How to Make a Next-Gen Store a Right-Now Store

For the past few years, new technologies have been introduced to retail with the potential and promise to launch companies into the new era of retail, one where the shopper is clearly in control. But, moving beyond the “cool” factor and a possible brighter future, what applications are meaningful and relevant to today’s most pressing opportunities?

In 2017, retail eCommerce sales worldwide amounted to US$2.3 trillion, and are projected to grow to US$4.88 trillion in 2021. Yet despite the huge potential for success online, many brands struggle to capture more of this growing market. With marketplaces like Amazon, Walmart, Etsy and eBay becoming the top destinations for online shoppers, brands are challenged like never before.

Today’s shoppers are empowered by information and global alternatives, and their cross-channel shopping journeys create a complicated environment in which retailers and their siloed organizations must compete. Making matters worse are the often archaic and ineffective performance metrics that retailers are trying to “shoehorn” into the new retail reality, both online and in-store.

In 2018, 96% of FMCG growth took place outside hyper and supermarkets, e-commerce grew 20%, discounters have been appearing almost everywhere and new hybrid retail formats are becoming more common place around the globe. Our upcoming publication Winning Omnichannel – Finding growth in reinvented retail explores where to grow and how to win in a context in which global sales grew just 2.1%. This is our most comprehensive Omnichannel study yet, based on data from across 47 countries, representing 83% of GDP providing a unique picture of retail & shopper dynamics across the globe.