The retail industry is experiencing a phenomenal amount of change – becoming increasingly digitally and internet-driven. Technological advancement contributes heavily to disrupting and transforming the retail landscape. Customers’ behavior is not the same as what it used to be: their expectations are higher than ever. There are some key trends that retailers must understand and embrace in order to sustain their businesses in the competitive industry.

• There is a need for solutions for selling merchandise online that works the same way as in a physical store. Planning and figuring out methods of providing a smoother, safer, and seamless online experience to consumers will be a top priority thing for tech-savvy progressive retailers in the coming years.

• To stay on top of the industry, it has become imperative for retailers to understand customer demands and expectations in advance. The investment will rise in getting more accurate levels of customer demand forecasting that could be achieved with the potentials of data science and machine learning techniques. Same technologies could also support providing automated personalized suggestions to customers and that is an essential component of having great shopping experiences nowadays.

• Increase in innovations based on augmented reality to provide immersive, feature-rich shopping experiences. Online and offline retailers, both will be using more tech-driven virtual shopping solutions to allow users to try products on their smart devices before completing the actual buying process.

• Besides the technological advancements in data-driven AI to manage retail forecasting, blockchain will ensure efficiency, security, and transparency across its supply chains.