The Return of the Retail Empire

The retail sector is a dominating force that is leaving its growing footprints everywhere. As nearly half of consumers in a recent survey say that in the last year, having a physical retail space has had a “significant” or “very significant” influence on which brands they have chosen to buy from.

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That same survey found that 32% of brands plan to establish or expand their pop-up or physical retail experiences in 2022, and 31% of brands say they will also expand their footprint.

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Another consumer survey says that consumers now prefer to find new products in-store rather than online. They enjoy speaking with sales people, getting their hands on products, and simply basking in the in-store ambiance that was closed to them for a time due to COVID-19.   

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In 2020, global retail sales fell by 2.9 percent as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, bouncing back in 2021 with a growth of 9.7 percent Global retail sales were projected to amount to around 27.3 trillion U.S. dollars by 2022, up from approximately 23.7 trillion U.S. dollars in 2020.

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Yearly projections show the retail industry would continue to grow at 4%-5% rate from 2022-2025. Let us see how the mighty retail empire has made a successful comeback amid the rapid growth of ecommerce and tech savvy shoppers.

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1. Wide Adoption of the "clicks to Bricks" Business Model

Ecommerce brands have realized the importance of moving from clicks to bricks business model and swiftly opening brick-and-mortar stores all over the world.

Here are some precise reasons why they have done it:

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Change the perception of ecommerce brands: Ecommerce brands follow an online-only business model. Adopting a retail format allows them to showcase their businesses as an ecommerce brand with an impactful presence in brick-and-mortar store formats. 

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Do business with customers desiring physical engagement: Ecommerce brands want to increase their business share in the retail space where customer interactions and product engagements matter a lot. 

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Increase brand visibility: Ecommerce brands have excellent brand visibility online, but what about presence on offline channels? A brick-and-mortar store presence of an ecommerce brand would ensure they grab the headlines and attract those customers that don't shop online frequently.

Here are few examples of ecommerce giants that have been rapidly opening brick-and-mortar stores-

Rue Saint Paul, MM.LaFleur, Maddow ventures, Flipkart Experience stores, Amazon Smart stores

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2. More Stores are Opening than Closing

A critical study from a leading research firm says that India could see a 25% jump in new store openings in 2022 compared to previous year. Retailers are expected to lease over 5.1 million sq ft of space in 2022, coming close to the last two years' combined figure of 5.9 million sq ft. These are active signs of good days for retail.

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Dyson has announced an aggressive expansion of its demo stores in India. It has a solid retail presence in Kochi, Pune, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Delhi/NCR & Mumbai and plans to open new demo spaces all over the country.

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Malabar Gold & Diamond plans to open 22 new showrooms in India and abroad in 2022, of which ten stores will be in India, and the rest will be in Southeast Asia and West Asia, where the brand already has a presence.

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Malabar Gold and Diamonds will invest Rs 800 crores for this new phase of expansion and is targeting to open 750 stores and become the number one gold retailer in the world.

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3. Rapidly Growing Retail Collaborations

Collaboration culture is the next step in the evolution of retail. One proven way retailers are engaging and attracting customers like never before is through strategic brand partnerships. This bolsters the brands reputation and connects them to a wider audience.

Retail partnerships are collaborations between two companies. Each brand relies on the resources and the loyal customer base of the other brand to generate sales of its products. 

They are a growing sign of the dominance of the retail sector and signify the importance of clothing, luxury, fashion, jewellery, and lifestyle brands working together to create highly appealing, innovative products. 

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Swarovski & Adidas

Swarovski and Adidas have joined hands to produce innovative products with fabulous new designs. This latest partnership between the iconic brands brings out the best of both, proving that creativity, even in very different areas, knows no limits. Adidas shoes embedded with Swarovski crystals stand for an inclusive luxury lifestyle.

Predator Edge Crystal edition has been co-designed by Swarovski. Retaining its ever-so sporty construction, the striking pair of kicks features Adidas’ classic three stripes and sits alongside an eye-catching colorway featuring "Focus Olive," "Silver Metallic," and "Magic Lime." that is manifested with thousands of Swarovski crystals on the outer boot.

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Adidas X Gucci

2022 is the year of all unimaginable collaborations. And the latest retail brands to hop onto the bandwagon of partnerships are Adidas and Gucci. Both make iconic, stylish staples and are two of the biggest names in fashion history.

