Retail trends you need to know for festive season shopping
The holiday season is now in full steam. While lots of emphases are placed on travels and relaxation, a big part of the holiday is about festive season shopping.
The festive season shopping frenzy is not just a local one but reaches far and wide with households, retailers and corporates being part of the mix.
The amount of e-commerce, instore trading and cross border business recorded over this period are unrivalled. In the midst of a global health crisis, it is expected that the retail sector will see some trends emerging.
Retails trends you need to know for festive season shopping:
Healthy and safe shopping
Health and safety are on everyone’s mind especially with the country seemingly hitting the second wave of Covid-19. It is expected that the retail sector will go far and beyond the laid down regulations.
Some of these measures may include a ban on reusable shopping bags. It is also expected that for deliveries, there will be a lot more of touchless and less interactive deliveries. All you will do is leave ordered goods on a front step, porch or gate and alert the person to collect immediately to avoid theft.
Products
The type of products in demand will be shaped by prevailing immediate circumstances. It is therefore expected that home leisure and entertainment will be a big deal this festive season.
Not many are keen to spend time in mass gatherings, the solution will be acquiring home entertainment facilities. There is also an increased need and demand for products which offer health benefits. This can be in form of running shoes, gym workout gear and even home care products.
Sales process
The retail sales process is not going to remain the same. With increased online shopping and limited income for many. It is expected that the sales process trends will be about flexible returns, easy checkout options and flexible delivery options and scheduling.
Multifaceted sales channels
Long gone are the days of depending on walk-in customers. Retailers are repositioning for multifaceted sales channels which place emphasis on localised digital. Consumers want to have the ability and flexibility not only to walk into stores but to have the ability to check products on mobile while instore.
To meet this need, more retailers are expected to get into new marketing and sales channels largely on digital platforms.
Resurgence of QR codes
QR codes have for a while felt like they are in the past but they are making a resurgence. This is because the Covid-19 has forced people to touch things as little as possible.
QR codes are therefore the touch-free way for retailers and consumers to interact especially for those who are covid-19 conscious and the risks of touching things. The trends above are worth looking out for in an increasingly changing retail environment.
Guzzle Media
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