Acceleration Mode: Retail Trends That Will Define 2022

ACCELERATION MODE RETAIL TRENDS THAT WILL DEFINE 2022

Contributors

TABLE OF SOCIAL COMMERCE AND THE MAKING OF A BRAND COMMUNITY PG. 16

04

INTRODUCTION

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THE RISE AND STAYING POWER OF OMNICHANNEL

By Ethan Chernofsky / VP of Marketing at Placer.ai

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MEET YOUR NEW CONSUMER A spotlight on Zoomers and Alphas

CONTENTS 20

FINDING THE CUSTOMER SERVICE SWEET SPOT How AI will help retailers deliver a more human touch in 2022

By Shannon Flanagan / VP of Global Retail Strategy, Talkdesk

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SUPPLY IN DEMAND

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A CRITICAL FOCUS ON COLLABORATION AND PROFITABILITY Johanna Småros / Co-Founder & CMO, RELEX Solutions

2022: THE YEAR RETAILERS START REALLY SUPPORTING THEIR ASSOCIATES

By Jordan Ekers / Co-Founder & COO , Nudge

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LABOR AT LARGE

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SUSTAINABLE VISIONARY: IKEA

PG. 32

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CREATING EFFICIENCIES IN RETAIL THROUGH TECHNOLOGY

By Ali Knapp / President, Wisetail

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NEXT STOP: METAVERSE

Design by Diane Zeise / Creative Director, RETHINK Retail

2022 is poised to be an exciting year for the retail industry. After a challenging 2020 and an innovative 2021, this year is set to reveal a preview of what the next decade of retail will look like.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has pushed e-commerce forward faster than ever. As a result, consumer behavior has also shifted dramatically over the past 24 months, and even understaffed stores can deliver. As a result, demand for seamless, personalized, and ultra-convenient shopping experiences has increased exponentially and shows no sign of slowing down.

“

Over the past two years, our willingness to embrace change, to find a better way—no matter the incredible obstacles to evolve and innovate faster than anyone thought possible—all this has been essential to keeping the economy and keeping our industry moving forward. And now that consumers know what we’re capable of, they expect it. That’s why the theme for this year’s Big Show is accelerate.”

Mike George // NRF Chairman and Former President and Chief Executive Officer of Qurate Retail Inc.

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NRF Innovation Lab & Startup Zone // Image Courtesy of National Retail Federation

As a result, retailers are investing big into technology that helps them outpace the speed of competition.

From rolling out next-level inventory management systems and partnering with same-day fulfillment providers to implementing new tools that enhance the employee experience, retailers are rethinking what it means to be truly convenient—for both the consumer and the retail employee.

At the same time, brands are working harder than ever to capture shoppers’ interest. Consumers are increasingly looking to social media for inspiration and a place where they can start and complete a whole shopping experience. The rise of TikTok has provided an enriching opportunity for brands to authentically connect with consumers while simultaneously creating rapid cycling trends that become passe before marketers even have a chance to catch on.

And then, there are the sustainability, supply chain, labor, and inflation challenges that continue to keep retail industry leaders up at night.

But despite the challenges of the last few years, the retail industry continues to press ahead and innovate at warp speed. During the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) 2022 Big Show, held Jan 15-18, RETHINK Retail witnessed just how far the industry has come since the first time the world heard of COVID-19.

For 112 years, the NRF’s annual Big Show has been a culmination of the trends and innovations that will define the year to come—and the association’s 2022 event was no exception.

This report contains knowledge from thought leaders and retail decision-makers featured at the event, as well as insights from some of the Big Show’s top solution providers.

Acceleration Mode: Trends That Will Define 2022

A spotlight on Zoomers and Alphas By 2030, Generation Z—loosely, people born between 1996-2011—and the incoming Alpha generation, people born from 2012 and onward, will make up half the world’s population.

Bank of America predicts that Gen Z will be the “most disruptive generation ever” and will see their income surpass that of millennials in less than 10 years.

These two generations live and breathe omnichannel experiences, but they’re also mobile-first and use social media more than any other demographic.

