5 Retail Trends For Improving The Customer Experience In 2019

By Fiona Honeyman, APG Cash Drawer

Retail is undergoing a major sea change as retailers reshape the shopping experience. As consumers become more demanding thanks to the conveniences of online shopping, savvy retailers are making strides to replicate – or even surpass that experience – at physical locations. Retailers who make customer-centric decisions,  investing in stores, technology, fulfillment and customer service teams will stand to profit.

There is a move toward personalization among retailers. This is true for both the marketing of products and for the products themselves. Using data analytics, retailers are marketing to customers based on previous purchases or even previous searches. When it comes to products, online apparel retailers are offering made-to-measure clothing for men and women, ranging from custom fit jeans to custom fit shirts. The “design your own” concept for retail represents a trend to satisfy individual customer’s preferences and needs. Nike capitalizes on this by offering custom designed sneakers, empowering customers to create exclusive, personalized apparel. Online marketplaces are also developing artisans’ coops selling unique and creative products are increasingly popular.

Retailers are also investing in a variety of technologies to improve personalization, mobility and the buyer’s experience cross-channels. Many are also interested in improving data security, which has been a focus lately with policies like GDPR and the California privacy law coming into effect, while buzzy topics like AI, AR, VR and robotics are still being explored. As 2019 kicks into gear, we will see some emerging retail trends gain traction and possibly even become a standard business approach. Consider the following five trends: