Retail Trends 2021: What 61 Industry Experts Predict for the Post Covid-19 Era

retail trends 2021

In 2020, the unexpected pandemic unsettled the world as we know it. Fortunately, the retail industry’s growth rates in nearly all leading economies remained positive. For instance, in the United States, the retail index grew by 6.9% (YoY), with eCommerce sales contributing 21.3% of the total retail revenue or more than a fifth of the GMV generated for the first time. E-commerce sales spike is not entirely surprising since the lockdowns kept the physical retailers shuttered for weeks in many countries. “In 2020, the YoY growth of eCommerce in retail is 3 times higher than that of 2019.” Despite the favorable

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Valentine’s Day Retail Best Practices to steal your customers’ hearts.

retail best practices valentine's day

Who doesn’t love Valentine’s Day? If you’re an online retailer, you already know that the international celebration of true love is a great time to boost sales and to recover from the post-holiday slump. In 2020, Valentine’s Day sales reached an all-time high, hitting $27.4 billion in the United States alone. This year, as retailers cope with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, Valentine’s Day sales are more important than ever. The future of eCommerce in the post-pandemic era seems to be promising, with emerging retail technologies and opportunities arising. Since Valentine’s Day campaign is one the most important marketing campaigns of

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The Top 15 Retail Technologies to Watch in 2024

top retail technologies

Much of the world we live in today depends primarily on technology. It influences nearly every aspect of our lives, from how we communicate with one another to the way we conduct our businesses.  At the same time, technology is ever-evolving, shifting to make our lives more convenient and enjoyable. As new technology trends emerge, the wisest decision for any business is to keep up and adapt. This is especially crucial for those in eCommerce and retail, as it’s those technological advancements that keep customers coming back for more due to differentiated shopping experience. 2020 put retailers in quite a

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The Guide to Annual Retail Company Budget Planning: 2024 Edition

retail company budget planning

One of the quickest ways to ensure your retail business’s success is to spend a lot of effort in your company budget planning. This process is easier than you might think, and it gives you an objective overview of your company. By tracking how much you make and spend, you’ll be able to pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of your retail operation. In this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know about company budget planning – why you need it, how to do it, a useful template, and some helpful tips. But first, a definition. What is Business Budget Planning

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How to Make Visual Commerce Work in Retail

Visual commerce in retail

In the first quarter of 2020, the United States accounted for $160.3 billion in retail sales through e-commerce channels. In 2019 alone, eCommerce sales increased by 11.1% more than total retail sales. This stat indicates that sales online are beginning to outperform more traditional methods of purchase. The growing ratio of online retail sales isn’t a new trend, either. Digital Commerce 360’s analysis of data from the US Department of Commerce reveals that eCommerce sales have been on the rise for over a decade.  The COVID pandemic has only encouraged the popularity of eCommerce through the shutdown of brick and mortar stores.

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Retail Best Practices: Nailing your Holiday Marketing

Retail Best Practices for Holiday Marketing

As we step into 2024, the retail industry continues to evolve, adapting to the ever-changing consumer landscape. The challenges and uncertainties of 2020 are now firmly in the rearview mirror, but they have left a lasting impact on how people approach holiday shopping. Recent data from 2023 reveals intriguing shifts in consumer spending habits, transforming the holiday season into a unique battleground for retailers. From a surge in online shopping to a renewed focus on sustainability and conscious consumerism, these trends are reshaping the competitive landscape. In this article, we’ll explore the latest insights and retail best practices that are

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How to Use QR Codes in Retail: Best Practices for Optimal Customer Experience

QR codes retail

To deliver exceptional next-generation in-store experiences, retailers must bridge the gap between the digital and physical worlds. QR codes in retail stores enhance the customer journey and facilitate an omnichannel shopping experience that seamlessly connects the dots between the physical and online spaces. Despite having been around for decades, the first wave of QR codes for retail didn’t see the success many marketers hoped it would, mostly due to technological shortcomings that required users to download various scanner apps. But since Apple’s iOS 11 update that allowed iPhone users to scan QR codes directly through the camera app, the implementation

