The document discusses key trends that will affect shoppers and retailers in 2014. Among the trends are an increase in non-essential spending as economies improve, same-day delivery becoming more common, brands leveraging excitement around global events like the World Cup in Brazil, the erosion of trust in institutions and a rise in trust in peer reviews, blending of high-end and low-cost products, advances in social shopping, changes in family structures, the growth of mobile shopping, expanding internet-of-things technologies, and demands for more seamless digital experiences across channels. The document frames 2014 as a positive year for the retail industry as these trends take hold.

1. sues rs
s
ea l i
e
r
opp
sh
ect
ll aff
i
that w
2014
in
1. Treat Or Trick?
2. I Want It Now!
3. Brazilification
4. Who to Trust?
5. High meets
low
6. Social
Shopping 2.0
7. The PostNuclear Family
8. Stay Smart
9. The internet
of things
10. Great
MESHpectation!

2. What a year it promises to be. The digital revolution continues apace and is opening a world of options
for shoppers, brands and retailers. Coupled with the green shoots of economic recovery and a couple
of massive sporting events, we can expect an increasingly positive year in the shopper world. But what
exactly does that look like?
Before we answer that question though, how did we do in 2013?

3. we do
d
How di
?
ends?
r
2013 t
on
1. Value Resizing
2. IT’S ALL
ABOUT ME
3. LIKE BRANDS…
ONLY BETTER
4. NEW AMAZONIA
5. Peer Group
Shoppers
6. From A-List
to C-list
7. Click & Collect
8. BOG’WIF
9. There can
only be one
10. BEHAVIORAL
ECONOMICS
On The Mark
SLOW BURN
NON-STARTERS

4. 1.
Trick?
r
Treat O
With an improving economy, there will be a resurfacing for the desire of non-essential products
and services ranging from long overdue holidays and leisure pursuits, to gadgets and home style
improvements. Online retailers and brands in particular will see a sharp hike in get-it-for-me browsing
behaviors, although more recently self-enforced prudence will delay many shoppers hitting the 'buy
now' button until later in the year as the reality of spending caution lingers over decisions to exploit
easier finance.

5. 2.
Now!
ant It
IW
n
eratio
Gen
Influenced by online retailers, particularly Amazon’s onslaught towards the frequency purchase space
through its focus on distribution and delivery networks, same day distribution will become big in 2014.
Couple this with the Grocers’ aim to move shoppers from home delivery to click and collect and 2014
will see shoppers expecting purchases delivered to their homes, workplaces or convenient locations the
same day – and at a time that suits them. Retailers, including fashion, household goods and speciality
products, will meet that demand by offering guaranteed delivery if ordered before 10:00 a.m. Driven
by direct delivery, quality digital retailing will become commonplace for independent local shops. A
premium for this service will exist initially, reducing with increased competition throughout 2014.

6. 3.
n
icatio
f
Brazili
The World Cup – followed by the 2016 Summer Olympics – is heading to its spiritual home of Brazil,
giving the South American colossus two years in the global spotlight, regardless of its hard social and
economic realities. Brazil the brand always conjures up heart-thumping good times in the minds of
those who have only ever seen its carnival persona portrayed through the eyes of the media (and don't
forget 2014's release of Rio 2). There's a real opportunity for brands to excite shoppers and ride the goodtime band wagon, but watch out for lazy brands who simply apply the national flag and call it day. Savvy
brands, however, will profit from engaging with the modern, street-smart and ambitious nation that
makes Brazil cool right now.

7. 4.
Trust?
Who to
We've been through enough woes lately with the economy leading us to distrust the banking system,
hackers leading us to distrust our passwords, and credit card companies causing us to distrust what's in
our wallets. This 'trust erosion' has lead more shoppers to overlook marketing messages in favor of peer
reviews that are added to shelf danglers, or to shy away from a brand's suggestion about what's for dinner
and instead look to bloggers who are 'just like me' for tonight's menu. Being there for shoppers in their
community, tonight - right here, right now - means you're listening to their unique needs and can form a
trustworthy bond with shoppers in their own backyard.

