The uncertainty expressed at the beginning of 2017 has continued throughout the trading period with some retailers unable to whether the storm. Those that adapted to the new trading climate have seen growth. Despite the turbulent market Craig Summers, UK Managing Director at Manhattan Associates says that “customers still need to buy things” and the focus should be “on the basic premise – connecting the customer to the product they desire, when, where and how they want it – then they will come back for more”.

Looking forward to 2018 the big question seems to be what will Britain’s decision to the leave the EU mean for retail. This has the potential despite retailers’ best efforts to negatively affect consumer sentiment and the UK economy.

Retail Week have compiled a report with exclusive insights about the year ahead from retail’s top leaders. I’ve pulled together some of the juicier figures from the survey.

Shifting Business Models for the Future

• Average hourly pay in retail was up 4.6% in 2017, compared with 2.9% growth for the UK economy. This has been argued by the BRC as a result of the new digital landscape and the rising cost to serve.
• 44% of retail chiefs surveyed predict a sales increase whilst 28% expect a decline in 2018.
• The fallout from Brexit is expected to have the greatest impact on consume behaviour in 2018, with 59% of the retail leaders citing this, quickly followed by inflation and the cost of living at 45%.

Investing in the Right Areas

• 47% of retailers say they are now omnichannel (though 33% are yet to achieve this visibility in real time), compared with just 18% last year and 19% in 2015. However, 33% do not have a single view of their customer or stock.
• A rather depressing 27% are using data insight to forecast the future.
• While gaining a single view of customers is clearly an ambition, Retail Week’s research provoked interesting opinions from at least three chief executives who believe that customer resistance to ‘being known’ will mean it is impossible for businesses to ever have access to full comprehensive customer history and data.

 Winning the Customer Experience Battle

• 59% of consumers find they know more than the store assistant “some of the time” with a further 10% saying they know more “all of the time”.
• The majority, 51% of consumers, say product knowledge, followed by checking stock availability, is the most important service provided by a store associate, highlighting the point further.
• 57% of consumers go in to store to get their product there and then. 52% because they can touch and feel the product.

Drilling Down into Data

• 17% say big data, database organisation or developing central systems that hold comprehensive customer information are high up the to-do list in the 12 months ahead.
• 52% of the leaders list “investment in customer experience” as a priority.
• 28% of respondents use the terms “personalisation” or “personalised service” when explaining their key goals.

Delivering a Profitable Supply Chain

• Although supply chain and infrastructure are not top of the investment priority list among the retail chief executives surveyed, with 28% citing it as a key focus area in the year ahead.
• 27% of the surveyed retailers expect to see more demand for same-day delivery in 2018, nearly on a par with the currently more common next-day option, at 33%. Both, however, are dwarfed by the named-day or slot delivery option, which 47% of retailers expect to see more demand for next year.
• Try-before-you-buy will become more prevalent. Amazon and Asos already offer the service to a degree in certain parts of the world, but there are technology companies now supplying what is essentially the option to ‘buy now, pay later’ online to support impulse purchases.

Brexit: Operating in the Shadow of Uncertainty

• Of the 25 business leaders we spoke to, 48% say they feel Brexit will have a negative impact, while 28% say it is too early to tell its effect on future performance because it is so difficult to understand what the process will do to consumer confidence.

If you’re looking for a more in depth read, then the whole report is attached below.

Retail 2018