20 Mar Reinventing Retail: What business need to know for 2015
In the year since Walker Sands conducted its first Future of Retail Study, the industry has continued to experience a transformation driven by trends such as the rapid rise of mobile commerce, introduction of Apple Pay, and same-day shipping experiments with drones and couriers. It has also been shaken up by point-of-sale hacking scandals, marketplace Alibaba’s massive initial public offering, and the evolution of Black Friday from one day of deals into its own promotional season. There is no doubt that 2014 ushered in a wave of major changes that will continue to shape commerce in the years ahead. Yet, many of the big stories and trends all come back to one core takeaway – technology continues to shape the future of retail. The second annual Future of Retail Study analyzes how technology has forever changed consumer shopping habits and looks at the technology trends that retailers should be getting on their short- and long-term radars. This report surveyed more than 1,400 U.S. consumers on their online shopping habits to help retail technology companies anticipate consumer behavior in 2015 and beyond
» Consumers are shopping online more frequently and purchasing a broader selection of products, but Amazon is still the go-to website for most categories.
» Free shipping is more important than fast shipping and could incentivize consumers to shop online for products they do not traditionally buy online, such as groceries and luxury goods.
» Most consumers still carry some cash, but they’re using it less frequently and only for select purchases such as street vendors and cabs.
» The introduction of Apple Pay has accelerated the shift to mobile payments, but consumers still have security and privacy concerns about using their phones at the cash register.
» As commerce and technology continue to increasingly intersect, consumers will embrace emerging technology such as drones and virtual reality shopping.
Download the full report here
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