4 Top Retail Trends to Look Out For in 2021

With every new year comes new trends in the fast-moving retail industry. Even more so this year due to the adaptations consumers and retailers have to make during the pandemic. Retailers like you should keep a lookout for these trends listed here to avoid losing out to competitors or missing out on a huge market opportunity.

A new way of influencer marketing

Influencer marketing has been around for quite a while. We have all known influencer marketing to be heavily edited selfies of the influencers using or wearing the sponsored product. However, consumers are now more focused on authenticity as compared to edited pictures of products. Which means the content has to be a raw and real aesthetic.

Consumers trust brands with authenticity, so retailers that do not shift their focus to producing authentic content will fall behind in terms of marketing ROI and followership.

Short video content is another new trend in influencer marketing, due to the rise in popularity of TikTok. Consumers are drawn towards videos which provide informative or entertaining content that does not require a long attention span.

Brands based on ethical values are on the rise

The new generation of consumers is placing a significant emphasis on a brand’s ethics. For example, does a brand use environmentally friendly products or stays away from animal testing. This can be attributed to the new age of consumers who are more informed about world issues and past unethical practices which some brands may have employed.

Retailers who are looking to stay ahead of their competitors should offer genuine transparency on their business values and practices and take a stance on ethical issues. This may be risky for brands but is highly effective in building trust among a retailer’s targetted audience if done right.

Offering fast or even same-day delivery

As shopping online gets more and more popular, consumers are looking for even faster order fulfilment. Which means retailers have to provide fast, next day or even same-day delivery. Online shoppers nowadays may choose a retailer with fast or same-day delivery even if it means paying more. To consumers shopping online, a two week or even one week delivery lead time can be an instant turn off.

Social commerce

Social commerce is rapidly becoming a popular way of shopping among consumers.

What is social commerce?

Social commerce is a native shopping experience on a social media platform like Facebook, Instagram, etc., which offers consumers a seamless way to shop online. Instead of clicking onto a third-party website, consumers can make purchases from the social media platform they are using.

With such a convenient way of shopping, this will become a popular trend in no time, opening up market opportunities which retail businesses should capitalize on.

For your physical store, a robust and reliable POS System is all what you need for your retail business

Well, if you are running a brick and mortar retail store, you will definitely need a robust POS system which offers comprehensive functions that can help increase your productivity in managing your retail operations, giving you more time to focus on exploring new retail trends and opportunities like those we have listed above.

If you are looking for a POS system for your retail business, do drop us your contact details and we will be happy to arrange a free demo session with you!