepared this handy guide, and made sure it is bite-sized, all killer no filler, so you can read it between the accounts and
stock-orders.
Sprinkled throughout are some key comments gathered by Retail Touch Points, fromtheir excellent 2014 Retail Technology Preview. We work
with Retail Touch Points when we want to analyze the smallest consumer behavior, as well as the largest global trends.
Behold, the near future!
1. Omnichannel retailing will be the norm
Retailers will continue to realize that they need to connect with users on multiple channels and touch points simultaneously or even
interchangeably. In 2014, more retailers will give customers the ability to interact and complete transactions on their own terms. In other words,
if a customer wants to view an itemonline, purchase it using their phone, and return it by dropping by the store, they can do so in a smooth and
seamless way.
UK fashion retailer Oasis is doing a very good job in omnichannel retailing. The merchant gives customers the flexibility to browse inside the
store, then purchase online and vice versa. Shoppers can have their products shipped, or they can choose to pick it up. Additionally, the staff
members at Oasis each have their own iPad which they use not just to process payments, but to assist shoppers when checking sizes, styles and
availability. If a particular itemisnt available in the store, the staff can use their iPads to help shoppers place orders online.
2. The mobile wallet will continue to rise
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Cash and credit cards wont be things of the past any time soon, but mobile will definitely get a huge chunk of the payments pie in the coming
year. According to Forrester Research, mobile payments will amount to $90 billion in the coming years. And we anticipate that in 2014,
retailers will be taking big strides towards that number by adopting solutions such as PayPal, Google Wallet, Square Wallet, Dwolla, and more.
Take Pizza Express, for example. The restaurant developed a mobile application that allows diners to view the menu, book a table, and more
importantly, pay bills via PayPal. That way, if the user forgets their wallet, or is in a hurry to leave, they can simply settle their bill with just a
few taps.
3. Shoppers will get more personalized in-store experiences
One-size-fits all marketing just wont cut it anymore, which is why retailers will start implementing solutions to personalize each customers
experience.
While ecommerce sites have been doing it for years through tailored landing pages, offers, and recommendations, a lot of brick and mortar
stores will also get in on the fun next year. Thanks to Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), a technology that lets Bluetooth 4.0 devices such as
PayPal Beacon, Estimote, and iBeacon communicate with smartphones, retailers will be able to send tailored notifications to each shoppers
device, depending on where they are in the store. Major League Baseball effectively demonstrated this technology when it tested Apples
iBeacon at the Citi Field stadiumin New York.
Users who have MLBs app will be able to get customized messages, depending on where they are in the stadium. For example, when they
arrive at the gates, the app can give themdirections towards their seats. If theyre near a particular shop or booth (say a hotdog stand) they can
get store-specific deals. The app can also send tailored offers, depending on whether someone is a first-time visitor or a long-time fan.
Daniel Druker - Chief Marketing Officer - MyBuys
@DDruker
"The idea of customer-centric marketing cuts across the major technology trends for 2014. Its really about using technology to return to the
early days of retail when every shopkeeper knew each and every one of his or her customers as individuals but at scale." Read more
fromDaniel at Retail TouchPoints 2014 Technology Preview.
www.mybuys.com
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4. Technology will be even more integrated in brick and mortar stores
2014 will be the year when stores say goodbye to boring, antiquated layouts. It has started to dawn on retailers that if they want to keep people
in their stores, they need to make their locations interactive and engaging.
This can be done in a number of ways, the most basic of which is by using in-store mobile devices. Tablets and smartphones are versatile and
can be used in several ways, including taking payments, demonstrating products, offering more information, and encouraging social sharing.
Here are a few examples that demonstrate the successful use of in-store mobile devices. (Expect to see a lot more of these in 2014):
Apple Store Apple has armed all of its associates with iPhones, so they can assist customers and process payments anywhere in the store.
The practice shortens lines and opens up space. Additionally, it lets associates interact with customers more freely.
Burberry The luxury retailer once invited customers into its stores to live-streamthe London Fashion week. Following the event, associates
distributed iPads to customers so they can browse and purchase the items that they just saw.
Make Up For Ever The cosmetics company put iPads in some of its stores to let shoppers browse products and virtually try various make-up
combinations by uploading their own photos.
In addition to tablets, we anticipate that major retailers will implement immersive experiences with the use of large, interactive displays that are
meant to fully engross customers to the point where they kind of forget that theyre inside a store. To the customer, the experience is
interactive, engaging, and powerful.
Examples of retailers already doing this include the Nike Fuel Station in London which has huge LCD displays that mirror shoppers as they
move through the store. Similarly, Gucci has recently set up five columns of super high resolution displays that enable shoppers to browse
various products using hand gestures.
5. The number of mobile businesses will increase
Thanks to mobile POS systems and other cloud applications, people can now do business fromanywhere. This has paved the way for on-the-go
stores such as food trucks and pop-up stores.
In 2014, as mobile technology continues to advance, we expect mobile businesses to evolve with it. For instance, aside fromfood trucks,
expect to see more fashion trucks, flower trucks, and even hair salon trucks.
Pop-up stores, usually reserved for apparel retailers, will diversify as well. Amazon for instance, recently set-up its own pop up store in a San
Francisco mall, while Google has its own Chromebook pop-up stores in various airports.
Learn more about Vend and PayPal make mobile retail awesome in the States.
6. Retailers will reinvent loyalty programs
A 2013 study by Maritz Loyalty Report found that consumers on average are enrolled in 7.4 loyalty programs. However, each year 53 percent
of these members stop participating in at least one loyalty programa year, citing irrelevant reward offerings (68 percent) and slow reward
accumulation (50 percent) as top barriers..
That being said, we anticipate retailers to beef up their loyalty efforts in 2014. Loyalty cards are on their way out and will be replaced by
customized rewards that incorporate social information, shopping behavior, and more.
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Office Depot for instance, started implementing a programthat gives customers rewards based on their frequently bought items, shopping
behavior and the amount information that they shared with the brand. Customers can sign up for one of three membership types that best
describes them: Local Businesses, Loyal Customers or Star Teachers. Members will then receive personalized offers designed exclusively for
Learn more about Vends built in loyalty program.
Karen Dutch - Senior Vice President Marketing - Revionics Inc.
@revionics
"We see a trend towards using social not only as a vehicle for inspiration and aspiration but as a mechanismto digitally engage, reward loyalty
and drive shoppers to the register, online and in-store, with relevant offers that can be amplified through social channels." Read more from
Karen at Retail TouchPoints 2014 Technology Preview.
www.revionics.com
7. Relationship marketing and thought leadership will rule retailers' sales & marketing strategies
