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National Retail Federation's 2008 Predictions

December 18, 2007
I was checking comments to my posts and recalled the comment on WebKinz by Doug Fleener at the Retail Contrarian.  I had not been to his site recently so I popped on over and saw this headline; Predictions for Retail in the New Year (Plus One).  The National Retail Federation's Stores.com website recently published a list of predictions for the upcoming year in retail.  I am a sucker for predictions!

Here’s what the NRF is predicting:

Bucking Recession - Consumer spending … will sustain the economy in the coming year.
 
Green v. Green - Green may be more expensive than the alternative and if there is a recession, green may suffer.  As Kermit the Frog said: It’s not easy being green.

Attention Small Mart Shoppers - For a long time it was all about “big” – big stores, deep product offerings, expansive thinking. Now the tide has turned.

Rewriting the Rules of Engagement - shoppers can connect to just about anyone, anywhere at anytime. Expect that increased visibility to rewrite the rules of engagement for retailers and marketers.

The always-on generation, which is moving into its prime spending years, doesn’t always see the need to visit a store. Its members use their social networking skills to determine whether an item is worth buying, then complete that purchase using their cell phone or other electronic device.

Steady Doses of Inconsistency - Inconsistency reigns supreme: the woman who carries a Coach handbag and buys only organic meat and produce insists she never pays full-price for apparel.

Exclusivity Meets Authenticity - Consumers are tired of seeing the same thing from one store to the next.  Retailers will try to break away from sameness and yet be authentic.

Born in the USA Redux - Americans are paying more attention to where goods are sourced, where ingredients come from and how products move through the supply chain.

Waiting to Exhale - Shoppers’ opportunities to … are likely to be sandwiched between a doctor’s appointment and their kid’s soccer game.  That produces stress!
 
Do something that tells the shopper “your time matters to me” – or risk having them drop their purchases in a heap and head for the door.

There’s a lot of meat in the article by Susan Reda.  I have only touched the surface and will be writing more about these points.

Thoughts???  Email them to me at landfair3554@comcast.net

Posted by Mike Landfair on December 18, 2007 | Comments (0)