4 Business Trends for 2015

The manner of handling business today has never been more dynamic with the rapid creation of technological innovations. Retailers in all channels have to be vigilant in monitoring trends if they want to survive the competition, get new customers and retain the loyalty of existing ones. Although other factors play a role in businesses failing, not keeping up to date with business strategies will hasten a store’s demise before it has a chance to recover. Here are trends to adopt for 2015 to keep your enterprise relevant and current, and enable you to maintain and grow your store.

The Growing Role of E-commerce

Online shopping has never been more pervasive than it was during the past year’s holiday season. Research done by Wipro Digital, the digital transformation business of Wipro Ltd., showed that UK and US shoppers spent 30 percent more money on online than in-store for the 2014 holiday season. True enough, big US retail chains like Macy’s, Sears and Barnes & Noble are shutting down several of their brick and mortar stores and shifting their sights on omni-channel retailing with the focus on mobile shopping. The study also revealed that the biggest obstacle to online shopping are shipping costs and not receiving the goods on time.

To sustain this trend, e-stores should consider free shipping for every order and finding a solution to prevent delays in receipt of goods. Brick and mortar stores on the other hand should focus on improving the customer experience in-store and integrate online and in-store strategies to give the shopper varied options on selection and payment methods.

Better Security and Less Risk to Consumers

The 2013 data security breach that hit Target, Neiman Marcus and a host of other retailers is a lesson well learned for businesses to take data security and risk mitigation seriously. Serial credit card theft can cause serious financial losses in costs for legal settlements and fixing the flawed security system. According to a bankruptcy lawyer, stores may have to close shop if they can’t recoup their losses.

Online stores should describe in detail their data security policy and the methods employed to ensure protection of customers’ personal information. In-store security can be maximized by migrating to the new EMV technology for payments. EMV requires the customer to enter a PIN, replacing the less secure magnetic strip cards. Businesses should also choose a reliable vendor for their data and processes handling and train all employees on the importance of data security and risk mitigation. In the case of Target, negligence of their in-house security team led to the data breach that exposed information on more than 40 million credit cards.

Exploiting Consumers’ Increasing Bent for Mobile Engagement

The use of mobile in shopping reached its highest in the 2014 holiday season. Customers used their smartphones and tablets to explore sales and ultimately to purchase and close a transaction. Having this trend in mind, businesses should include mobile marketing strategies to target a big chunk of potential mobile buyers and keep them engaged.

Aside from having a responsive website and keeping it updated on offers, sales and new products, stores should have the capability to accept payments via mobile wallets. Mobile wallets are poised to go mainstream and soon become the payment method of choice. Apple Pay, launched October 20 of last year, was used extensively during the holiday shopping and Google Wallet and Samsung’s LoopPay will follow.

From Virtual to Physical

In contrast to retail chain stores closing down some of their locations, online stores have grabbed the opportunity for increasing their market share by putting up brick and mortar shops. Although the much-talked about Amazon opening a physical store in Manhattan never materialized, many purely online retailers went ahead and have set up physical shops. Warby Parker, JustFab and Bonobos are just a few of them. In spite of the buzz on e-commerce steadily rising, most retail shopping still take place in-store. This will make for an exciting and innovative in-store marketing strategies between traditional and established stores and the newbies in luring customers.