In December 2023, Retail TouchPoints unveiled its latest Industry Trends & Predictions Report, a multi-media experience featuring insights from 15 of the industry’s top analysts, futurists and thought leaders. Now that we’re halfway through the year, we thought it would be an ideal time to revisit some of the report’s top predictions and conduct a status update of sorts, by asking:
- Have certain trends taken shape and influenced industry progress?
- Have retailers truly embraced certain technologies?
- Are there any retail/brand success stories we can point to and uncover tactical lessons and takeaways?
Let’s dig into three of the trends explored…
Trend 1: Welcoming Warm Human Interactions
Artificial intelligence (AI) was obviously the topic du jour for our 2024 predictions report, but Noelle Weaver, Managing Partner – North America of Foresight Factory gave a unique spin on the topic. She noted that while AI promised efficiency and scale, best-in-class brands would embrace consumers’ desire for “warm human interactions” and adapt their service strategies accordingly.
“In the year ahead, brands will be expected to go beyond the role of retailers and assume the role of social partners — one that puts consumers’ needs above profitability in at least some aspects of their offering,” Weaver said. “The year ahead will not be defined by ‘man versus machine’ but by ‘man and machine.’”
We saw the industry embracing this trend in several ways. Many brick-and-mortar retailers continued to rethink the role of self-checkout. While many took an extreme approach by completely walking back their rollouts of this tech, others doubled down on high-quality service experiences. And in the ecommerce realm specifically, brands have continued to explore how they can use gen AI-powered solutions to help teams (and consumers) be more productive, while also embracing the power of human-driven knowledge and curation. This balance was a central theme for our report this year, and it has clearly continued to take shape.
Trend 2: Hiding the Web3 Wires
At the end of 2023, “metaverse” became an industry swear word of sorts. Few dared to mutter it, and if they did, they did so sparingly — often to emphasize that “the trend was dead.” Matt Maher, Founder of M7 Innovations, pointed to the rocky state of the Web3 world, noting that the space would need to evolve and, in some cases, rebrand to be more palatable for business leaders. After all, there were many success stories and use cases, including from brands like Nike, Starbucks and Alo Yoga, indicating that these concepts did actually work.
Maher called this process “hiding the wires,” where industry players would need to talk less about the technical aspects of Web3 and more about the value it would provide to consumers and brands. “If you want to talk about the future of consumer loyalty in retail, especially in digital, look to the tools of Web3,” he said.
It’s true that the terms “Web3” and “the metaverse” are being used sparingly, if at all; instead, we’ve seen lots of mentions of “gaming communities” and “immersive commerce experiences,” with companies like Walmart and E.l.f. continually pushing creative limits. Ikea’s latest Roblox experience also shows that brands are even exploring how these digital worlds can impact the future of work. It seems that innovation is still happening, although it’s less about the tech used and more about utility, value and outcomes, which is how it should have been all along.
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Trend 3: Unlocking the Power of Collaborations
The “Barbie Bonanza” of 2023 is over, but the hype cycle surrounding new collaborations and product drops has not slowed down, reaffirming the predictions that Daniel Andersson, Chief Creative Officer of FutureBrand, shared in the report.
“The power of one plus one becoming three is going to be exponentially higher in 2024, not only when it comes to the kind of collabs and the nature of them but the way they’ll come to life in digital, physical or a combination of the two,” Andersson said.
Andersson emphasized the importance of more authentic partnerships that align with a brand’s mission and values. For example, Bubble Skincare’s partnership with Disney and Pixar reaffirmed the brand’s focus on mental health and wellbeing for teens. It also helped boost awareness and buzz for the brand by associating with Inside Out 2, which has undoubtedly been one of the hottest film releases of the year.
Check out the full report to see the other trends identified by our experts. Which have you seen rise to the top so far this year?
