Decoding the top 4 retail trends and how they stack up for the Indian market

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Today, disruption in the retail industry is all-pervasive. As retailers struggle to differentiate themselves in the marketplace, retail success is measured on a brand-new metric – customer experience per square foot. Over the next decade, this success will be driven by several factors: a deep understanding of and connection to the empowered customer; the retailers’ ability to adopt disruptive technologies and business models – both offline and online; and establishing future-ready capabilities.

According to a study, retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) organisations will unlock $2.95 trillion in business value by 2026. Hence, it pays to keep an eye on the retail trends.

The growing shift to e-commerce is expected to trigger a slide in physical retail footprint in terms of the number of stores and their sheer size.

Robotics can help retailers save costs by ensuring higher utilisation, enhanced accuracy and faster transaction times. 3D printing technology can enable retailers to create immersive in-store customer experiences. Digital traceability is likely to witness widespread adoption in the areas of inventory replenishment and product authenticity mapping.

However, physical stores will remain relevant for retailers. In fact, this is the right time for retailers to re-imagine their brick-and-mortar business strategy. Identifying ways to drive connected consumer experiences and leverage stores as key differentiators against pure-play digital players will drive success.

‘Click-and-Collect’ is fast emerging as a mandatory fulfillment model for retail and grocery players. Shoppers are increasingly ordering their items online and picking them up from a store – and at a time – of their choice. It is estimated that by 2025, Click-and-Collect will fulfill 10 percent of all retail sales.

In this regards, various retailers are adopting different strategies to increase their digital index. Some have created their own online sites focusing on customer-centricity. Several SME retailers from Tier II and Tier III cities have started selling in well-established online marketplaces. Global brands like Mango prefer a hybrid mix – commoditised assortment in the marketplace and selling premium collections in their own online sites.

Technologies like AI, AR/VR will disrupt the Indian e-commerce market – driven by the wide usage of mobile devices with features like voice/image-based searches, precise personalisation, and so on. Tech-enabled retailers will use their physical stores as differentiators while competing with the online marketplaces.

Groceries account for ~66 percent of the Indian retail market. However, online grocery remains at a nascent stage owing to the fragmented and unorganised nature of the Indian market. A study suggests that it will grow to $17.39 billion by 2022 due to fast-paced urbanisation, changing customer lifestyle and tech-savvy demographic changes.

The author is a Group Vice President, Global Service line Lead – Retail & Omni channel commerce at Publicis.Sapient.