by Cheryl Hunter (shelflife at marklives.com) Considering the immense amount of information Shelf Life receives every week, extrapolating for 2017 has been surprisingly simple: the themes are readily apparent. Add to that expected consumer inflation in South Africa and the five 2017 trends below are almost a certainly.
1. Technology
The retail experience continues to be transformed by technology, from mobile devices to virtual reality.
While VR is still in its early stages in SA, we’re starting to see brands understand how they can use this technology to enhance the consumer’s experience, removing the limitations of space and time, and resulting in virtual showrooms and virtual fitting rooms.
Technology is increasingly conjoined with shopping experiences on an additional level as brands adopt a plethora of mobile payment solutions.
And online shopping is booming. It’s convenient and accessible, with consumers demanding this as an alternative to bricks-and-mortar shopping.
2. Personalisation
Increased technology means people expect to be recognised.
Personalisation is already important to consumers, who are now expecting to be instantly acknowledged with a host of personalised preferences automatically integrated into their shopping experience. This expectation will grow in 2017.
3. Quality, transparency and sustainability
It’s not a new concept but consumers, more and more, require the products and brands they purchase to offer quality, transparency and sustainability.
Shoppers want to know everything about their purchases and where their spend is going.
Clean labeling, alignment to a lifestyle and sustainable sourcing, manufacturing and packaging are no longer nice-to-haves but imperatives.
Consumers now want to know about all aspects of the food they purchase, from where ingredients are sourced to the sustainability of the packaging. This demand for natural and clean label products will increase in 2017.
4. Convenience and speed
All this extra commitment from brands — and then shoppers require convenience and speed, too. Free delivery is often expected and swift delivery assumed.
While shoppers may not head to the store as often, they still expect instant gratification after making a purchase online.
5. Smaller and niche
Finally, consumers are supporting smaller, niche outlets, probably because they offer more personalisation, unique products and more-transparent, enticing brand stories, including ‘green’ or sustainable roots.
Smaller outlets are also an international trend, where space is a priority, and smaller stores cost less to operate.
Shelf Life is MarkLives.com’s weekly column covering all things new. Notify us of yours at shelflife at marklives dot com. Want to sponsor Shelf Life? Contact us here.
Cheryl Hunter (@cherylhunter) has written for the South African media, marketing and advertising industries for more than 15 years. A former editor of M&M in Independent Newspapers and contributor to Bizcommunity, AdFocus, AdReview and the Ad Annual, she has also produced for various television networks and currently consults on communication strategy and media liaison.
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