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How to Prepare for Black Friday 2024: A Retailer’s Guide

Black Friday 2020

Retailers across the nation felt optimistic in the immediate aftermath of previous Black Fridays. Always a huge source of profit, this beloved shopping day blew away predictions by producing an impressive $7.4 billion in sales. Expectations for Black Friday 2023 were high in light of these numbers. This year, fears of coronavirus transmission threaten to keep shoppers out of stores, as does a struggling economy that leaves many shoppers with little cash to spare. Still, while profits will probably not reach levels enjoyed in 2019, retailers need not lose hope. If anything, this year offers a valuable opportunity to implement measures

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The 2024 Retailer Guide to Customer Engagement Best Practices

customer engagement best practices retail guide

In recent years, customer engagement has grown to be the new buzz word among customer experience advocates. The more engaged your customers are, the more emotionally invested they are in your business, and hence more likely to advocate your brand. Given that study has shown that a 5% growth in retention can lead to 25% growth in future profits, it’s no wonder organizations across all sectors have embarked on passionate pursue in growing customer engagements from the leadership and down. As an industry disproportionately affected by the recent pandemic, retail businesses have extra incentive to provide distinctive customer experience to

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eCommerce Growth in Time of Crisis: What Apparel Retailers Should Know

eCommerce Growth during Crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic has turned out to be a genuine black swan turning the global economic patterns upside down. The retail industry and apparel segment, in particular, are not an exception. The lockdown has not only forced fashion retailers to put more effort into online channel development but has also changed consumer shopping behavior in a fundamental manner. There are good reasons to say that the apparel industry will not be the same as we got used to it before the crisis. So, how can retailers stay effective while everyone around is now selling online? This entry is right about

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How B2B Companies Can Deliver the Amazon Experience

building amazon experience

Each month, more than 197 million people around the world visit Amazon.com. If it were a country, Amazon would be among the ten most populous world’s places. In 2019, the online retail giant accounted for 13.7% of the global market share. In the US, it accounts for over 50% of the local ecommerce market. So, what is the secret of Amazon’s success? The answer is simple – Amazon has built its brand culture on the foundation of innovation and user-centricity. In this article, you will learn how to achieve the “Amazon experience” when marketing to B2B customers. Amazon has Built its Brand

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Best Back to School Campaigns: The 26 Best Retailers Who Made the Grade

Back to school campaign ideas

The Back to School season is always an attractive opportunity for retailers to gain a foothold ahead of the holiday season and get inspired by the best Back to School campaign examples. In fact, this shopping season is second only to Black Friday as America’s largest retail event. For 2022, the National Retail Federation predicted that K-12 back-to-school spending would reach $36.9 billion, surpassing the previous record of $30.3 billion set back in 2012. As you consider how to achieve meaningful ROAS (Return on Advertising Spend) this season, draw inspiration from these creative Back-to-School campaign ideas from the past. Table

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19 Mobile Checkout Best Practices For 2024

Mobile checkout Best Practices

The digital landscape of 2023 looks little like the eCommerce environment that dominated just a few short years ago. One of the most significant changes? A clear shift to mobile. An Episerver benchmark study involving 1.3 billion website views reveals that, on many days, over 80 percent of viewing sessions originate from mobile devices. As such, organizations that utilize conversion rate optimization (CRO) and other mobile checkout best practices hold the potential to achieve huge improvements in marketing ROI.  What Is Mobile Checkout? The term “mobile checkout” references the process of completing a digital transaction from a device such as

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Why Retailers Should Diversify Away From Amazon – And How to Do It?

