Retail Trends: Online vs. Bricks and Mortar Forecast

Retails trends and the competition between online sales verses brick and mortar sales continue to be a hot topic throughout the entire retail sector. The move to downsize large locations continues to be undertaken by many brick and mortar retailers, as well as an increase in online offerings to compete with those retailers taking over the online scene.  On the other hand, the fact that consumers seem to refuse to give up their desire to shop in-store at a physical location has other, previously online-only, retailers setting up shop on the ground.

The majority of retail sales are still happening offline and the forecast suggests that although online sales will continue to increase, the likelihood of them taking over is slim, at least for the foreseeable future.

Check out this great article from the Globe and Mail, “Retail Reboot: How E-commerce is Forcing an Industry Transformation”: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/retail-reboot-how-e-commerce-is-forcing-an-industry-transformation/article21602870/?page=all. In it, the author presents a startling number of both direct and indirect impacts of online shopping, both to the online sector itself and to brick and mortar locations. Clearly e-commerce is changing the retail landscape.

Here is a great graph from the above mentioned article that shows just how much of an impact online sales are having in Canada:

As mentioned, in 2014, several big name online only stores, including Amazon, set up physical retail stores. This is in direct opposition to those stores making the move to smaller locations, but for the online-only retailers, the need came as a result of the desire of shoppers for the in-store experience and therefore validates the need for physical stores. For these stores, new marketing strategies with things like point of purchase displays and creative packaging have become a new challenge.

This is all part of another growing retail trend - omni-channel retailing, or simply put, the creation of a seamless customer experience across all channels. Creating a positive in-store experience can lead to further online sales thanks to a heightened brand awareness and increased customer loyalty - and vice versa.

With competition in no short supply, garnering attention on the shelf has become even more crucial. Creative, unique and intelligent customer packaging can get your product noticed - another growing trend within the retail industry. This is also vital when it comes to shipping - a boring brown box catches no attention, whereas one that is branded well is seen by a significant number as it makes its way to the final destination and reinforces your brand to the receiver. For those stores now having to revamp their typical strategies as a result of their move to brick and mortar, displays are becoming a new, yet very effective, tool.

For more about the major changes going on in the retail landscape and how you can continue to compete, please contact Packaging Technologies Inc. today by calling 1-800-303-5883.