The New Year is back with bang again and it’s that time of the year again to see what’s been buzzing in the Retail world. Care to know what’s the YoY growth story in the Indian and US markets? Or which has been better, online or in-store shopping? Which was preferred – mobile commerce or traditional shopping? Feast on this!
According to the Indian Mirror, the Indian Retail industry grew at a CAGR of 13% to reach $950 bn in 2018 and is expected to be boosted by 60% to reach $1.1 trillion by 2020! With the luxury wielding mindset among youth becoming the norm, and the high purchasing capacity of the upper class society in tier 1 and tier 2 cities, it is also projected that we are on a growth trajectory in terms of being the world’s third largest consumer economy by 2025.
As compared with the Indian Retail industry, US Retail Sales climbed 4%, while US Retail spending rose to about 16.6% to $123.73 bn, marking some of the outstanding growth rates in recent years.
It’s also not surprising that with the holiday season that went by, about 80% of millennials chose to go to a traditional brick and mortar store and it was not that far apart when compared with percentages for other generations. This not only disproves the theory that all retail stores will disappear from sight, but that retailers can build expert tech solutions to better in-store traffic and have an added benefit, as people stop by with families to spend more time with each other or that friends prefer to “hang out” at their favorite retail outlets.
What bestirs retailers now and what has served as a silver lining in Retail is that Companies are finally catering to their consumers’ wants and needs and adapting accordingly. Plenty of retailers are really building consumer-first strategies and listening to, beginning with “buy online for in-store pickup” requests by making way for such an availability. Also in this way, those retailers who continue meeting the ever changing demands of the customer buy letting them shop wherever and however they want will strike gold in 2019.
While the options to shop from anywhere anytime have an uptick in this new trend, it was seen that a majority of internet users (about 53%) bought gifts on Black Friday whereas 40% said they bought most of their gifts during holiday sales days, such as Cyber Monday. Concerning this digital behavior, only 25% of holiday sales took place digitally, and 85% of accounted sales occurred in physical stores, Gartner indicated.
Ideally, shoppers like to see the products they purchase in person, especially during festivals and holiday seasons. Also, brick-and-mortar also provide emotional relief and help shoppers savour the experience by appealing to their rich tastes – which are hard to replicate online. About 42% of shoppers, from a survey study conducted by Bazaarvoice said that they shop at physical stores for the ambiance.
Both Retailers and e-tailers note that predictions for 2019 stand thus: A phenomenal rise in online sales with brick and mortar stores falling closely behind. Seize your moment now and pave the way for unified commerce, and a slew of new retail platforms that Sonata has, to help you win in this fast but capricious economy. Click here to find out how to do this.