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The collection includes men's and women's shoes, accessories, jewellery, and lifestyle pieces. Each desirable item from the cool clothing collab adheres to Gucci's edgy, exclusive elegance while maintaining the modern ubiquity of Adidas.

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4. A revival of the Mall culture

Malls are currently receiving more foot traffic than before the pandemic began. This is because they offer a convenient space for a highly personalized experience quick services for non-food needs. In fact, mall real estate is on track to break a 10-year leasing record.

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Research also says that India could see a 25% jump in new store openings in 2022 compared with the previous year and revenue of brick-and-mortar retailers is expected to grow with retailers expected to lease over 5.1 million sq. ft. of space in 2022, coming close to the previous two years’ combined figure of 5.9 million sq. ft.

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What is actually helping in reviving the mall culture?

All things at one place: A mall serves as a one stop market for customers that fulfills their every need starting from clothing, daily food items, entertainment, restaurants, games, and more.

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Staff Shopping Advice: At least 1 in 5 customers state that customer advice is the number one reason why they prefer to shop in-store. In fact, they yearn to interact and speak to the retail store staff before making a purchase confidently, as they have the right knowledge and assists you with advice, that creates a lasting trust.

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No return required: Malls offer convenient retail spaces to try, inspect and observe the product before customers decide them to buy. So, if you shop in a mall, customers save themselves from hassles of return.

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5. Critical research points booming retail growth

If you require proof of how retail is booming, refer to the below research.

1. Retail sales grew by 7% in 2020 and by over 14% in 2021. Forecasts say that sales will grow by between 6% and 8% to more than $4.9 trillion in 2022.

2. Increasing number of shoppers involving adults, millenials, baby boomers, Gen Xers say they feel comfortable going to a shopping mall right now. That signifies growing traffic to malls.

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3. In-store sales grew at a rate of 13.4% for May 2022 versus the 2.2% increase in online retail sales compared to the same time last year

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6. Retailers building their omnichannel presence 

The last two years have been a tremendous learning experience for retailers. They have realized that their single-channel approach won't work in demanding situations when their traditional sales channels are closed.

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They must work on building a consistent brand tone, seamless shopping experience, and omnichannel engagement across all touchpoints to catch the eyes of the shopper. That’s why retailers are actively relying on omnichannel SaaS platforms like Fynd to accelerate brand visibility & reachability on any channel.

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More and more brands on Fynd are delighting the shoppers with their omnichannel capabilities. Fynd’s omnichannel platform have immensely helped these brands fulfill customer orders from all channels, reduce dependability on non-traditional channels and improve brand reachability for the end customer.

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This has helped retail brands adapt well to the customer’s dynamic expectations and ensured its comeback by making it competition worthy. Following are some top retailers across different sectors that have enjoyed immense success in their omnichannel journey:

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Luxury Brands: Gucci, Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Michael Kors, GAP, Diesel, Paul Smith

Clothing & Fashion: Superdry, Raymonds, Levi's, Satyapaul, W, Ritu Kumar, Globus, Global Desi, AND, 

Beauty: Ulta Beauty, Sephora, Glossier, Estee Lauder, Benefit Cosmetics

Electronic Brands: Samsung, Lenovo, Apple, Best Buy

Footwear: Nike, Adidas, Ruosh, Clarks, Woodland, Red Chief, Fila

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Believe us, the list of retailers going omnichannel will only get longer. The global retail sales is showing excellent signs of growth and is projected to be around 31.7 trillion U.S. dollars by 2025, up from approximately 23.74 trillion U.S. dollars in 2020.

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This is a tremendous opportunity for retailers to grow their business by constantly upgrading themselves by adopting technology powered retail solutions.

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Conclusion

The retail empire is on the rise again. Retailers are swiftly evolving and adapting to the changing times and dynamic customer behaviour. One thing is for sure – technology has actively helped the retail industry in its revival phase and is highly successful in its mission to improve the retail store's footfalls, brand presence and customer shopping experience. 

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Book a demo with one of our experts today if you want to equip your retail store with innovative technologies that fast-track business growth and give your customers a seamless shopping experience.

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Some of the premium brands onboarded by Fynd are SpykarRuosh, Superdry, AND Stores, Celio, Hamleys, Nike, Diesel, Da Milano, and Raymonds.