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The future of physical retail is intrinsically tied to how well retail brands can lead - and follow - their customers.
Put on your dancing shoes - 2022 looks to be the year that retailers and consumers are finally in step to optimize the omni experience. All the fancy footwork retailers implemented across the pandemic have produced an array of positive and aspirational outcomes for retail operations. It starts with a clear understanding that neither retailer nor consumer leads every move, neither digital nor brick-and-mortar stands alone. Instead, these are prodigiously choreographed partnerships.
"This idea that the consumer is always making a choice between two things is a false narrative," said Ethan Chernofsky, VP of marketing at Placer AI. "Brick-and- mortar and online can live side by side - it's not always either. Consumers want varied experiences: They will have Netflix and still go to movies. People can buy a Peloton and still want a gym membership."
What's ahead for brick-and-mortar retail, most experts agree, is a reinvention of all the consumer touchpoints and the physical space to drive engagement, produce efficiency and create flexibility.
Permanent Trends
Work from home (WFH) and "buy online, pickup in store" (BOPIS) - gained new momentum in 2020 and will continue to define brick-and-mortar spaces in 2022 and beyond.
Lee Peterson, executive VP, thought leadership and marketing at WD Partners, cited the firm's recent research where half of the 2,700 consumers surveyed said they will continue to WFH at least 60% of the time in 2022. And 100% said they will not go back five days a week at any time.
WD Partners also asked consumers, "When you go to a store, where will it be?" The response was close to home: 37% said they want to shop in their local community. As for what kind of stores respondents want in their community, the No. 1 answer was retailers selling local, but a close No. 2 was big brands with smaller stores.
"Retailers are rethinking their real estate and one thing we're going to see play out in 2022 is these 15-minute cities, where everything consumers want is in their local neighborhoods," Peterson said. "Restaurants figured that out a long time ago, which is why there are quick-service...