Omnichannel brands make up the norm in 2022, but the retail landscape will continue to evolve alongside these younger consumers.

At the NRF 2022 Big Show, Kate Ancketill, founder and CEO of GDR Creative Intelligence, stressed the importance of embracing non-traditional digital channels and social commerce to meet the needs of young shoppers.

Alphas and Gen Zers like to shop on social media.

Pinterest, TikTok, and Instagram are just the tip of the iceberg in the West, while China hosts its own platforms used by its digital-first consumers (more on that later).

But despite being digital natives, Ancketill said that Zoomers are also intrigued by real stores and are the key consumers fueling the physical retail fulfillment revolution.

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MERGING THE DIGITAL AND PHYSICAL Younger consumers expect more from retailers in the wake of digital channels and social commerce, but a lot must happen behind the scenes for shoppers to receive fast deliveries and real-time inventory updates.

Stores are becoming the support system for e-commerce and omni-fulfillment—a trend Ancketill argues was “a bit out there” just a year or two ago.

But the pandemic has shifted home delivery and click-and-collect needs so much that last-mile delivery solutions appear outdated.

One retailer that’s capitalizing on the fulfillment revolution is Zara, whose app-enabled “Store Mode” in the UK allows customers to access their local store’s inventory, make a selection, and reserve an item so it’s ready for pick up in 30 minutes or less.

“This is where we start to see clicks driving to bricks, whereby the app is effectively using the store as its changing room,” said Ancketill.

SPENDING WITH PURPOSE Zoomers, followed by millennials, are considerably more purpose-driven than Gen X and boomer consumers. Nearly 2/3 of Gen Z consumers say they prefer to buy from sustainable brands and

Brands looking to remain relevant by 2030 must strive to truly understand the values, lifestyles, and motivations of these budding consumers.

72 percent are more likely to buy from a company that contributes to social causes.

Gen Z is also not afraid to expose brands that are caught employing negligent business practices— one must only look to TikTok to watch thousands of videos of teens and young adults critiquing brands for anything from the amount of waste they produce to how they treat their staff behind the scenes.

change. They have seen and heard words like “all-natural” and “sustainably sourced” since they were in diapers and are living in a world more global than ever.

Overall, brands looking to remain relevant by 2030 must strive to truly understand the values, lifestyles, and motivations of these budding consumers.

And with Gen Z’s economic power not the fastest growing across all generations, brands must pay close attention to how their impact is perceived at both a PR level and at the store level.

HERE COME THE ALPHAS Alphas are children growing up in a world where Alexa plays them lullabies and groceries show up at their doorstep. They are also used to quality brands and shopping experiences that provide near-instant gratification.

Brands that want to capture these children early on are getting creative with some looking to gamification and the metaverse. For example, for Pokémon’s 25th anniversary last year, Selfridges teamed with designer Charli Cohen and Yahoo RYOT Lab, to create Electric/ City, a virtual city where users could shop for virtual and physical products.

And although these young consumers are still shopping with their mom and dad’s wallets, it should be noted who mom and dad are. Alphas are the children of millennials and older Gen Zers. Many of their parents and teachers are having discussions with them early on about social causes and climate

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Electric/City featuring the Charli Cohen and Pokémon collection by Selfridges and Yahoo Ryot Lab // Image Courtesy of Selfridges

Acceleration Mode: Trends That Will Define 2022

THE RISE AND STAYING POWER OF OMNICHANNEL

By Ethan Chernofsky // VP of Marketing , Placer.ai Lockdowns have breathed new life into brick-and-mortar retail. Consumers temporarily forced away from their favorite stores have regained an appreciation for brick and mortar shopping, while many retailers experienced first-hand the powerful combination that offline and online channels can produce when used effectively together.

The holistic integration of offline and online channels is leading to one of the most important retail trends today, which is sure to shape 2022 and the years to come–the ascendancy of omnichannel retail.

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Brick-and-mortar retail saw a powerful recovery across categories in 2021... and much of the resurgence centers around the unique experiences and values that physical locations can provide.

