Retail Trends
Current market volatility has hit retailers hard. Many are struggling to re-orient operations to meet customer expectations. Read our advice.
Insights
Blog
Attend Forrester’s Upcoming Event For Brand Manufacturers On September 29–30
One of the biggest transformations in retail that Forrester highlighted in its recent B2C buying research stream is the growth of brand manufacturers in commerce and the corresponding tension with marketplaces like Alibaba, Amazon, and others around the world. (“Brand manufacturers” are traditionally wholesale companies that distribute through intermediaries. They’re a complex ecosystem, and no […]
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Blog
Three Consumer Changes Will Define The Future Of How We Buy
By April of this year, an astounding 62% of US online adults had performed some kind of online transaction for the first time as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic — many began ordering products online for delivery, others experimented with digital payments or started banking online, and some opted to receive medical advice […]
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Research Collection
US Retailers Face Unprecedented Challenges In Planning For Q4
Q4 contributes a significant part of many retailers’ annual revenues and profits. As of mid-Q3, factors like high unemployment, a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, short-term and permanent store closures, and the expiration of the US Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program are making it challenging for US retailers to plan for Q4. We’ve created a collection […]
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Blog
Brands Must Evolve From Wholesale Suppliers To Partners
Brands have been reviewing and revamping their digital commerce strategies for some time. With consumers forced online during pandemic lockdowns across the globe, this focus on digital has only magnified. But digital commerce opportunities are not created equal for brands. Some brands are seeing significant growth in their direct-to-consumer (DTC) business and grappling with the […]
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Blog
Insights From Forrester’s US Retail Recovery Heat Maps (April – July 2020)
See how the retail economies of 30 major US metropolitan areas have fared in the wake of the pandemic, and learn what the near future may hold.
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Blog
Walmart Doubles Down On ‘Save Money. Live Better.’ As It Wants To Help You Shop For Your Next Health Insurance Plan
Recently, Walmart quietly launched Walmart Insurance Services LLC. To better understand and triangulate what this move means for the future of healthcare, a team of Forrester analysts weighed in. Read their takes.
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Blog
The Pandemic Accelerates Retailers’ Need For Digital Operations
As lockdowns ease, retail stores traffic and sales will only increase gradually based on consumer comfort levels, bringing preexisting strategic objectives into sharper focus and accelerate the need to execute on them.
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Remaking Retail Loyalty & Brand Experience
The onus is on retailers today to re-orient operations to meet customer expectations — and make customer experience the best expession of your brand promise.
Blog
QSRs — Digital Disruption Was Coming, But Now It’s Sink Or Swim
Learn several digital strategies that quick-service restaurants impacted by COVID-19 can adopt to position themselves for the long term.
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Webinar
Impact of Coronavirus on Asian Retail Market
Forrester studied offline and online consumer shopping patterns and forecasted sales basis the impact of COVID-19 on the Asian Retail Market and the various factors regulating business. Learn the key market trends, impact of Covid-19 and opportunities for retailers in this complimentary on-demand webinar.
Watch Now
Blog
Redesign Your Physical Location To Successfully Welcome Customers Back
To encourage customers to come back and usher in economic recovery, companies must plan to redesign their physical-location experiences to address customer fears of COVID-19 and their desire to maintain social distancing.
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Blog
Future Of Retail 2020: Retail Marketers Face Privacy And Data Ethics Regulations
Forrester retail industry analysts provide insights on how privacy and data ethics regulations will affect retail marketers.
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Blog
Forrester Expects A $2.1 Trillion Loss In Retail Sales Globally In 2020
Forrester's updated retail forecast shows that brick-and-mortar, non-grocery retailers will experience the heaviest losses, and that growth in online sales won't offset offline losses.
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Blog
The State Of Digital Payments Acceptance In US Online Retail
Amazon Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay; alternative payments are a hot topic. And they are key to seamless checkout experiences, especially while consumers shop on their smartphones. But which options are merchants offering? And which are consumers actually using? Forrester dove into 100 retailer sites to determine the state of alternative-payments acceptance in US online […]
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Blog
Food Retailers’ Inadequate Crisis Response Highlights The Contrast Between Modern And Outdated Business Applications
For UK food retailers, coronavirus crisis has demonstrated the importance of flexible supply chain management. Read more, including potential solutions.
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Blog
Computer Vision Supports Retailers’ Automation Efforts
Looking for ways computer vision can automate retail and improve CX? Analysts Guannan Lu and Charlie Dai provide four examples.
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Blog
Future Of Retail 2020: Retailers Test Consumer-Facing And Operational IoT Solutions
To understand how Forrester’s predictions will unfold in the retail industry in 2020, my colleague Madeline Cyr and I interviewed experts within Forrester for our “Applying 2020 Predictions To Retail” series. To understand the internet of things (IoT) predictions for 2020, we spoke with Forrester IoT expert Frank Gillett. Madeline Cyr: In 2020, you predict […]
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Blog
What The CEO Of Every CPG Brand Needs To Do Tomorrow
The single biggest transformation in the retail industry in the last decade has been the emergence of third-party marketplaces (often online bazaars subject to few restrictions) where sellers and buyers meet. Some sellers on online marketplaces, however, traffic in the business of outright fake products. Others may procure merchandise through legitimate channels but engage in […]
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Blog
How Retail Omnichannel Commerce Stands In 2020
Customers believe they are engaging with one unified brand or organization, regardless of the device or touchpoints that they use. Retailers must ensure the continuity of information and resources across digital and store touchpoints — or risk losing customers to competitors that do. A truly omnichannel operation that spans the customer lifecycle will optimize revenue, […]
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Blog
Future Of Retail 2020: Retailers Will Create Bold Employee Experiences
To understand how Forrester’s predictions will unfold in the retail industry in 2020, my colleague Madeline Cyr and I interviewed experts within Forrester for our “Applying 2020 Predictions To Retail” series. To understand the employee experience (EX) predictions for the year, we spoke with Forrester Principal Analyst David Johnson, who serves CIO professionals. Madeline: You […]
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Blog
Key Technologies All Brands Need To Build Their D2C And B2B2C Business
All brands must rapidly upgrade legacy technology systems and processes. And that is regardless of whether or not they sell directly to customers! Brands are facing an onslaught of greater demands externally (consumers and retail partners) and internally (to execute successful digital marketing campaigns and digital commerce strategies). As a result, brands are evaluating the […]
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