Say goodbye to pushy sales people who follow shoppers around. Retailers will learn that going for the hard sell isnt effective anymore.
Instead, theyll invest in cultivating relationships and establishing thought leadership.
In 2014, we expect more brands to employ likeable expertsstore associates who arent there to sell, but rather to dish out advice, solve
problems, and build relationships. As Internet Retailer puts it, the role of the associate will change froman information provider to a facilitator
of engagement. Instead of just giving product and pricing information, they will leverage each shoppers data (i.e. previous purchases,
shopping behavior etc.) to provide tailored advice and shopper-specific offers. We predict that retailers will invest more in training their staff
for this role, and theyll also invest in arming themwith the right tools.
In addition, businesses will spend more resources in thought leadership and content marketing to educate and engage with consumers. Kind of
like what real estate company Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward did when it launched Completely London magazine in 2009a time when the real
estate market was down in the dumps.
The magazine offered city guides as well as informative and entertaining articles about the people, places, and properties in London. KFHs
efforts paid off. The magazine successfully positioned the company as a thought leader in the real estate space, strengthened its relationship
with existing clients, and attracted new ones.
8. Customers' need for speed will grow in 2014
The "always connected" consumers expect fast answers to questions or requests, and businesses will need to work extra hard to get in touch
with shoppers as quickly as possible. And while businesses have already started doing it via live chat, SMS alerts, 24-7 hotlines, and social
media, were anticipating brick-and-mortar retailers to roll out solutions that would enable associates to give instant, real-time information to
shoppers.
For example, shoppers who walk into Burberry stores will see that associates are armed with iPads that they can use to provide real-time
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product information and availability. Not only that, but according to Retail Info Systems News, associates also have a ton of customer
information at their fingertips, including if the consumer opts in, their shopping behavior, what shops around the world they purchase from,
what they have in their basket online, and more, enabling themto provide personalized offers and recommendations instantly.
Speed can also apply to order fulfillment. As Retail Customer Experience put it, "By 2016, 50 percent of national retailers, will invest in
distributed order management, enterprise inventory visibility, and workforce management to enable same day fulfillment."
We believe that in 2014, retailers will find ways to streamline and speed up order fulfillment so they can get products into customers hands as
quickly as possible. Just take a look at what Amazon is doing. The company recently generated a lot of buzz when it announced its plans for
Prime Air, a drone-based delivery service that aims to complete deliveries in 30 minutes or less.
9. Retailers will continue to invest in Big Data to track shoppers
Studies have found that Fifty-four percent of marketers already have invested in Big Data solutions, and nine out of 10 marketers plan to do
so in 2014.
Why the focus on Big Data? Its because businesses have realized that in order to predict shopper behavior and provide truly personalized
experiences, they would need to gather as much information about the behavior, history, and whereabouts of consumers. Big Data enables
retailers to implement dynamic pricing, personalized recommendations, shopper-specific discounts, and more.
Nordstromis among the top retailers leveraging Big Data. The department store gathers and analyzes massive amounts of information from
in-store sales, online behavior, social media, and more to determine which products to promote and how to market them. It even launched the
NordstromInnovation Lab, a teamof techies, designers, entrepreneurs, statisticians, researchers, and artists, all trying to discover the future
of retail.
Learn how Swarmcan give the big data advantage to the little guy.
Jonathan Levitt - Chief Marketing Officer - OpinionLab
@JonathanLevitt
"Powerful new analytics are emerging as retailers track how people move fromsite to store and how they interact with information, associates
and merchandise prior to the sale. Measurability brings new efficiencies and opportunities." Read more fromJ onathan at Retail TouchPoints
2014 Technology Preview.
www.opinionlab.com
10. Big Data will lead to bigger privacy concerns for consumers
People will get uncomfortable when they realize just how much theyre being tracked, which is why were anticipating consumers to push back
a bit, and try to find ways to stop businesses fromstalking them. They may start using Do Not Track solutions such as the recently-
launched AVG app that blocks WiFi location tracking. We expect more services such as this to emerge next year.
Retailers may be able to address privacy concerns by educating shoppers about the benefits of Big Data analytics. They need to communicate
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that theyre gathering data to improve shopper experience and not to steal information or breach privacy. In addition, businesses need to build
trust by being transparent and empowering users to take control of their information.
11. Social media will heavily influence product decisions
We predict that social media will play a much bigger role in retail decision making. Currently, most retailers are using social sites to monitor
feedback and connect with customers. In 2014 though, theyre going to take it a step further and use social media when developing products
and marketing campaigns.
Nordstromfor example, has started using Pinterest to decide which products to display in their stores. According to Business Insider, popular
items on Pinterest will be displayed with a red tag identifying themas popular in the women's shoe and handbag departments of Nordstrom's
117 stores.
Similarly, Target launched Awesome Shop, a site that showcases Targets best-reviewed and most-pinned items.
True, by the way, have you liked Vend on facebook?
12. Retail will grow in emerging markets
Brands are starting to see that they have huge opportunities in emerging markets such as Brazil, China and India, and we predict that they will
strongly go after those opportunities in the coming year.
In fact, we can already see signs of this happening. Burberry for instance, has reportedly closed 14 stores and opened eight to reflect a focus on
high potential markets including China, the Middle East, India, Brazil and Mexico. Recent reports also state that Tiffany & Co. will spend
more on marketing in China than any other market next year as it strives to build the same kind of reputation for its brand there that it enjoys in
the US.
Lori Mitchell-Keller - Head of Global Retail Industry - SAP
@LoriMitchellKel
"The retailers that are able to tap into integrated customer data repositories, mine it for consumer insights and then execute promotional
campaigns that are truly relevant to the consumer will be the big winners in 2014." Read more fromLori at Retail TouchPoints 2014
Technology Preview.
www.sap.com
Bottom Line: The future lies in the hands of consumers
A lot of the predictions on this list demonstrate the power shift away fromretailers to customers. In the early days of retail, producers had the
most say about pricing and distribution. Overtime though, the web brought about more information and transparency in the formof review
websites, price check apps, and social media.
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As a result, shoppers now have more control over what to purchase and where to buy it from, leaving retailers with the challenge of vying for
consumer attention. And thats why the emerging trends of 2014 are all about grabbing and keeping the interests of shoppers. Retailers are
learning that their survival depends on how well they adapt to this customer-centric reality.
What do you think of these predictions? Can you relate? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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Top 20 Retai l Apps to Make the Most
of Your iPad