WHY OMNICHANNEL? Omnichannel retailing is not new. Before the pandemic, major brick and mortar brands such as Target and Walmart were building out their digital channels to create this type of holistic experience.

However, the prevailing omnichannel narrative has taken brick and mortar as a given and centered around the potential of digital channels that were celebrated for their benefits. Social media, for example, is valued as much for the brand reach it provides as for the sales specific channels may produce.

The recognition that one channel can provide multiple benefits was not typically applied to the store itself, which was still judged primarily on a sales per square foot basis. This is an important metric, but hardly the only one that should be used. Physical locations

can lower the cost of returns,1 improve last mile distribution, and provide a valuable and efficient customer acquisition channel, boosting brand awareness and even providing an uplift to online sales–none of which are captured when a store’s value is reduced solely to its sales numbers.

Now, the unique circumstances of the past year have made it clear that physical locations are more than just a vehicle for in-store sales.

As a result, brick-and-mortar retail saw a powerful recovery across categories in 2021, with many retailers and sectors seeing significant growth in visits compared to 2019—and much of the resurgence centers around the unique experiences and values that physical locations can provide.

Acceleration Mode: Trends That Will Define 2022

Retail Category Weekly Visits - Compared to 2019

10%

6.8%

1.4%

2.1%

6.6%

0.9%

0.6%

2.4%

3.5%

5%

-1.0%

-0.3%

-4.8%

-4.9%

-2.4%

-5.0%

-6.8%

-6.0%

-0.6%

-6.2%

-5.4%

-8.1%

-14.5%

-13.1%

-14.5%

0%

-5%

-10%

EMBRACING THE POTENTIAL IN FULL The starting point for an effective omnichannel strategy is identifying and understanding the unique benefits that online and offline channels each provide. For example, brick and mortar are often more impactful at enabling product discovery and letting customers touch, feel, and (when relevant) try on products—even if the ultimate purchase takes place through a digital channel. Offline locations can also lead to a deeper and longer-lasting relationship with the customer by providing a truly authentic and differentiated brand experience, which is much harder to deliver online.

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And just like e-commerce channels can benefit from offline locations, brick-and-mortar stores benefit from a retailer’s online presence. Nielsen found that online channels are essential to compare prices, research new products, and find physical stores.2 Buy Online Pick-up In Store (BOPIS) and curbside pickup can feed offline foot traffic, while leveraging stores to offer cheaper and easier returns can make for a more positive online experience.3 Given the numerous value propositions of each channel, retailers who want to craft and execute an

7/5/21

6/28/21

6/21/21

6/14/21

6/7/21

5/31/21

5/24/21

5/17/21

5/10/21

5/3/21

4/26/21

4/19/21

4/12/21

4/5/21

3/29/21

3/22/21

3/15/21

3/8/21

3/1/21

2/22/21

2/15/21

2/8/21

2/1/21

-15%

3.0%

1.6% 0.1%

2.5%

12/20/21

12/13/21

12/6/21

11/29/21

11/15/21

11/8/21

11/1/21

10/25/21

11/22/21

-5.0%

6.9%

3.6%

4.4%

4.4%

3.6%

10/18/21

10/11/21

10/4/21

-1.0%

-0.7%

9/27/21

9/20/21

9/13/21

9/6/21

8/30/21

8/23/21

8/16/21

8/9/21

8/2/21

-2.8%

2.3%

0.4%

1.6%

0.3%

8.2%

9.1%

9.9%

6.2%

6.7%

6.9%

7/19/21

7/12/21

7/26/21

Source: Placer.ai

effective omnichannel strategy need to understand where the various values lie—and the only way to do that is by measuring.

But although retailers usually understand the need to track and analyze their online data, the importance of measuring offline traffic is too often overlooked— even though this is a critical piece of the omnichannel puzzle.

physical stores provide to online purchases in a given region, tracking the impact on lowering delivery and return costs, and analyzing the improvements to brand awareness, retailers can truly leverage the channels at their disposal to embrace omnichannel’s full potential. Even asking about the reach that a physical location has in terms of visits can go a long way in helping to understand the marketing and acquisition value of stores.

