What: Whether it’s with restructurings, supply chain bottlenecks or Covid, retailers are in for another year of disruption.

Why it is important: Stores will return to prominence but must treat frontline workers better and develop strategies to entice consumers to shop amid rising prices and changing priorities. Rising inflation means retailers must develop creative ways to reduce discounting, like focusing on more product drops, and smaller, frequent inventory releases to drive traffic, obtain more customer insights and lower customer acquisition costs.

AlixPartners’ other predictions:

• Continuing buzz in mergers and acquisitions in the industry as retailers divest lower-priority assets to fund necessary investments in technology, data analytics and omnichannel offerings.
• Online assortments will grow and will become easier to navigate for consumers. To lower return rates, retailers will add more realistic virtual try-on technology. They will also continue to add new payment forms, including cryptocurrency, and focus on better privacy and security of customer data.
• Retailers need to think of store associates as more essential than ever and treat frontline employees as an asset, not a cost.
• Post-purchase services and return policies will become a competitive differentiator for online and omnichannel businesses.
• Livestreaming and other ways to connect with consumers will expand.
• Retailers must focus talent and investments on better understanding and improving supply chain processes.
• Retailers will streamline logistics, either through acquisition or partnering with third-party delivery companies.

Retailers continuing to seek more sustainable practices in sourcing and circular fashion economy.

AlixPartners on Retail 2022