robhoran I notice you mention Rdio

Retail Trends and Predi cti ons 2014 |
12 retai l trends and predi ctions to

James Rigden Great Post looking

4 Comments

Marcin Szelag
Not mentioned in your predictions is vertical commerce. There are more and
more brands being launched which take an end to end approach to customer
experience from manufacturing to distribution. Brands like Bonobos or Warby
Parker have shown significant growth. In the next couple of years we might see a
strong trend in building online first brands who are more tech savvy than the
typical brick and mortar competitors.

Rory Larsen
Hello,
I have patented (with international patents pending) a multi-media-coat-hanger. It
is a
traditional coat hanger with a built-in
video screen and audio speaker. Its a digit visual merchandising tool
which automatically plays brand/garment related video clips when the device is
picked up from the clothing rack by a consumer, within the retail store.
This tool is designed to be owned by brands and hosted by
retail stores. The devices WiFi capabilities will allow brands to change their
hangers video content via cloud server, fromanywhere in the world. The device
will also collect brand specific data regarding its level of interaction with
consumers within the retail store.
This device is has the potential to create an exciting new
marketing platform for brands in retail stores.
For more information, please contact me at Rory.Larsen@mail.com
Kind Regards,
Rory Larsen

dominique
More people are becoming reliable to their mobile devices. With this kind trend
more website should be mobile friendly. Having good SEO will defintely help in this
kind of business. Learn more here in ClickMinded SEO Training

pizzasys
Pizza restaurant and have been planning to have an online ordering system for
your restaurant? Your search ends here because PizzaSys is the only and leading
provider of online ordering system for pizza restaurants. We provide customized
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