Just like with digital channels, physical stores generate an abundance of metrics that can—and must—be utilized. By measuring the uplift that

Acceleration Mode: Trends That Will Define 2022

BRANDS LEADING THE CHARGE While leaders like Walmart, Target and Best Buy have long invested in this approach, a newer example of the growing recognition of physical store value is coming from digitally native brands (DNBs). While most traditional retailers used stores as a starting point and then moved online, the online-only

approach that these brands pioneered provided the key, and often only, path to early growth.

Recently, many of these DNBs such as Warby Parker, Allbirds, Everlane, and even Amazon have turned to physical locations to help expand their success.

Amazon Fresh Growth in Visits - Compared to Sep. ‘20 Baseline 1,200%

1,000%

800%

600%

400%

200%

0 SEP ‘20

OCT ‘20

NOV ‘20

DEC ‘20

JAN ‘21 FEB ‘21

MAR ‘21

APR ‘21

MAY ‘21 JUN ‘21

JUL ‘21

AUG ‘21

SEP ‘21

OCT ‘21

Source: Placer.ai

Store expansions from these DNBs—and even from product-oriented companies like Nike, Lululemon, and others—offer a powerful testament to the importance of brick-and-mortar locations in creating the wider omnichannel reach that is so critical to driving growth.

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Many DNBs, renowned for their effective use of data and deep understanding of customers, bring their data-driven approach to offline growth. As a result, these companies have a unique perspective on the potential of omnichannel shopping and may be influential in helping to set the omnichannel standard.

True Trade Area Growth - Warby Parker / NE 1st Ave., Miami, FL

Q3 2019

Q3 2021 Source: Placer.ai

OMNICHANNEL IN 2022 AND BEYOND Omnichannel in 2022 is not about leveraging digital channels to “save” brick-and mortar-brands—nor is it about seeing offline stores as fulfillment centers for a primarily digital business. Instead, a successful omnichannel strategy understands that consumers and retailers derive unique value from each retail channel, and they can derive the greatest value when these channels are holistically integrated.

Omnichannel no longer means setting up an e-commerce site that allows a legacy brand to

compete in an increasingly digital world. Instead, a winning omnichannel strategy in 2022 requires retailers to understand their customers’ needs and pain points and integrate their online and offline offerings to deliver the best possible brand experience.

Going into 2022, expect more brands to drive a heavy focus on offering customers a cross-channel experience that allows them to pick their ideal route to buy specific products.

A successful omnichannel strategy understands that consumers and retailers derive unique value from each retail channel, and they can derive the greatest value when these channels are holistically integrated.

Acceleration Mode: Trends That Will Define 2022

$OCIAL COMMERCE and the Making of a Brand Community The growth of social media has been quick and sustained over the last decade. The average American already spends more than two hours per day on social media. The platforms we spend our time on are becoming increasingly adept at building targeted advertising tools.

As a result, brands have a unique opportunity to leverage the data and purchasing behaviors they’ve collected from their audience to create sociallyintegrated products and services.

INSIDER reported that 35.9% of US internet users made at least one social commerce purchase in 20204 and YPulse’s research indicates that 62% of 13- to 39-year-olds are interested in purchasing items directly from their social feeds.5 These percentages should have retailers on their toes. Moreover, brands that prioritize social commerce are sure to see their ROI go up, and that trend will continue to be true far beyond the scope of the pandemic.

THE INTEGRATION OF SOCIAL COMMERCE Facebook and Instagram have set similar gold standards when it comes to social commerce in the U.S. Both companies now have integrated “shops” that allow users to make purchases within their respective apps. Facebook is now the number one social commerce platform in the country, boasting over 56 million buyers in 2021 after the launch of Facebook Shops in 2020.6 Before “Instagram Shopping,” the platform launched “Checkout” in 2019, which streamlined in-app purchases for approved brands. Instagram also released their “shops” tab in 2020 with great success.

Today, users on both platforms can window shop

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or purchase products from small business owners, influencers, and celebrities all from the same page.

And of course, TikTok made the list for one of the fastest-growing social platforms in 2021 and even surpassed Google as the “most visited website of 2021.”

