7 Amazing Trends to Watch In Retail Industry in 2020

In 2017, the retail market generated a revenue of $23,460 billion and is now predicted to reach $31,880.8 billion by 2023, with a CAGR of 5.3%. Specifically talking about the Indian retail industry, it is witnessed as one of the fast-growing markets in the world. 

The Indian retail market was valued at $26.67 billion in 2019 and it is predicted to reach $1.1 trillion by 2020. Various innovative retailers are bolstering the marketplace from complexity, fragmentation, and confusion to a surging integrated future. 

The agile and smart businesses are collaborating with each other and integrating highly advanced technologies and deploying supply chain optimization tools to streamline processes. To taste such advantages, retailers are heavily investing in modern business strategies and in trending technologies. 

Some Interesting facts about Retail Industry In India:

The retail market is rapidly growing at 12.0% per year.

6.0% of the population is a target market for big retailers seeking to enter in Indian retail industry. 

Small stores and street stands owned 90.0-93.0% of the retail market.

Food & Grocery holds 60.0% of the retail market in India. 

Consumer electronics is at 10.0% & Appadel is at 8.0% and it is predicted to grow by 11.0% by 2021. 

Retail e-commerce is boosting at a steady pace of 20.0% year-over-year. 

E-commerce sales are predicted to reach $220.billion with 530.0 million shoppers by 2025. 

Furthermore, the growing digital penetration is speeding up the growth of the retail market. In 2017, India witnessed an internet penetration of nearly 37.0% and it is predicted to boost at a CAGR of 31.0%.  Thus, today in this blog we will discuss the most trending technologies that will affect the growth of the retail industry in 2020. 

Let’s find out! 

7 Trends That Will Impact the Retail Industry in 2020

India’s retail market is among the massively growing markets in the world. Urbanization, improving infrastructure,  and technology embracing population indicates that India is poised for global influence and growth. Following is the list of the top 7 trends that will impact the retail industry in 2020. 

Blockchain transforming retail & eCommerce development

Source: devprojournal

The verified transaction, decentralized transaction, and an immutable application are some of the advantages that come with the integration of blockchain technology in the retail market. The blockchain technology will simplify and enable omnichannel retailing without affecting any functionality of the existing system. 

According to marketsandmarkets, the blockchain in the retail market generated $44.2 million in 2017 and it is expected to reach $2,339.5 million by 2023, at a CAGR of 96.4% during 2018-2023 period.

Benefits of Blockchain technology in retail & eCommerce development 

• Cheaper transaction 
• Data security 
• Faster transaction 
• Supply chain tracking 
• Purchase history 
• Channel expansion 
• New payment methods 
• After-sale services 

OpenBazaar, Shopin, Walmart, Amazon, and Paytomat are some of the companies using blockchain technology. 

Virtual and Augmented Reality bolstering the retail market 

Source: SteelKiwi Inc. on Hackernoon

Augmented and Virtual reality heavily contribute to the growth of retail & eCommerce development. It helps retailers in various ways to improve and enhance the customer experience. From searching for products offline to virtually trying them, these technologies are already integrated by various retailers today. 

For instance- the IKEA place, it lets people decide whether the chosen furniture will fit and look perfect in their home or not. In the coming years, the extended reality will empower consumers to share with others their virtual reality shopping experience. 

Benefits of Augmented and Virtual reality in retail & eCommerce development- 

• Reduce product returns 
• Increase product & Brand exposure 
• Enhances and Improves user experience 
• Valuable Visuals to audience 
• Easily customized and tailored promotions
• Report missing items ad shelf Identification

L ‘O’ real Makeup, U.S. Army, IKEA, Disney Coloring, and Google Pixel’s Star Wars Stickers are some of the brands using augmented and virtual reality. 

Google Shopping supporting the retail market

Source: shopify

Google shopping is a type of shopping service that helps consumers to browse, purchase and compare physical products across various retailers without physically visiting them or visiting each brands’ website. 

Google shopping makes up 80.0% of retailers' budgets between the two channels and it plays an important role in transforming bottom-funnel buyers. With this, retailers are growing more efficiently in paid search, saving nearly 8.0% of the cost year-over-year. Retailers are able to tick up Google shopping revenue by 7.0%. 

