The retail research experts at Forrester are looking ahead at the 2022 retail market and have identified important key trends. Let’s take that a step further and talk about what that really means for you.
The circular economy will become a retail necessity
- Call it whatever you want – sustainability, resale, buyback, circular/secondhand strategy – more and more mainstream retailers are making it part of their sales portfolios.
- But will that be a different target market? Will it require separate marketing strategies?
Returns are becoming a retail service battleground
- Even though more than one-third of U.S. online consumers say the fear of returns has discouraged them from buying online, the digital marketplace has put new emphasis on return/exchange policies and convenience.
- Forrester expects retailers and brands will invest to upgrade returns (locations, streamlined processes, refund issuance, internal returns processing.)
- To make those investments work to your advantage, consumers need to know.
Store-in-store initiatives will produce new partnerships
- The Kohl’s-Amazon, Kohl’s-Sephora and Target-Ulta deals are just the start of partnerships between retailers.
- While partnering with another retailer can expand a presence in a prime location at lower risk, it can also lead to confusion at the consumer level. Are they the same company? Do they market for each other? Can one answer my product questions for the other?
- This is clearly an emerging trend, and it’s here to stay. If you’re considering a partnership with another business, our research experts can help you evaluate the potential.
Look for continued in-store sales strength
- Six in 10 retail consumers say they plan on shopping in-store this holiday season.
- Pent-up demand for in-person shopping won’t be slowing down any time soon. 72% of retail sales in the U.S. are forecast to take place in stores – well into 2024.
- In-store or online – we have multiple solutions for reaching both audiences.
Western brands will chase new partners in China
- Analysts at Forrester also predict that regulatory changes in China will mean that Western brands will pursue new retail partners in China beyond Alibaba and JD.com.
- International politics make this a real wild card. BUT, since supply chain challenges may persist for most of 2022, many U.S. companies and retailers will be looking for alternative solutions.
- Those alternative solutions will extend to advertising and marketing. Fluctuations in inventory will require nimble, flexible outreach to consumers. We specialize in nimble and flexible. Call us, and we’ll show you how.