The app rolled out shoppable ads in 2020 after successfully testing shoppable videos in 2019,

and we can expect a continuation of these features going into the mid-2020s. In addition, brands can now upload product catalogs and host live streams that include click-through links to e-commerce pages—features that push TikTok closer to an allencompassing social commerce platform.

During an NRF Big Show panel session on building brand loyalty, Niki Shamdasani, co-founder of Sani, an Indian and South Asian-inspired fashion brand specializing in $400+ dresses, revealed that 60% of the brands’ monthly revenue comes from TikTok. As brands like Sani have discovered, managing a customer’s journey via social media creates a positive feedback loop that will impact sales and customer loyalty.

62%

of 13- to 39-year-olds are interested in purchasing items directly from their social feeds according to a study by YPulse

As social content attracts new followers, social commerce gives users a chance to make purchases,

Acceleration Mode: Trends That Will Define 2022

leave reviews, and message others about a product or service in one centralized location. And as engagement grows, social media algorithms push said content to more and more potential customers.

For many consumers, social commerce has the potential to make their lives easier. Through the power of social commerce, consumers can spend more time on the platforms they use the most while continuing to make purchases and discover new products. Social commerce is also a powerful tool for helping consumers feel more connected to a brand—sometimes even an integral part of a brand’s production process.

US Fashion brand FINESSE leverages AI to skim the web and determine the future trends for fast fashion. Once it has a pool of trends, FINESSE taps its customer fanbase to vote on the trends they would most like to see the brand manufacture.

Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or any other platform, the integration of social commerce falls in line with the broader vertical integration of technology we’re seeing as a result of the digital transformation. And it’s not just the U.S. that’s experiencing these changes—China has long been a leader of e-commerce and the race isn’t even close.

The integration of social commerce falls in ine with the broader vertical integration of technology we’re seeing as a result of the digital transformation.

WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM CHINA Social commerce has a lot to gain from China’s e-commerce road map. In 2019, China totalled roughly $186 billion in social commerce sales,7 nearly ten times that of the US. They’ve found success using video marketing and live streaming with leaders like KuaiShou, Douyin, and Taobao Live—but they’ve also found ways to incorporate storefronts into these social channels.

More pertinent to the U.S.’s model of social commerce is WeChat, an app that allows merchants to host virtual storefronts and accept transactions directly from the platform. WeChat acts as a gold standard for one-stop shop e-commerce platforms due to its popularity and sustained growth in China, and apps like Facebook and Instagram will need to follow suit.

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2022 WILL BRING MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SOCIAL COMMERCE No matter the platform, brands must capitalize on social commerce trends going into next year. GDR Creative Intelligence’s Kate Ancketill, acknowledged this during her Big Show session when she referred to e-commerce as “old commerce” and recommended that brands begin looking toward “alt-commerce” instead.

“Alt-commerce is the future, Ancketill said.

“The pillars of alt-commerce are that it’s about entertainment first; gamification, community, socializing, collaboration, and all of that is the ecosystem within which shopping sits.”

Undoubtedly, social media platforms will continue to roll out more tools, features, and guidelines for their respective “storefronts” and brands will need to stay up-to-date with the latest social commerce strategies.

In 2019, China totalled roughly

$186

Billion in social commerce sales, nearly ten times that of the U.S.

according to Lexology

Acceleration Mode: Trends That Will Define 2022

How AI will help retailers deliver a more human touch in 2022

By Shannon Flanagan // VP of Global Retail Strategy, Talkdesk

Exceptional retailing has always been a blend of art and science. In 2022, we’ll see this balancing act move into retail contact center operations with a helping hand from artificial intelligence. With AI-infused customer service platforms, brands will deliver the right service interaction, to the appropriate customer, through their preferred service channel. Not only will self-service interactions be automated more intelligently, but retailers will also be able to lean on intelligent platforms to provide outstanding human-driven service.

