Looking Into The Future: Retailing 2015

The retail industry will become more segmented and customer-driven by the year 2015, according to a report by Price-waterhouseCoopers and TNS Retail Forward. The report, “Retailing 2015: New Frontiers,” advises that the retail industry will need to adopt a more targeted approach in coming years to reach an increasingly diverse and tech-savvy population. It predicts that retailers, along with their customers, will be more demanding, more global, more diverse and will operate across more channels than ever before.

“Due to demographic dichotomies, a new consumer mind-set will emerge in 2015 that will have far-reaching implications for the retail industry,” said John Maxwell, retail and consumer industry leader for Pricewater-house Coopers. “Consumers will want to be more interconnected with the businesses they patronize, exercise more control over their purchases, customize their products to serve their individual needs and indulge in shopping as a life experience.”

The study predicts 15 trends that will redefine the business environment by 2015.

These include:

Downsizing: The current trend of sustainability will drive the down-sizing of products, packaging, waste and resource consumption as consumers look to smaller, more personalized products;

Triple Bottom Line Scorecard: Definitions of corporate success will change by 2015, with increased focus on the environmental and social performance of a company; and

Share of Life Retailing: Retailers will define themselves by the customers they serve, not the products they sell.

“Given the change factors and the predicted trends,” said Tom Rubel, president, TNS Retail Forward, “the next growth phase for retailers will be about segmentation and localization. The best way to define this trend is through the term ‘glocalization.’ Retailers will need to serve customers across major geographic, cultural, legislative and regulatory boundaries, all while catering to local tastes, traditions, lifestyles and economies.”