Seven Retail Trends To Watch In 2020

By Paul Griffiths, President and CEO and Stephen Bergeron, VP of Global Marketing and SMARTtill Business Development at APG Cash Drawer

The business outlook for the new year is positive. Despite rumblings about a possible recession, the effects of a trade war and an ongoing transformation in retail, the market is showing strong signs of stability. This bodes well for retailers and the POS solution providers who supply them with technology and services.

“Stability” is not a term often associated with retail, considering many chains are undergoing a profound transformation to meet shopper demands for a “friction-less, tech-driven and immersive” in-store experience. As we’ve noted previously, retail is not dying contrary to what you might have heard by the mainstream press. While chains are feeling the effects of disruption from tech-driven innovators, specialty shops, convenience stores and dollar stores are doing well. Retail in stores was projected to grow 4.6% in 2019, according to NIS. We expect more of the same as we look into 2020. Here are seven trends to watch:

1. The New Retail Normal

While in the past it may have looked as if online shopping would kill brick-and-mortar, that has not come to pass. A new normal is settling in, with shoppers doing a lot of research online for their purchases and picking up in store. Shoppers also are ordering in store and getting delivery at home. These changing habits require retailers to be flexible to please customers.