Four Ps to dominate retail in 2020: Frost & Sullivan

The retail industry will undergo massive changes as the age of disruption continues to impact consumer behaviours and buying trends, indicates research & consulting firm Frost & Sullivan offering a view into 2020.

“Every aspect of retail will be disrupted by evolving technology and demography. Looking ahead, one can expect the stores of tomorrow to be points of engagement, monotonous purchases to become fully automated, any touch-point or space to become a place of commerce, and for customers to always remember the experience,” said Murali Krishnan, senior industry analyst, Frost & Sullivan.

In this constant flux, retailers should understand and prepare strategies to retain customers and gain an edge over the competition through the four Ps:

• Person: Generation Alpha as the new wave of “digital native” influencers and future customers
• Place: Reinvention of physical retail as a point of engagement from a small box to a “novel” box
• Points: Advent of new points of commerce such as in-vehicle commerce
• Process: Advances in technology such as artificial intelligence (AI), automation and augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) disrupting the prevailing retail process

“Social commerce is gaining prominence with Instagram stories and online virtual stores finding strong foothold with the Gen Y and Z consumers. This signifies a major shift in the retailing model with major implications to the future of stores and virtual presence taking precedence over physical presence,” observed Archana Vidyasekar, global research director, Frost & Sullivan.

RetailME Bureau