THE DATA

84%

of retail customers said they expect their inquiries or problems to be solved quickly and accurately according to a recent Talkdesk ResearchTM report

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In a recent Talkdesk Research™ report, 84% of retail customers said that they expect their inquiries or problems to be solved quickly and accurately.8 Customers have grown accustomed to new ways of shopping and expectations for customer service have increased in lockstep.

But what happens when brands fail to keep up with these heightened expectations for speed and quality? Customer loyalty falters: 68% of customers say that a single poor customer service experience will negatively impact their brand loyalty. Customer experience presents more than risk, however. It creates significant opportunities to expand customer relationships when executed with speed and quality.

In fact, 44% of customers are more likely to repurchase from a retailer when they have a positive customer service interaction.

a facilitator of more personalized, in-the-moment, and profitable customer experiences. Technologies such as intelligent self-service portals and digital virtual agents (“chatbots”) have rapidly become more prevalent and in turn more integrated throughout multiple customer touchpoints.

Retailers can now provide a scalable blend of interactions that feel connected and satisfying.

Artificial intelligence can help identify customer mood and sentiment regardless of channel, providing insight into when a customer should be routed to a live agent for a more personalized, empathetic experience. On the back-end, smart agent-assist technologies aid service representatives by monitoring their interactions in real-time to provide, relevant suggestions, shortcuts, and just-in-time customer insights.

THE NET-NET: IMPROVED CUSTOMER AND WORKFORCE EXPERIENCES

THE DILEMMA Optimization of self-service for customer-facing teams is now an essential part of any retailer’s CX strategy. But deflecting too many interactions to automated channels leaves them at risk of lower resolution rates and declining satisfaction. And skewing too far in the opposite direction can lead to higher costs, longer call queues, and equally dissatisfied customers.

CONTACT CENTER AI: NO LONGER JUST A BUZZWORD Technology now exists to help find the right balance, so high stakes man vs. machine decisions no longer need to feel like zero-sum tradeoffs. Retailers are turning to artificial intelligence-powered and cloudbased contact center platforms to become the new hub of customer intelligence. Not to mention

The upside of finding the right balance between automation and personalized, human interaction is powerful. But the benefits extend far beyond the increase in customer satisfaction and long-term loyalty. Using AI in this manner has the promise to free up often overworked, stressed-out customer service reps to improve their day-to-day experience.

Instead of focusing the majority of their time on immediate, reactive, and urgent tasks of operating a retail contact center, artificial intelligence can also help strike a blend for them, too, and empower them to focus on higher-touch interactions that add to the bottom line.

Instead of viewing the contact center as a facility to handle calls or digital interactions, retailers should view them as strategic hubs at the center of invaluable customer insights. Gone are the days of reductive, cost-focused operations. Armed with more insight into what customers do and don’t want—as well as a wealth of product and services feedback—a more complete customer experience strategy can be developed to keep customers happy and inclined to return.

Acceleration Mode: Trends That Will Define 2022

Supply In Demand During the pandemic, global consumer demand surged, pushing logistics companies to operate beyond their traditional peak capacity. As a result, the surge in demand forced supply chain capacity to operate at its peak capacity for the last year.

LOGJAM AT THE PORTS

Symptoms of this enormous strain on the global supply chain started to manifest in November 2020, presenting as shipping delays, container shortages, and lines of shipping vessels waiting on the horizon of major ports. Since then, consumer demand has plateaued, but shipping delays have steadily increased.

Hundreds of ships loaded with goods wait on the horizon to get into the port. The ports blame the vessel pileup on the trucking industry, claiming truck drivers are not showing up to pick up containers, leaving no space for vessels to unload. But truck drivers refuse blame—they cannot pick up new containers because there is nowhere to offload empty containers.

Ryan Petersen, CEO of Flexport, a technology platform for global logistics, sat down with Jon Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the NRF, to discuss the situation at hand.

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According to Petersen, delays have caused major logjams at major ports, like Los Angeles, North America’s largest shipping terminal.

In reality, no one party is to blame—a lack of communication between ports and trucks, a shortage of truck chassis, and interruptions due to covid have created a port logjam. Solving the problem is further compounded by government regulations.

and systems built before the internet age, making it challenging to upgrade legacy systems with new technology.

