Denyse Drummond-Dunn explores the state and future of retail in Customer Think—features Brian Solis.

Will the future of retail be without physical outlets?

Brian Solis wrote a great article also in early 2017 on the “11 Trends Shaping The Future Of Retail” based on a presentation he wrote back in 2015! However, despite their age, I feel that they remain as true today as when he wrote it.

He says that retail continues to suffer from what he calls the new “Kodak Moment.” This, he claims, is the moment when executives fail to see how customers and markets are shifting.

Here are the trends Brian mentions:

1. New (human) perspective is needed to see the actual future that is playing out.

2. Cater to “Accidental Narcissists” as I call them and compete in the on-demand economy.

3. Compete for customer experience…not CX…there’s a difference and one is customer-centered.

4. Become payments agnostic. Don’t impose false standards to compete against other systems to reduce fees. Be open.

5. Understand social commerce and design targeted initiatives that drive shared experiences, reviews and referrals online.

6. Invest in the trust economy, be transparent, and earn reciprocity through the facilitation of open engagement and commerce.

7. Balance web rooming and showrooming by investing in mutually-beneficial experiences and outcomes on both sides.

8. Explore new technologies to reimagine the in-store/online experience blurring the lines between digital/brick-and-mortar.

9. Study the digital and specifically the mobile customer journey to uncover friction, update ageing touch points and cater to mobile-first and mobile-only customers.

10. Invest in innovation teams or innovation centres to discover new competition and possibilities to test and learn in more rapid prototyping programs (outside of risk-averse culture).

11. Take a fresh look at space and consider it a blank slate. Ask yourself and your team, what if we could build a physical store that brought the digital and real-world together to deliver intuitive and indispensable experiences? That’s what Amazon is doing.