Analyse Future Developments in the Retail Sector

Question: Identify and evaluate a range of contemporary issues relating to the retail industry analyse future developments in the retail sector? Answer: With the penetration of the internet and smartphone revolution, e-retailing has picked up by leaps and bounds and has made every brick and mortar based retail firm to sell online. Further it has paved way for dedicated companies engaged in online selling various specialised products at steep discounts and these have been quite successful in attracting customers especially in developed countries. The bugger question is about the future trends in retailing. One of these will be in the form of shift towards the millennial population since there is clear trend towards aging in developed countries and as a result companies would shift their focus to the need of this segment besides the baby boomers. Secondly, with the astronomical growth of social media and its use for promotion, it is highly likely that these platforms can be used for shopping. Thirdly going forward there would be more focus on technology as an enabler which should provide a interactive interface which is easy to operate . Fourthly the companies will be more active in using Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a promotional strategy as it has been found that goods associated with a CSR campaign tend to outsell their peers. Fifthly, in the knowledge economy of the dynamic retail space, the importance of data would increase many folds as major companies would heavily bank on data analysis to drive their business decisions and underlying strategy (Vend, 2015). Additionally it is also likely that in the near future the online firms may open offline stores so as to cater to the people which cannot be reached through the internet. Besides this, there would be more emphasis on customization on products and services which consolidating the supply chain with credible suppliers. As a result it is expected that going forward excellence in backdoor operations of retail would prove to be vital (Colao, 2014). References Colao, J.J. 2014. The Future Of Shopping In ThreeTrends, Forbes Magazine, Available [Online] from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjcolao/2014/08/04/the-future-of-shopping-in-three-trends/ (Accessed on April 23, 2015) Vend. 2015. 12 Retail Trends and Predictions for 2015, Vend Website, Available [Online] from: https://www.vendhq.com/university/retail-trends-and-predictions-2015 (Accessed on April 23, 2015)