Benefits of Google Shopping in retail & eCommerce development 

• More qualified traffic 
• Better user experience 
• More conversion rates 
• Clear customer intent 
• Objectives tailored product 
• Amazing visibility to mobile users 
• Customized Multiple and qualified leads 
• Retail-centric reporting tools

Robotic Store Assistants helping the retail market 

Source: indiatimes

Robotic store assistants have been fueling in retail & eCommerce development. Robots are with us for quite a long time but for a while in the retail market, the technology-powered via machine learning and AI is incorporating the voice of users to transform how products and pricing should be done. 

For Instance- Many retailers, including Amazon are operating robots to help in inventory management. Apart from this, Walmart is developing its robot army as well and according to the ABI Research release, the organization integrated 350 systems for its inventory management. 

In 2018, the retail robotics market was valued at $19.4 billion and it is predicted to reach $144.93 billion by 2026, surging at a CAGR of 28.96% during 2019-2026 period. 

Benefits of Robotic Store Assistant in retail & eCommerce development

• Real-time product movement tracking 
• Details of stock levels and product replacement 
• Correct and accurate stocking information 
• Pricing and Tagging of products 
• Space management 
• Drives innovation to fuel sustainable growth 
• Boost logistics and supply chain productivity 
• Brings intelligence to store and merchandising operation

Artificial Intelligence backing the retail market 

Source: medium

Artificial intelligence is something that will completely transform the retail & eCommerce market. It is defined as smart machines that will integrate human capabilities by comprehending, sensing, learning, and acting in them. 

Artificial intelligence understands the desires and needs of thousands of consumers, tailors the services, and drives the demand for retail businesses. It also enables new collaborations between CG manufacturer and retailer smoothly. 

According to the Cision pr newswire, artificial intelligence in the retail market generated a revenue of $2306.8 million in 2018 and it is predicted to value at $23,426.3 million by 2026, surging at CAGR of 33.7%. 

Benefits of Artificial Intelligence in Retail and e-commerce development 

• Effective supply chain planning 
• Accurate and correct demand forecasting 
• Real-time customer experience and intelligence 
• Data creation and labelling 
• Data transformation and structuring 
• Product discovery, visualization and merchandising 
• Data insights to offer better decisions 
• Cart abandonment emails and personalized curation 

Internet of things & Smart Equipment 

Source: networkworld

Smart equipment and the Internet of things will completely transform the experience of shopping and improve customer satisfaction. The Internet of things supports stores to deliver improved experiences to their customers. Smart equipment, including sensor-embedded shelves that inspect inventory, also transforms the retail market. 

According to the grandviewresearch, the internet of things in the retail market is predicted to value at $94.44 billion by 2025, with a CAGR of 21.5%. 

The increasing demand for better flexibility, improved services, multiple distribution channels, and enhanced experience is boosting the retail market with the help of the internet of things. 

Benefits of Internet of things in retail & eCommerce development 

• Automated management of inventory 
• Better logistics and tracking 
• IoT-oriented e-commerce websites 
• Customized actions and pieces of information 
• Improved relationship between customers and manufactures 
• Automated shopping processes 
• Better cyber-security & personalize data 
• Improved supply chain management

Data-Science Transforming the Retail Market 

Source: simplilearn

Machine learning and Data Science technologies have helped in retail & eCommerce development and made great progress in the current’s personalization tools. Data Science and machine learning empowered engines that can offer personal recommendations to users before they want for themselves. 

According to Amazon, 35.0% of their generated sales are driven by its recommended engines technology. Besides, eBay is also investing ample amounts into Data-Science and tailoring shopbots for better user experience.      

For instance-  Alibaba group, a Fashion AI, generates personalized mix-and-match clothes recommendations for customers as they walk around stores. They can easily find items that completely suit their tastes.         

Benefits of Data-Science in reality & eCommerce development 

• Targeted communication with users 
• Predicts demand and manages inventory 
• Price optimization 
• Better user experience and customer retention 
• Forecasts trends 
• Search opportunities with better ROI 
• Find innovative methods for increasing engagement 
• Search location for new outlets 
• Helps in strategic decisions 

Conclusion

Well, this list is an exclusive list of the trends to be introduced in the retail & eCommerce development in 2020. There will be many more to talk about but these are the most advantages trends that are expected to help in the growth of the retail market in 2020.