These investments in technology and innovation should enable more effective decision-making and operational efficiency and address the demands of the fragmented consumer. Three in 10 retail executives plan to make significant technology investments to modernize their supply chain,51 such as unifying merchandising, supply chain, and store operations. For example, one grocer implemented a task management platform that resulted in over 80% of stores seeing increased task completion rates while averaging double-digit productivity gains.50 As retailers aim for growth in 2025, they should focus on optimizing costs instead of simply cutting them. As a result, some retailers are left with complex choices—digitize at the expense of margins or risk losing customers and competitive advantage with stop-gap solutions. Some retailers are embracing various tech initiatives and AI to help enhance the in-store shopping experience, focusing on data-driven store design and layout optimization.
The trends we’ve outlined show how quickly retail is evolving, and why now is the time to invest in technology that helps you keep up. Agentforce makes it possible for businesses of all sizes (SMB to enterprise) to benefit from AI. This creates a risk for retailers who invest too heavily in one channel, while the advantage goes to those who track performance and can shift their sales strategy as shopper habits change. One great example of this in practice can be seen from Magentus, a healthcare technology company. Both of these findings break the misconception that AI is mostly used by men or limited to more tech-focused groups of society.
We found that while consumers are looking for convenience and flexibility, they also value in-person experiences more than expected. To stay ahead, retailers must rethink revenue models, personalize engagement like never before, and embrace new strategies that balance in-store experiences with digital convenience. Consumer habits are shifting rapidly, economic pressures remain high, and technology is becoming a competitive differentiator. Square partnered with Bredin to survey consumers and businesses in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia to uncover insights about the 2025 commerce landscape. Prioritize sustainability by sourcing eco-friendly products, as consumers value this commitment. To stay competitive in the evolving retail landscape, focus on blending online and offline experiences.
Seamless Omnichannel Integration
Online-only retailers, on the other hand, devise innovative methods to offer customers physical experiences. UK-based startup ONEWAYX designs a virtual commerce platform that converts standard eCommerce websites into immersive 3D virtual stores. Immersive technologies like AR and VR offer shoppers a new dimension of interaction, including virtual try-on, 3D product visualization, and personalized recommendations. Belle AI is an Israeli startup that makes a solution for demand forecasting in retail businesses. The startup leverages camera-based sensor fusion and AI to navigate its autonomous robotic delivery vehicles through traffic signals, and pedestrian, and cycling lanes. Turkish startup Delivers.ai facilitates contactless and zero-emissions grocery and package delivery through its proprietary navigation technology and AGVs.
Consumer Behavior
Each of these points represents a significant trend in the retail industry that’s shaping how businesses operate and how consumers shop. Global e-commerce sales are projected to reach $6.56 trillion in 2025, marking an 8.4% annual increase from 2024 ($6.09 trillion) 2. In Q1 2025, we explore three emerging trends including the rise of in-house resale channels, DTC’s new retail model, and a shift in alcohol consumption. The most important AI trends in retail are demand forecasting, shopper personalization, a waning focus on self-checkout technologies, and finally, generative AI …
Media & Events
A report by BCG and Vestiaire Collective, based on a survey of 7,800 consumers, shows that secondhand is now firmly embedded https://synapsewaves.com/articles/retail-reshaped-post-amazon-era/ in how people shop. Synthetic, GenAI-based tools let companies test concepts, pricing, and other factors, with results that are nearly as insightful and accurate as if they came from real people. BCG’s new book offers a playbook for capturing your share of this personalization prize in the retail industry. To successfully launch a niche online marketplace related to their standard offering, retailers have to offer an excellent experience for both consumers and third-party sellers. With persistent inflation and consumer seeking more value for money, competitors could lose out to brands offering more than low prices
- This trend has been gaining momentum online for the past few years, but now it’s also working its way into physical stores.
- These shifts lift penetration and spend per buyer for nonfood essentials, and they add resilience to category mix in the retail market.
- And they intend to continue down the agentic AI path in the quest for improved customer experience.
- For retailers looking to implement these strategies effectively, the first step is to leverage business data to uncover customer spending trends.
Luxury Segment Faces Declining Sales
Israeli startup Pairzon combines customer https://www.herveleger.us/how-digital-innovation-is-transforming-luxury-retail/ data from online and offline touchpoints to automate omnichannel marketing. The platform equips in-store staff to directly share product images as well as provide demos and shopping recommendations while engaging customers with video. Social media platforms serve as new storefronts, enabling micro sales without redirecting customers to the store website.
The Rise of Value-Seeking Consumers: How They Are Shaping Retail Strategies
- The different segments based on sector considered in the market report include organised and unorganised.
- A Deloitte survey showed that half of retail executives are planning to prioritize this strategy in 2024.
- Its high-speed transaction capabilities accommodate multiple items simultaneously, ensuring throughput and increased customer satisfaction.
- The future of retail belongs to businesses that embrace change, prioritize customer experience, and leverage technology to stay ahead.
- In 2026, successful retailers are those that seamlessly integrate their online and offline channels, providing customers with a unified and cohesive shopping experience.
When designed well, agentic and other AI tools will reduce operational burden and enable teams to focus on the customer experience. As AI becomes more embedded in retail operations in 2026, success will depend less on the technology itself and more on how prepared organizations are to use it. One of the biggest shifts is the focus on agentic AI use cases for retailers, as seen at NRF 2026.
With evolving customer behaviours, growing smartphone penetration, and increasing focus on meeting the demands of tech-savvy Gen-Z population, retailers are expanding their presence in mobile commerce. Retail stores are ubiquitous for connecting manufactured goods to end customers and play a significant role in a country’s economy. Still, there’s a sense that boards are looking for different skill sets including expertise in delivering faster margin improvements, greater pricing prowess and deeper tech chops. As of late October, Challenger and Gray reported 41 CEO exits at retail companies, a 116% increase from the 19 during the same period in 2024.
Don’t overlook sustainability; many consumers prefer eco-friendly products. Start by integrating omnichannel strategies, so customers can shop seamlessly online and in-store. International businesses are missing out by underestimating Africans, making costly assumptions about diversity, preferences, and buying power. BCG Executive Perspectives offer insights on global topics that matter most to leaders in the public and private sectors. BCG and Altagamma present a comprehensive study on the True Luxury consumer based on insight from 10,000+ respondents across 11 key markets. Retailers instead need to focus on opportunities across the operating model to address structural costs.
The Shifting Role of Brick-and-Mortar Locations
Adapting quickly to consumer shifts and integrating technology efficiently remain the industry’s biggest challenges today. Delve into our in-depth research on the top 10 retail industry trends based on our analysis of 22K+ companies. In 2026, connected packaging will start to incorporate AI tools not only to drive supply chain efficiencies, but also to track circularity, guide purchase decisions, and serve as a shopper portal to deeper marketing engagement. While ecommerce continues to grow at a faster pace than brick & mortar, around 80% of all shopping still takes place in a physical store; even by 2030, Kantar forecasts that stores will maintain a 76% share of sales. Development and design teams that can offer rapid prototyping and production in the context of high-impact design will win.
The different segments based on sector considered in the market report include organised and unorganised. With the online retail sector in the region flourishing amid the rising customer demand for convenience, investments in e-commerce channels are significantly rising. The rising tourism activities in countries such as Singapore, Thailand, and South Korea, among others, are driving the demand for luxury goods, electronics, and apparel.
