The retail industry is dynamic and ever-evolving. With advancements in technology, it becomes imperative for retail solution providers to identify key trends shaping the retail landscape, and subsequently adapt their product strategy and roadmap to address these challenges. Some key top retail trends that retail technology providers should focus on are outlined below.

• Mobile-based shopping: The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the early 2020s pushed many shoppers to opt for online shopping, especially through their mobile devices. Globally, the majority of time spent by smartphone users was online. People utilize mobile phones for online shopping and take pleasure in the personal recommendations they frequently receive. Retailers have recognized the potential of mobile phones for value-added activities such as marketing and sales. Using mobile tools, it becomes quick and easy for store associates to manage their daily tasks at their fingertips. Store associates can order a product unavailable in-store for home delivery, advise customers based on their purchase history, perform regular inventory check-ups, as well as help store managers analyze store performance to make informed decisions.
• Payments: There has been a surge in the need for providing frictionless, personalized, and secure payment methods to consumers to enhance the customer journey from browsing to the final purchase. There have been numerous innovations and developments in payments including the prevalence of contactless, Tap-to-Pay, and Pay-by-Link payment methods. Digital wallets, store credit, and loyalty card schemes are gaining significant popularity worldwide. Moreover, instant payment applications are enticing more and more consumers owing to their swift, seamless, and minimal to no processing charges. Therefore, retail solution vendors must ensure that new payment methods are smoothly adopted and remain compliant with the laid-out security standards.
• Sustainability: With the rise of sustainability issues across the globe, retailers are seeking ethical and sustainable ways of doing business by measuring and reducing their carbon footprint. As consumers shift towards more affordable, environmentally friendly shopping options, sustainability practices are in the spotlight for retail organizations wanting to appease the public. Therefore, retail software providers should aim to offer carbon footprint assessments that will make it possible for retailers to manage and constantly review the environmental impact of all the processes across the supply chain.
• Employee Experience: Enhancing the Customer Experience (CX) is invariably a priority and ultimate goal for businesses. Recently, Employee Experience (EX) has become a major issue and priority for organizations. It has become crucial for retail organizations to retain employees and improve their operational productivity by creating a more positive experience for employees. Businesses are striving to improve the employee experience by bridging the gap between the personal and professional lives of employees through more effective communication tools, task simplification, and successful training programs. This leads to better consumer and employee engagement, resulting in serving the consumers well, and ultimately augmenting the CX. Therefore, retailers are keen to adopt solutions that allow in-store associates to manage their day-to-day activities, train themselves, and adhere to company policies and guidelines. This can lead to greater time savings, higher satisfaction, and loyalty amongst staff.
• Composable Architecture: More and more retail solution vendors are aiming to offer microservices-based and API-first applications where each microservice can be modified without disrupting the entire working environment. This results in greater flexibility, scalability, and agility and supports quicker deployment times. Furthermore, providing APIs facilitates seamless integration with third-party as well as existing applications for interoperability. Retail organizations prefer choosing software vendors that follow the MACH framework. Therefore, retail solution vendors are chasing this agile, low-risk, and high-value approach for quick development and improved application performance.

Conclusion

The push for sustainable practices in retail has led to innovations in packaging, recycling, and supply chain transparency. This influences the manufacturing, agriculture, and fashion industries to adopt ethical practices and recyclable materials, driven by consumer demand for eco-friendly products. The growing importance of online shopping via mobile devices has driven logistics, warehousing, and delivery services. Furthermore, the rise of mobile commerce is driving the fintech industry to develop and expand digital payment solutions. This also affects the telecommunications industry as the need for better mobile connectivity and security measures increases.

Author: Saad F. Shaikh, Analyst at Quadrant Knowledge Solutions