From encounter to ecosystem: the 2025 retail revolution

The coming 12 months will mark the “next revolution in retail” as consumers increasingly expect shopping to come to them. nShift, the global leader in delivery and experience management, has released a trends and predictions guide to help ecommerce and logistics teams prepare for 2025.

“The next retail revolution” guide explores how ecommerce and logistics teams must work together to embrace a year of monumental change. Too often, businesses view retail as an occasion where customers visit a brick-and-mortar store or a web shop. According to the report, 2025 will be different. Consumers will expect shopping to come to them wherever they are in their physical or digital lives. No longer will retail be an encounter. It must increasingly be an eco-system, with touchpoints built around every aspect of a customer’s life.

The report also warns that trying to create these customer connections with consumer-facing applications and software will not be enough. For the customer experience to truly be authentic, brands and vendors must be able to deliver on their promises.

To meet shifting customer expectations, retailers and ecommerce vendors must get to grips with:

1. Unified commerce - Some 99% of retailers believe a well-executed unified commerce strategy has an impact on overall profitability but 45% lack a clear implementation strategy[1]
2. Social shopping – according to TikTok, 75% of its users are likely to buy something while using the TikTok Shop app[2]
3. Sustainable shopping – some 66% of consumers are prepared to pay more for products from companies that commit to making a positive social and environmental impact[3]

Johan Hellman, Vice President, Product & Carrier at nShift said: “While the world of retail may be changing one thing remains the same: little matters more to a customer than whether the retailer can keep their delivery promise. If the delivery is late or sent to the wrong place, then the retailer risks losing a customer for life.

“Too often deliveries are dismissed as a feat of pure fulfillment. Teams think of boxes and packaging at one end of the spectrum and the customer experience at the other. In reality, deliveries hold the keys to enhancing the customer experience, improving efficiency and building the business.”

Read the full report: “The next “retail revolution” – how ecom and logistics must work together to embrace monumental change in 2025”

ENDS

[1] https://www.bain.com/insights/the-state-of-unified-commerce-a-bain-and-aptos-study/

[2] https://jonpan.medium.com/retail-everywhere-74a42b97c56a

[3] https://forliance.com/news/2023/03/07/why-investing-in-sustainability-is-a-smart-business-move