The National Retail Federation’s (NRF) Big Show closed earlier this week, bringing together retailers, tech companies, and industry experts to discuss the future of retail.
Key takeaways included Gen Z’s influence on shopping, which will last even if TikTok goes away, the accelerating trend cycle, hesitation to adopt new payment technologies, and the transformation of digital grocery. Here are four takeaways from the event.
“While the fate of TikTok and TikTok Shop in the US hang in the balance, the broader trends driving Gen Z shopping behavior are here to stay,” said our analyst Sky Canaves.
While it’s unclear if TikTok will even live to see next week in the US, retailers and brands should still focus on how Gen Z shops. In a post-TikTok world, US Gen Zers will continue to discover and share new products via social video (on YouTube and Instagram). They will still shop via mobile. And they will still be interested in sustainability and resale while engaging with fast fashion and microtrends.
New products and styles are popping up daily. “Communication just keeps moving at a faster clip,” said our analyst Suzy Davidkhanian. “There isn’t such a thing anymore as one trend that lasts for a longer period of time…so it’s really hard for brands to capitalize on trends.”
Brands and retailers must be flexible to avoid feeling dated. They won’t be able to keep up with all the passing trends, so they need a clear brand identity to identify which trends to support and a keen eye for what’s falling out of style.
In places like Brazil, retailers are doing things like facial recognition and dynamic pricing, but adoption of these strategies is less popular in the US, according to our chief content officer Zia Daniell Wigder.
Slow adoption isn’t just because consumers feel uneasy with the new tech; most retailers still don’t feel comfortable with facial recognition payments either, added Davidkhanian.
US retailers are approaching cryptocurrency payments with caution as well, due to the unstable nature of each currency’s worth, and the headache that creates for sales and returns. “[Crypto is] very high risk for a retailer today, and they haven’t figured it out,” said Davidkhanian.
While some may think digital grocery adoption is uneven across countries due to cultural differences, experts at NRF said this isn’t the case.
“It’s pretty uniform in every country that there’s going to be that sort of tactile component of grocery—people who want to go in and touch and feel,” said Wigder. “If you have relatively affordable convenience, convenient options, you will shift to buying some of your groceries online.”
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