retailers-diversity-away-from-amazon

Reading that title may have shocked you a little – move away from Amazon? Responsible for over 30% of all ecommerce transactions, Amazon is the place to sell if you want to get traffic and earn a profit from it. So why on earth would you want to move away from it? If you’re selling on just Amazon, you’re putting all your eggs in one basket. You’re selling under someone else name and entirely at the mercy of the Amazon overlords when it comes to your selling privileges. Amazon isn’t exactly the most ethical company around, either. They’ve been known

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Secrets to Writing Customer Service Emails That Work

Customer Service Emails

Working in customer service, you deal with tons of emails every day. No wonder, 96% of consumers consider it essential for brand loyalty. So you try to manage your customer service appropriately to influence your overall conversion rates, don’t you? The problem is that there’s a big gap between what businesses and customers consider excellent service. While 80% of companies believe they deliver super experiences, only 8% of customers agree with that. Customers want to feel that brands are on the same wave with people and that their problems matter. As a brand representative, you understand it. However, when dealing with hundreds of customer

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COVID-19: How 34 Businesses Adapted Their Marketing Strategy During Crisis

adaption of marketing strategy during crisis

The pandemic has brought a paramount uncertainty for businesses across the world amidst forced closures, disrupted supply chains, and lowered consumer spending.  According to McKinsey, nearly 24% of the British workforce (7.6 million jobs) is currently at risk because of COVID-19. While in the United States, more than 33 million Americans have reported unemployment during the two months. Retail is among the industries severely impacted by recent events. Most operators struggle to find a way to deal with the new normal, searching through industry reports and whitepapers for ideas and guidance on ensuring business continuity. We decided to talk with 34 B2C, eCommerce, and

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How to Remain Operationally Sustainable as an Ecommerce Retailer During Crisis

Operationally Sustainable eCommerce Retailers

The corona pandemic has led to a significant change in buyer behavior which caused a shift towards more eCommerce sales. While offline retailers had to suffer from severe losses during the lockdown period, many online shops recorded a strong increase in sales. In fact, in the US online retailers registered YoY (year-over-year) revenue growth of 68% in April and conversion rates that are comparable to Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. However, the increase in online sales also correlated with reduced logistics capacities due to the consequences of the spread of the coronavirus (namely lockdown, social distancing, etc.) resulted in

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[Report] How has COVID-19 Impacted Ecommerce Trends?

covid-19-eCommerce-trends

At the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, many governments enforced Stay-at-Home measures that require social distancing for millions and closures of non-essential stores. Unsurprisingly, home confinement forced consumers towards online shopping, as weekly eCommerce sales shot up 61% within the first weeks of the closures. That growth in online sales seems to be the main hope for retailers to retain part of their market share and survive through this crisis. This report examines the weekly eCommerce sales patterns as a result of stay-at-home measures, which products consumers are purchasing online, and which categories consumers have cut back on, in an

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Business Continuity for Retail: Lesson from COVID-19

Ensuring business continuity for Retail

The COVID-19 crisis has been devastating on businesses around the world, causing major disruptions to all business functions – from operations to supply chain management to marketing and sales. One of the sectors most affected by the crisis is the retail industry, as physical retail stores are ordered to shut down in cities across the world. Yet, despite all the trauma induced by this global pandemic, there is a glimmer of a silver lining out of this crisis. COVID-19 is considered to be one of the most impactful market disruptors in recent history, opening several windows of opportunity for businesses

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The Coronavirus Survival Guide for Retail [Infographic]

COVID-19 Survival Guide for Retail

With the outbreak of COVID-19, the retail sector has entered uncharted territory with the temporary closure of physical stores and the slowdown of consumer spending on broad scales. Undoubtedly, there will be tough challenges ahead. That’s why we decided that the best way to help is by offering ideas on the topics that we know well: customer engagements and online conversions. We call this the Coronavirus survival guide for retailers, and we hope it will bring some benefits to your business during these difficult times. May 2020 Update: We  analyzed more than 30M online transactions to understand how COVID-19 affected

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