HOW WILL RETAIL LOOK IN 2022? - THE FIVE PREDICTIVES
D'Art Design
Designing the Change. Retail Marketing And Branding Agency | Store Design and Rollout Strategy
Two years in the slave-minded holocaust has taught the retail industry a lesson that you can’t expect, even. The shouldered challenges with some oregano sprinkled were hard to tackle and it is a pure fact. But as much everything changed from that prospect, the needs and desires of customers remained unaffected and have catered to self as they come. So almost all the development in the retail sector does serve convenience on a silver platter, i.e. seamless, easy, stress-free transactions, convenience, personalized experiences, meaningful connections, relatability, and value.
And yet, as customer prospects continue to evolve, in the most unpredictable ways. But the one thing that will help you maintain your relevance in 2022 depends upon how much you understand your customer. So, what can you expect in 2022 for your retail agency?
The business has always been like a war. The ultimate goal is winning the customer who is also your opponent till they become an extension of the brand. And the first rule of war is to know your opponent.
Thus, in order to meet the unexpected, you need to go back to the basics of human behavior, reviewing fundamentals, learning how shoppers shop, their habits, how they make their purchasing decisions, what factors influence them to take suitable action, and how they ultimately pay.
You need to sort that out before you move ahead because the tip of one mountain is the bottom of another. The brand is by the customer, from the customer, and for the customer. It’d just that customers don’t know what they need so the brand has to keep one step ahead. In light of this, here are some of the predictions that will shape retail spaces in 2022 and Beyond.
The essence of the retail store is in its convenience. And now as the future approaches, the convenience aspect of the store is evolving. As the customer base expand the emphasis on efficiency has increased. ?Because there isn’t any limit to how much effort people want to put in. One such solution is omnichannel store design. Here customers can place the order from anywhere, mostly from the comfort of their homes, and then by the time they reach the store their product is ready.
In this fast-paced life, there is no time to stop and wait in line. Now with increased automation, robots will soon become commonplace in the future and retail stores would be the first to benefit from the targeted efficiency of intelligent machines.
Unlike traditional methods of payments, the new BNPL will allow shoppers to buy products upfront without any fee, assuming they will pay back in the number of allotted installments.?It is easier for the customer, preferable for the brand, it is just breezy for everyone involved.
The customer doesn’t feel the crushing weight of debt and the brand gets to hitch the customer to them as long as there are more payments to be made. This service is already there in the online space but now mainstream businesses also accepting them. As it is already prominent online, and more brands are adopting this method of payment, it will become more visible, consumers will demand and expect it in stores and will shop where brands offer it.
Every retail store has pressure points in the working and it’s the brand’s job to relieve the stress of such pressure points to make the experience seamless. So, engaging with the brand, even for a necessity, is a positive experience and not a chore.
These smart mirrors come into play, especially for clothing brands. The customers can simply experience the product virtually before deciding on what they want. This will reduce back and forth clutter in the store and would make the customer more enthusiastic. Coupled with Artificial Intelligence, these mirrors can double as the customer’s own assistant when it comes to choosing the best solution and optimizing the retail store experience because why be burdened with choice and free will when the quicker and smarter computer can do it for you.
Brands of all scales are moving ahead with a mindset of a sustainable future. This has made the ecosystem a little upset and nothing motivates people to opt for greener solutions like the threat of annihilation. Even people emerging with new brands are coming with new ways to make people aware of the impact their daily practices are having on the environment.
Some of the brands are telling customers the carbon footprint of their purchases at checkout and giving them chance to balance it. Other brands are using recyclable products made with water bottles and food waste. Not just that brands providing retail business solutions are looking for more sustainable materials to use that can be used again and again without straining non-renewable resources.
Retail is already moving towards seamless payments methods, one is already here that is BNPL. Brands are adopting methods where shoppers just take items and leave the store. It might seem they are getting them for free but, the brands are keeping check of their customer’s purchases and deducting the amount from their accounts. Like a high-end retail drive-through.
It has made the experience total human-interaction free that means no cashiers or counters.?This has made customers take what they want and leave without waiting to make physical payments. Some of the brands are using AI, cameras and, computers to track their shopper's picks and charge them accordingly, eliminating the need to wait in queues. Cause gotta go faster right?
CONCLUSION –
The world is rapidly advancing into the future (technically every second it is), all kinds of changes would follow, from evolving business practices to design philosophy. And with the increasing pretentiousness and cyber high, the human touch is becoming increasingly valuable. Therefore, in the end, what matters is that we focus on the developments that would improve the world around us.