As Millennials are starting to dominate the retail world and have more spending power than ever before, it is important that you are fulfilling their expectations. Having an omnichannel strategy and executing it well is crucial in creating the shopping experience most consumers have come to expect. Don’t worry, we’re here to help you understand and implement the major trends you will see in 2016.

FUTURE OF RETAIL

THE

MILLENNIALS ARE TAKING OVER

By 2025, Millennials will make up 75% of the global workforce?

That means that they will hold the spending power.

That also means you need to rethink the shopping experience you are creating for your customers.

DID YOU KNOW?

• A seamless shopping experience across all channels

• Personalization

• Instant access to price comparisons, product information, and peer reviews

WHAT MILLENNIALS WANT:

“Retailers need to be aware of the unique preferences of the Millennial generation and create shopping experiences that satisfy their need for trustworthy information, personalization, and socially conscious products and practices.”

– Bazaarvoice

HAVE YOU BROUGHT YOUR BUSINESS ONLINE?

The first step in creating the shopping experience Millennials expect is ensuring you have an ecommerce site that is easy to navigate and informative.

Consumers want to see what your store carries and charges before they make an effort to actually visit the store. It is an additional benefit for shoppers to have the ability to purchase merchandise online and save the trip to your store all together.

Convenience is key.

ECOMMERCE

“E-commerce and mobile commerce have dramatically changed the way brands reach customers, making it faster and easier for consumers to make purchases on the fly while avoiding the hassles of going to the store.”

– Hil Davis, Co-founder, J. Hilburn

ECOMMERCE MOBILE SOCIAL STOREOMNICHANNEL

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Because Millennials are so tech-focused, it is essential your business is easily accessible both online and offline. Make sure you do not only have an online presence, but you are actually maximizing it to its fullest potential!

In order to create a unified shopping experience for your customers, you need to be up to date on the latest technology trends so that consumers can interact with your different channels interchangeably.

CREATE A SEAMLESS SHOPPING EXPERIENCE ACROSS CHANNELS

“Millennials live two lives – one in real time and the other in an edited virtual world. This is a generation who experiences life through their smartphone held on outstretched hands taking videos to capture and share their moments on Facebook or Instagram. For them, it’s not about being in the moment – it’s about capturing a moment and sharing it.

– Bob Phibbs, @TheRetailDoctor

PERSONALIZATION IS KEY

Not only is it important to have an omnichannel presence, but it is crucial that you are personalizing your consumer’s experience on each channel.

Start by collecting customer data at the point of sale so that you can personalize marketing campaigns that will drive traffic into your store.

PERSONALIZE THE EXPERIENCE

“New Balance uses RICS as its recommended POS partner in its licensed stores to capture essential customer information that helps us personalize the New Balance brand experience.”

– Peter Alba, Business Operations Manager, New Balance

MOBILE USED FOR ECOMMERCE

• Smartphones are now a major shopping channel

• Use of mobile apps for shopping has doubled in the past year

• Mobile is the primary driver of web sales growth for many online retailers

• Those who shop via mobile spend 66% more than shoppers who buy in-store

• 14% of consumers would rather pay with mobile versus credit card

MOBILE COMMERCE

Is your business mobile friendly? You should consider having a mobile commerce solution so that you are attracting customers that prefer mobile shopping, which will give you the opportunity to increase sales.

By creating another channel for you to sell your inventory, you can make the most of your merchandise and reach a wider audience.

ARE YOU MOBILE FRIENDLY?

“Consumers don’t care about buzzwords like ‘omni’ – what they care about is being able to purchase the products they are looking for on their own time, from anywhere, on any device.

– Jason Becker, CEO, RICS Software

SHOPPING IS NO LONGER JUST AN IN-STORE ACTIVITY

Consumers are seeking out products and services and like to be as informed as possible. 70% of consumers research online before purchasing in-store.

If you don’t have an online presence, you are way behind the game. They want access to all information at the touch of their fingertips.

ONLINE RESEARCH

“Consumers want emails, alerts, product suggestions, and user-generated content that they can filter and sort according to the attributes they care about.

– Bazaarvoice

With Millennials now dictating the way they want to shop, you need to make sure you are catering to their style. Having an omnichannel presence and creating seamless, personalized experience across each channel is now a requirement.

ARE YOU EQUIPPED FOR SUCCESS IN 2016?

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resources.bazaarvoice.com/rs/bazaarvoice/images/Bazaarvoice_WP_Top5_Consumer-Driven_Trends_Retail.pdf

www.smartinsights.com/ecommerce/multichannel-retail-strategy/online-retail-trends-2016/

www.goldmansachs.com/our-thinking/pages/millennials/

www.slideshare.net/rejoiner/10-quotes-about-the-future-of-ecommerce

www.retaildoc.com/special-report-retailer-must-know-millennial-generation

SOURCES

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