In the past few years, a lot has changed when it comes to running a business, and that includes retail. More people are shopping online instead of going into stores. Because of this, it is essential for retail business owners to keep up with the current trends and to find ways to utilize them to their advantage to keep their business flourishing.
Continuing Rise of Online Shopping
The last few years have indeed shown that people prefer to do their shopping online, which may not be considered one of the new business trends, but the rise of e-commerce shops is undoubtedly growing at a rapid rate. E-commerce is becoming the heart of retail businesses, which can efficiently be utilized to the owner’s advantage if they employ it properly. Even brick-and-mortar stores should have some sort of online shop available to customers. Having an online presence these days is necessary if you want your retail business to be a success.
Opening Micro Fulfillment Centers
With the rise of e-commerce in recent years, fulfillment centers have grown with it. They are now a symbol of online shopping. More specifically, retail owners are researching micro fulfillment centers, which are smaller facilities. While an average fulfillment center will average around 800,000 square feet, a micro fulfillment center is likely less than 50,000 square feet and can even be as small as 10,000 square feet in some areas.
Many retail owners are choosing micro fulfillment centers because they can be closer to areas where most of their customers reside. Having these smaller fulfillment centers is beneficial for retail stores because if they are closer to their customers, then they have the ability to add free shipping for their products.
Reduction of Packaging Waste
Another trend that any retail owner should utilize is reducing their packaging waste. Now, more than ever, people are becoming more environmentally conscious. Therefore, if your retail store makes an effort to decrease packaging waste, customers will take notice and be more inclined to purchase from your store. This trend has been why more sustainable packaging has grown, and many companies have developed packaging made of plant-derived materials.
Technological Advancements for Employees
The latest business trends are not just for current and potential customers. Some trends are for the employees of the stores. It is not a secret that finding and retaining retail workers is becoming increasingly difficult. A way to adapt is by offering hybrid roles within the company. For example, since there is a rise in online shopping, you could hire a worker to interact with customers online instead of in-store.
Offering these hybrid roles can be beneficial to both you and the employee. The worker can grow their skills, and they have the potential to work from home. Meanwhile, as the owner, you now have a larger geographical scale to find employees. Although, this will also make it so you need to find new ways to manage on-site workers and the technology to manage your online workers as well.
Growing Need to Protect Consumer Data
As technology continues to advance for retail stores, the need to protect consumer data also grows. Data breaches can cost retailers a tremendous amount of money while also damaging their brands. The stakes have never been higher. Therefore, retail owners need to ensure that any information they have for their customers and employees is protected from any potential cyberattacks. Especially since there is probably a lot of financial data that is collected if that were to be breached, that could lead to lawsuits, fines, and damage to your reputation.
Retail stores are going through a tremendous change, especially in technology, and it will only continue to grow. With the rapid growth of online shopping in the last few years, micro fulfillment centers, environmentally friendly packaging, hybrid roles for employees, and consumer data protection, it is essential to follow and utilize the current trends to continue to see your store flourish.