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Today’s retail world is changing like never before. The new generation is full of digital shoppers who have grown up speaking to Amazon’s Alexa and interacting with touchscreens. Something as simple as grocery shopping in the supermarket has become a special occasion, as weekly grocery orders are delivered to the doorstep. The prevalence of technology will continue to grow and shape how consumers define shopping. Online retail in other sectors besides food Before examining the food industry, it is worth assessing trends in the nonfood retail sector as a proxy for what’s to come. For these categories, the penetration of online retail is already high and is expected to continue to grow. This growth has not come as a surprise, as barriers to adoption have decreased in recent years, greatly improving the customers’ online experience. For example, one major stumbling block to purchasing cosmetics online has been the difficulty consumers have in envisioning how products will look on them. L’Oreal overcame this challenge by investing in an app, Makeup Genius, which demonstrates various looks on a customer’s face in real time. Another challenge for online sales is the time and effort customers require in picking from an endless aisle of seemingly limitless options. THE RISE OF ONLINE FOOD SHOPPING In contrast, online penetration has remained low in the food sector. Many industry leaders are skeptical that online sales will ever make up a significant share, given the high barriers to adoption. These barriers include discomfort with a cumbersome digital shopping experience and additional charges reflecting the cost of fulfillment and delivery. THE ROLE OF STORES The role of the physical store will still be important despite the rise of online retail. In fact, brick-and-mortar retail can still thrive in the new era. For many, they still want to go to a store and have something of a more hands on experience. Traditional retailers will be able to leverage their main assets: a network of stores in key locations and knowledgeable staff with experience in assisting customers. This is something you simply cannot get so much from any online store set up. Retail Design and the offering of Retail Design solutions have for sure gone a long way in how they are now able to shape the very retail experiences a retailer is able to offer and deliver to the end user. In the old world, retailers acted as the gatekeepers who granted access to consumers – and were richly rewarded. Today, companies are finding new ways to get products to customers and with the likes of a Retail Design agency, they will suss out new and innovative ways to get closer to the consumer and in a more effective way also.
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