The Caribbean is in a festive mood with the Christmas and end of year holidays being celebrated across the region. The lead-up to these holidays always comes with a big uptick in shopping, as people seek out the food, gifts and other treats that make the season special. Just the same as there was a profound change in the shopping experience from 2009 to 2019, the decade ahead is set to drive a number of new trends in shopping, and these can be seen throughout the entire calendar year. Let’s look now at seven of the biggest trends set to impact shopping in the 2020s.
1. The Perpetual Sales Cycle
Views vary around the precise day Christmas starts, yet those who choose to celebrate the holiday can credibly put up their Christmas tree anytime in December knowing it’s ‘close enough’. That Christmas begins in December is hardly news to retailers as, increasingly, many start Christmas sales in November, in short order after Black Friday (see trend #4 below). This trend shows that retailers are shifting to a ‘perpetual sales cycle’ across the whole calendar; one that prioritises additional sales over accuracy surrounding a traditional holiday campaign.
2. The Growth of Multi-Channel Retail
The eCommerce revolution has demanded that brick and mortar businesses rethink their offerings. Providing customers with a multi-channel format to shop is one such way. As opposed to home delivery, via a multi-channel sales approach, customers can browse online goods, purchase them and then visit in-store to collect.
This approach won’t suit shoppers who desire delivery to their door exclusively, but it doesn’t need to. For those who live close to a pick-up location, want to skip the process of queuing in-store and save on delivery fees, the multi-channel format gives them that option. It is already on offer with local retailer Courts, and globally the ‘purchase and pick-up’ trend is growing.
3. Trying Out Clothes at Home with VR and AR
One advantage that traditional brick and mortar retail stores retain over online shopping is the certainty of fit when it comes to clothes and other personal products. Someone interested in shopping online may be stuck paying shipping costs to return a garment that is not right. Their alternative is to purchase in person.
Thanks to the emergence of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) apps, this could soon be a problem of the past. By using an AR mobile app that’s integrated with your favourite online store, you’ll be able to see for yourself what your fit looks like from the comfort of your own home. And when hankering after a new pair of sneakers, you could use AR to snap photos of your feet, and look through your phone to see exactly what a potential new pair of track or basketball shoes will look like. Some stores have already begun introducing this option, but it’s expected the 2020s will see it shift from a relative novelty to a widespread solution.
4. Black Friday
Initially an American creation, Black Friday is now spreading in popularity with retailers all over the world. This is seen to be the result of the popularity of Walmart and other retail giants that have masterfully made Black Friday a huge annual event for shopaholics, thanks to the aggressive price reductions featured on select items in order to drive the crowds through the doors and to the checkout.
In 2019 alone, Black Friday saw US retailers pull in US$ 7.4bn, and revenue hit US$ 20bn globally, according to data published by Salesforce. For retailers, Black Friday offers a rare opportunity to boost sales, albeit while pursuing their own aggressive markdowns of goods; for some it may not be sustainable for their business model in the way it has been for vertically integrated providers who usually have lower overheads.
5. The Versatility of Cyber Monday
This is an event similar to Black Friday but with a focus on eCommerce exclusively. Cyber Monday was created by retailers seeking to encourage people to shop online, and today it has taken on a life of its own, with a massive US$ 7.9bn in revenue recorded among American buyers in 2018 – a record at the time – until it was smashed by 2019’s revenue of US$ 9.4bn.
A Cyber Monday sale promises to deliver a whirling trade to a business, owing to its online emphasis. Businesses with a small footprint or the inability to sustain large crowds in-store may prefer this holiday over Black Friday as it allows them to avoid a rush on the store, and instead see customers order online and receive their items via delivery.
6. Cruise Ships Become Retail Dynamos
2019 was a year replete with many milestones for the cruise industry, coupled with the perpetual quest of cruise lines to ‘one up’ their competitors: from Virgin championing its new cruises as a cut above all others, to the opening of Royal Caribbean’s private island adventure park, Coco Cay. As well as these offerings, cruise lines are now pro-actively building partnerships with luxury retailers like Breitling and Chanel to entice passengers to buy a premium memento of their travels while on the ship.
Sellers have a captive audience on cruises; buyers have the potential to score a sale duty-free. Collectively this is among the most compelling cruise trends to watch heading into the 2020s. But perhaps the biggest issue here isn’t the parties in this transaction; it’s those who stand to lose out. If travellers arrive into port having already acquired all the gifts they desire on board, and done away with their spending money, it will affect vendors on dry land who rely on cruise passengers as a key part of their income.
7. Chatbots
It’s long been easier to quickly seek out a staff member for some advice when doing in-store shopping as compared to online. This too is changing fast, with growth in the usage and sophistication of chatbots. Currently, if someone has a query when shopping online, an email enquiry is commonly the fastest way to get a reply. Even so, such a process can take anywhere between an hour or 3 to 5 business days.
Thanks to chatbots, it’s possible to ‘chat’ with an automated programme while using the online store. It offers a human-like natural conversation and can help answer any specific enquiries you have surrounding the store’s products. According to a recent poll by Drift, over 60% of online users surveyed cited the 24-hour availability of chatbots – something not even a store that opens early and closes late can hope to match – as their best feature.
Although chatbots remain relatively new, they’re experiencing rapid growth, thanks in part to their ability to cut operational costs of a business by up to 30%. It’s no surprise then, the prediction that by 2021 over 80% of online customer interactions will be handled without human agents.
