The retail industry has transformed itself decade after decade. Know how it is riding the change wave majorly at the technological front, and consumer behaviour.

1. The Evolution of Retail and Customers
Retailing is undergoing two significant shifts. The first is technological, and the other
is consumer behavior. Retailers that stay ahead of the curve at both fronts will
thrive in the long-run.
The Retail Evolution
Retail 1.0
Physical Stores
Self Service
Single Channel
Retail 2.0
Departmental Store
Supermarket
Hypermarket
Retail 3.0
Technology Advancements
eCommerce Boom
Global Selling
Retail 4.0
mCommerce and Social Media
Multi-channel and Omni-channel
Sensors and Beacons
Retail 5.0
Reimagined Physical Stores
Self-checkout System
AI and Robots
Generation of Customers
Silent
Option of Just Brick and Mortar
Simply Come and Buy the Product
Baby Boomers
The Rise of Radio and TV Ads
Started to Hold the Power
Gen-X
The Internet Boom
Customers Became the King
Millennials
The Age of Omni-channel
Now at the Core of Everything
Current Shopping Trends
E-retail Sales
In 2017, e-retail sales accounted for 10.2 percent of all retail sales worldwide. This
figure is expected to reach 17.5 percent in 2021.
Digital Buyers
In 2021, over 2.14 billion people worldwide are expected to buy goods and services
online, up from 1.66 billion global digital buyers in 2016.
Device Usage
During the survey period, 11 percent of respondents stated that they shopped
online via mobile on a weekly basis.
Loyalty
75% of consumers said product information found on social channels influenced
their shopping behavior and enhanced brand loyalty.
Unified Experience
70% of consumers were more likely to recommend a brand if their experience with
that brand was simple and there were unified communications across all channels
(Schneider, 2015).
What Matters Most in Retail Shopping?
For Customers:
• Personalized shopping experience
• Hassle-free return policy
• Automatically get the lowest price
• Uniformity across platforms (digital and in-store)
• Easy loyalty program
For Retailers
• Easily consolidate and manage any data
• Build personalized purchase journey across all channels
• Bridge the digital divide between online and physical store
• Blend mobile, micro-location, voice assistants, and AI-powered technologies
• Reduce time-to-market
Technology Spending
Rise approximately 3% over the next 3 years
Omni-channel
Retailers continue to build omni-channel capabilities
Customer Experience
Provide a modern, engaging customer experience
Retailers must prioritize their omni-channel strategies to survive and thrive in
today’s environment.
Source: PCM Research
2016 2018* 2020*20172015 2019* 2021*
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
18%
Shareofe-retailsales
7.4%
8.6%
10.2%
11.9%
13.7%
15.5%
17.5%
2016 2018* 2020*20172014 2015 2019* 2021*
0.5
Never
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%
Once a year
A few times
a year
Monthly
Weekly
Daily
0
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
Digitalbuyerinbillions
1.32
1.46
1.52
1.66
1.79
1.92
2.05
2.14
3%
3%
33%
16%
34%
19%
11%
21%
7%
8%
7%
38%
75%
70%
of customers would PAY
SLIGHTLY MORE if they got
the top 3 benefits they liked
from a retailer
More than half of the customers say they would
pay more if their top benefits were included in the
customer experience. Millennials and Gen X’ers
much more likely to pay a bit more for the
experiences they value.
Millennials
16-34
Gen x
35-49
Boomers
50-68
Silent
69+
53%
69%
$ $ $ $
55%
37% 35%
of customers would SHOP
MORE OFTEN if they got the
top 3 benefits they liked from
a retailer
The biggest impact of a great customer
experience is loyalty. 77% of customers say if they
received their top three benefits, they would shop
at the retailer more often. Millennials are the most
responsive group, with 89% saying the would be
more loyal to retailers offering the benefits they
want most.
Millennials
16-34
Gen x
35-49
Boomers
50-68
Silent
69+
77%
89%
82%
71%
57%
Connected consumers shop omni-channel
Starts in
store store
web web
mobile mobile
Ends in
74%
60%
40%
33%
26%
19%
6%
13%
25%
References:
https://eprints.qut.edu.au/110377/1/Retail-5.0-Check-out-the-future.pdf
http://www.mytotalretail.com/article/re-imagining-retail-as-a-service-digital-economy.
https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/consumer-business/us-rd-thenewdigitaldivide-041814.pdf
http://www.retailexasean.com/Pages/Detail/55127
https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/how-people-buy-evolution-of-consumer-purchasing-infographic
https://www.statista.com/statistics/534123/e-commerce-share-of-retail-sales-worldwide/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/251666/number-of-digital-buyers-worldwide/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/692846/online-shopping-device-worldwide-frequency/
https://nrf.com/resources/retail-library/the-retail-customer-experience-%E2%80%94-which-elements-of-the-shopping-experience
https://www.zebra.com/us/en/about-zebra/newsroom/press-releases/2018/zebra-technologies-ihl-group-study-reveals-retail-industry-sales.html
https://aira.org/pdf/2016/NYPOR16/Materials/Session%205%20Industry%20in%20Focus%20Retail.pdf
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