Retail in Review – September & October: Festive Hype, Sustainability & Generative AI

The busiest time of the retail year is fast approaching with Black Friday, the curtain-raiser of the festive season, on the horizon. Summer is gone and fall has well and truly arrived. While retailers have already kicked off their preparations for the Cyber Weekend chaos, they are also keeping an eye on longer-term technological advancements that can help them in the new year.

As we gear up for a hectic end to 2023, the last couple of months have been a time of preparation for the retail industry. We unveil these retail news in our latest Retail in Review blog…   

Retailers Gear Up For The Busy Shopping Period

Every year, the festive shopping period brings numerous exciting sales opportunities for retailers. This year should be no different. According to the Mastercard SpendingPulse report, US retail sales are set to rise 3.7% year-over-year (YOY) during the 2023 holiday season.

Meanwhile, Celigo’s 2023 Holiday Shopping Trends Report has found that 69% of shoppers expect retailers to provide more personalized offers during the festive period. Technology can play a pivotal role in fulfilling this consumer appetite for personalization. Equipped with the right retail solutions, retail brands can gather real-time insights from across their entire retail stack, and leverage information to provide meaningful, tailored interactions. Combining technologies such as customer relationship management (CRM), inventory and order management, and clienteling, retailers can deliver personalized experiences across all sales channels, leaving shoppers feeling valued.

To capitalize on the upcoming buzz of the festive period, retailers have already started preparing. Target recently announced that it would recruit nearly 100,000 employees for the holiday season, and has started offering holiday season discounts already. Meanwhile, Superdrug plans to hire an additional 1,000 sales assistants for the festive season, as the retailer gears up for increased footfall around Black Friday, Advent and Christmas.

This recruitment drive from leading retail companies shows retailers’ efforts to handle the anticipated in-store chaos of the season, aiming to deliver extraordinary customer service. However, while retailers plan to hire staff for the upcoming holiday period, they must also shape themselves based on evolving consumer demands.

Shoppers Lean Toward Eco-Friendly Purchases

Sustainability continues to prove to be a hot topic when it comes to consumer demands. Today, most Americans, regardless of their income, gender or age, want to purchase sustainable products.

In fact, not only are sustainability-marketed items growing twice as fast as conventionally marketed products, but they are also selling at a premium of 28%, on average, according to recent research at NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business (CSB).

Retail brands across the globe have started to align themselves with this shift in consumer expectations. Amazon has announced its first automated U.S. fulfillment center to eliminate plastic delivery packaging as part of its effort to convert U.S. fulfillment centers to paper, which will allow many customers to recycle at home. Meanwhile, eBay has launched the Circular Change Council alongside major retailers to promote circularity and reduce furniture waste.

Generative AI Is Creating the Buzz 

While short-term demands around Black Friday and sustainable processes are front of mind for retailers, long-term priorities still remain across the industry, and AI remains a key disruptor. According to the PYMNTS Intelligence Report, more than half of Americans want AI-powered shopping experiences. Meanwhile, Lucidworks’ State of Generative AI in Global Business report found that 92% of US retailers plan to ramp up their investments in generative AI.

The most forward-thinking retailers are already looking to push industry boundaries by leveraging the potential of AI. One such example comes from Walmart, which is exploring new ways to utilize generative AI to make shopping experiences easier and more convenient for its customers. Meanwhile, Mango has launched its own conversational generative AI platform to enable staff to improve the development of its collections and its after-sales service.

Generative AI has been involved in a significant amount of discourse – across all industries – in 2023. Retail is no exception. Recently, Teamwork Commerce partnered with Google to develop new generative AI features in its industry-leading Mobile POS and Order Management System (OMS). As developments in retail technologies grow, retailers must continue to proactively invest in their future by consistently developing their technology capabilities on an ongoing basis.

Ending the Year in Style

The next couple of months are crucial for retailers, not only to drive sales but also to build new customer relationships and nurture existing ones. Retailers, who can provide top-tier shopping experiences and drive customer loyalty, can better position themselves to capitalize on new opportunities in the long term.

Searching for the right retail solution for your business ahead of Black Friday? Get in touch today!