8. 5.
ts Low
e
h,Me
Hig
The recession forced and taught shoppers to create champagne ideas on beer money across a wide
variety of aspects of their lives including fashion, travel, food and home maintenance. This once covert
buying behavior is now deemed not only acceptable but must-do to get the right balance between
high-end centerpieces and great value necessities. This trend really gets us to the high and low of it
all. We've seen the luxury brands launch at our favorite mass retailers and can buy a line of our favorite
celebrity chef's tools at our local department store, but it's when the high and the low mixes to form new
experiences that we really get excited.

9. 6.
l
Socia
.0
ing 2
Shopp
The combination of now-established social shopping behaviors across group purchase and reward sites,
together with new-to-market innovator entrepreneurs and big-hitter players such as banks and mobile
network operators entering the fray, 2014 will see a refined progression and breadth of offering in the
social shopping space. The impact of this will be heightened quality in terms of product relevance and
availability; new and exclusive premium-style partnerships between new social shopping gateways and
leading everyday brands; and better systems-led user experiences and real personalization supported
from new players that have a long-standing wealth of shopper CRM experience across other formats.

10. uclear
N
7. The Post
amily
F
The 20th Century nuclear family’s days are increasingly numbered. Both the Starting Outers and the
Late Agers have been returning to the singular family unit to consolidate the shared costs of living.
Long-term behaviors will permeate family lives for several years to come before the kids move up a rung
on the property ladder or elderly relatives embrace the great beyond. Retailers and brands will see the
choices within regular family shops broaden as Mom accommodates everyone's needs and with it the
opportunity for new deal formats to provide incremental sales opportunities.

11. 8.
t
Smar
Stay
The crave-ability of truly age-defining gadgets such as the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch and Google’s
mega-hyped Glass will continue to grab the headlines as technology brands drive how we connect our
lives. The real undercurrent of all of this will see mass proliferation of smart mobiles becoming the official
‘first screen’ for shoppers in 2014 as they increasingly move to purchase and convert on their mobile
devices. The line between bricks and clicks will blur further and impulse decisions for a far wider range
of goods (including FMCG) will be made based on increasingly instant deals available on mobile as they
have for decades at shelf. The smartest brands and retailers will focus on multi-platform investment that
provide personalized real-time offers to motivate and influence decisions at the final point-of-purchase.

12. 9.
t
terne
The In
hings
T
of
Let's be honest. Technology makes us all a little lazier. As the Internet of Things continues to grow,
and move outside the realm of novelty (how much do we really believe that a fridge that sends us
text messages about our egg supply is truly useful), we'll start to see true benefit to an increasingly
connected world. If Google's obscene $3.2 billion purchase of Nest is any indication, technology's ability
to move previously laborious tasks to the background, so that we can get on with our lives, is only going
to increase – and exponentially at that. Cars are now basically networks with wheels, that will basically
drive themselves soon enough (especially if the University of Michigan has its way). How much of our
labor can be saved? Pretty much all of it. So here's to doing less so that we can do, ironically, more.
Thanks, Internet.

13. 10.
Great
!
tation
SHpec
ME
From TV to phablet to mobilet to bricks ‘n’ mortar stores and back again, we are now connected to multiple
devices at any one time …all the time. We are all part of a rapidly evolving digital mesh where we are
'always on' and this interconnection is intrinsic throughout the shopper journey. To date however, the
actual shopper’s user experience has been less consistent between the different phases of the shopping
mission. Shoppers are demanding a seamless digital transition from search-to-brand-to-retailer-to-shelf
whereby they are not only having the same brand-led user experience along the various touch points, but
also expecting an improvement in the brand’s familiarity of them, how they are welcomed back and their
ability to carry on where they left the last point in their shopper journey.

14. sues rs
s
ea l i
e
r
opp
sh
ect
ll aff
i
that w
2014
in
ou
ank y
th
1. Treat Or Trick?
2. I Want It Now!
3. Brazilification
4. Who to Trust?
5. Strange
Unions
6. Social
Shopping 2.0
7. The PostNuclear Family
8. Stay Smart
9. the internet
of things
10. Great
MESHpectation!