Retail will remain an important sector providing growth, jobs, and new environments for consumers over the next decade. However, the landscape will be more challenging for both retailers and landlords. Clever consumers armed with online information and mobile technology will diminish retailers' power and ability to maintain margins. Retailers will need to adapt by improving customer service, using new technologies, and tailoring experiences to changing demographics like retiring Baby Boomers and a smaller Generation Y cohort. Those able to anticipate radical change the fastest will be most successful.

2. 02 Retail 2020
Introduction
Introduction
It has been ten years since Jones Lang LaSalle published its Retail
Futures, 2010 Report. Retail, 2020 is our new look into the future.
The timing is perfect. For many, the last two-three years have been
about ensuring that their business had a future at all. Now that we may
reasonable expect the worst of the Great Recession to be over (although
the probability of a double dip remains at 20% according to some
economists), the question is: how to win in the post-recessionary market?
This report covers all the bases, taking a 360° tour of the horizon. It looks
at economic, technological, socio-demographic and socio-cultural change
and asks: what are the trends and how will they impact the retail industry?
Essentially, we cover European retail from an owners and occupiers
perspective. We look at the shape of retail to come (covering such
Our method has been to be as rigorous as possible in our research
and to take a very disciplined approach to thinking through the
consequences. Our aim has been ambitious: to arrive at the most
pertinent assumption base around European retail futures, anywhere.
How successful we have been, only time will tell. What we are able to
do is look at our track record. What predictions did we make in 2000
and what did we get right? And with great candidness, what did we get
wrong or miss entirely?

3. 03 Retail 2020
Introduction
Review of Retail Futures, 2010 Report*
No one has a crystal ball but, recession at the start of the decade Nevertheless, whilst you can’t get
by identifying and drawing upon would not be prolonged but then it all right, we are proud with our
ten key trends, our last report missed the great boom conditions previous report and are convinced
was particularly prescient. We for retailers from 2003-2007 that it provided timely guidance
got a lot right and successfully and, indeed the end of decade to our clients who read and used
predicted many of the forces disaster. Allied to this was our it. And, of course, we aspire to do
shaping the consumer and underestimation of the growth in even better in this 2020 Report.
retail landscape between consumer credit and the explosion
2000 and 2010. Many themes of impulse purchasing behaviours.
were anticipated Mcre events We were also guilty of
proved us right. We highlighted: underestimating the impacts of
globalisation, polarisation of new technologies and the internet.
markets, the ageing of European At the time of writing the dot com
populations and emergence of bubble had just burst and, whilst we
complex household structures, believed that e-commerce would
the new wave of conscientious rebound, we short-changed the
consumption and socially movement online. As we now know,
responsible companies, the
strong emergence of experiential strides right across the decade and
retailing and the siphoning of people were increasingly attracted
spending to services, the role of to price-comparison sites.
brands as status symbols and as
And as for misses, we missed the
short-cuts to decision making,
increasing interest in well-being
markets, clever consumption
mentioned the reappraisal of
patterns and shopping as a
value due to discounting, low cost
leisure activity. Not bad!
activities and freeloading - and we
Economically we had more forgot to mention the rise and rise
mixed results. We successfully of star retailers such as Tesco and
alerted readers to the fact that the the Inditex Group.
*A full review of our predictions made in 2000 are available in a separate report.

4. 05 Retail 2020
Executive Summary
Executive Summary
In terms of the economy, retail will remain a significant sector providing
growth, jobs and dynamic new environments for consumers. It will
continue to shape townscapes and will have an on-going role in bringing
modernity to the heart of people’s lives.
Nearer to home, huge opportunities are presenting
themselves in markets in Eurasia and the Middle-
East. Spotting the next ‘hot spot’ and being ahead of
the crowd will be vital - as always - but many know
well how to play this particular game and will reap
Over the next decade, the retail industry will come to
appreciate that the balance of power is changing –
and its ability to maintain margins will diminish. For one,
clever consumers are taking matters into their own
hands and are increasingly armed with weapons
which are able to damage retailer’s hegemony.
The fast, accessible internet is proving to be a great
leveller of information and liberator of consumer
Shopping will remain popular across the period power. Real time information, particularly around
price, will thwart retailer’s ability to increase prices
whilst new demands for better facilities, vastly
improved customer services, convenient technologies
and crowd-pleasing experiences will add new costs.
However, looking forward the landscape for retail will
not be anywhere near as benign as the decade we The next great game changer will be the mobile
are leaving behind and new dynamics will make life
tougher for both owners and occupiers. and impacts on in-store staffing will inflict great
damage on retailing profit and loss accounts.
need to be faster – for both retailers and landlords. Suppliers, too, will get in on the act as they trade
There will be both winners and losers and those with consumers directly on line and establish
actors having the best assumption base about the flagship outlets. So, whilst we will not see retail
dis-intermediation, the momentum will be in that direction.
radical, change will come out on top. As always,
Retail will get smarter as a consequence.
defending the status quo will kill companies.
For example, retailers will rise to the new wants
The low hanging fruit will continue to come from generated by a retiring Baby Boomer population
expansion into the new consumer markets to the East. and a smaller (but very demanding) Gen Y cohort.
We can predict senior care centres emerging for
the former and a shift from young fashion brands
and too cautious to have really benefited. due to declines in the latter.

5. going back to basics to ensure that retailers really
are meeting consumers’ most fundamental needs
adequately – needs for safety, for mobility and