2018 RETAIL INDUSTRY TRENDS
In 2018, the retail industry will experience major transformations requiring retailers to review their business strategy.
Technology will be at the heart of this change, with consumers expecting more and more direct experience with brands.
Check out the 8 retail industry trends that we compiled!
Trend #1
Brick-and-mortar stores will continue to flourish
Digital will be present in retail stores to create new in-person shopping experiences. For example, a manufacturer of winter coats “Kanuk” offers to try a coat in a cold room at minus 25°C, thus reproducing harsh winter conditions.
Trend #2
Augmented reality from your couch
With new mobile apps, Augmented Reality (AR) will allow consumers to view how the merchandise fits at home before purchasing. For example, the famous Swedish company IKEA offers the “IKEA Place” app to visualize a piece of furniture directly in your living room! Houzz also offers to visualize furniture and decorative items before buying!
Trend #3
Measure the impact of digital in stores
With the ROPO ratio (Research Online – Purchase Offline), retailers will now be able to find out how many dollars of in-store purchases are attributable to every dollar spent on digital marketing.
Trend #4
An easy mobile checkout
The payment technology’s advances will help increase the percentage of transactions made on mobile devices through fingerprint and face recognition. Also, by the end of 2018, 70% of e-commerce traffic will be via mobile.
Trend #5
Artificial intelligence for a perfect customer experience
Using artificial intelligence (AI), real-time recommendations based on user behavior will help personalize the customer experience. Thus, retail companies have seen their sales increase by 10% thanks to AI.
Trend #6
Ordering has never been so easy
In 2018, consumers will interact with their devices using their voice with such tools as “OK Google”, “Alexa”, and “Siri”. For example, it is possible to order a pizza from Dominos and check the status of the order with a voice request.
Trend #7
Shop by Photo
Who has not dreamed of looking for the dress seen on a fashion magazine with the help of a simple photo? Image-based research will be one of the major digital strategy trends for 2018.
The Visual Match app from Houzz scans photos on the platform and find similar decorative items offered in the Houzz boutique.
Trend #8
End of the dominant era of the web browser
With the advent of mobile applications, AR interfaces and voice interactions, the browser will no longer be the first channel used to digitally purchase products or services.
Keep on eye on all these trends to identify the future impacts on the Canadian retail sector which experiences big changes.
About Techni-Connection
Techni-Connection is a reseller of 3 POS softwares in Canada (Yourcegid Retail, VisualTouch, Retail Management Hero), addressing today’s evolutions and needs. New features are constantly added to the systems (Clienteling, eCommerce, Click & Collect, SaaS, Mobile-POS) to match omni-channel strategies and personalizing the customers shopping experience.
Techni-Connection delivers cost-effective IT solutions to companies of all sizes. With its 24/7/365 helpdesk support system, TCI responds quickly and efficiently to customers problems and provides on-site support. TCI’s strong in-house technical team is also complimented by a network of 150+ certified IT experts across North America.
Source (article in French)
Les 10 tendances qui vont bouleverser le commerce de détail en 2018 – TVA nouvelles