The culture of the supply chain industry is also to blame. There is a deep resistance within the industry to share data, fearing transparency will result in lost business. Furthermore, many companies resist collecting performance metrics, hoping to protect their power in labor negotiating. The result is a lack of coordination and visibility into supply chain operations.

Lack of visibility in supply chains makes coordinating vessels, containers, and warehousing space challenging. The industry has few technology solutions that allow communication among players.

In addition, few technology platforms exist to collect and organize data to support strategic decisionmaking effectively.

The lack of transparency in supply chains makes it difficult for retailers to understand lead times and forecast inventory planning. In addition, a lack of realtime data makes available information an ineffective source for accurate merchandise planning.

TECHNOLOGY FOR THE NEW NORMAL LONG-STANDING CHALLENGES Supply chain disruption has recently been a topic of conversation, but global supply chain challenges existed long before COVID. The pandemic and resulting interruptions and demand surges have only inflamed longstanding weaknesses.

“To be honest, the supply chain was broken even before COVID hit,” said Gold. “A lot of these challenges were there previously, the ongoing demand has further exacerbated them —and the supply just can’t keep up.”

At the core of these problems are notoriously old IT infrastructures throughout the supply chain industry.

The advent of new technology can help solve longstanding supply chain challenges. For example, collecting and connecting data can help retailers understand lead teams and more efficiently order inventory. New-age robotics can provide more efficiency at the ports and improve container unloading. And warehouse management solutions can improve fulfillment cycles, storage capacity, and containers throughout.

The prolonged pandemic has spotlighted global supply chains, highlighting the need for change.

Retailers must invest in technology that can help them streamline communications and provide reliable data in real-time to improve decision-making and find alternate routes.

Most shipping companies focus on operations; building IT infrastructures is not a priority. According to Petersen, many companies still rely on software

Acceleration Mode: Trends That Will Define 2022

A CRITICAL FOCUS ON COLLABORATION AND PROFITABILITY

By Johanna Småros // Co-Founder & CMO, RELEX Solutions

Efficient, cost-effective omnichannel operations are the key to meeting demand for faster fulfillment while protecting margin and profitability.

It’s 2022 (or, as some have joked, the second extension of 2020). At this point, most retailers have accepted that supply chain issues related to the pandemic will continue—and so too will consumer expectations for a wider range of reliable sales and fulfillment options as well as faster delivery and fulfillment speeds.

To achieve the speed and customer convenience needed for success in this “new normal,” retailers should explore how to better secure inventory through collaboration with suppliers and how to mature their omnichannel operations so they can quickly move that inventory to end-consumers while protecting margins and profitability.

SECURING SUPPLY THROUGH SUPPLIER COLLABORATION Retailers have always known that effective supplier collaboration is key to ensuring the high availability that customers demand. Until recently, we lacked the technology to put effective retailer-supplier collaboration into practice. Today—as retailers face momentous supply chain disruption paired with heightened demands for delivery speed and availability—the industry faces an urgent need for effective supplier collaboration but also has access to modern solutions that can actually make it happen.

Improved collaboration and visibility into supply and demand will help retailers understand where availability may be at risk and take proactive steps to secure supply before it impacts their fulfillment plans.

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FULFILLING DEMAND FASTER THROUGH IMPROVED OMNICHANNEL OPERATIONS The second half of the fulfillment challenge is improving omnichannel operations enough to ensure high availability while fulfilling demand faster.

Retailers have scaled omnichannel operations out of necessity since 2020, but for two years now, many have struggled to fulfill demand with immature, hastily developed processes in place. Efficient, cost-effective omnichannel operations are the key to meeting demand for faster fulfillment while protecting margin and profitability.

fulfillment centers can make for more efficient picking. However, retailers should also keep in mind that with more sales and fulfillment options—including more locations from which to pick inventory— comes a need for improvements across all core retail operations, including space optimization and workforce planning.

In 2022, omnichannel retailers need to evaluate their options for speeding up fulfillment of online orders, including both delivery and click-and-collect.

Retailers must define a strategy that addresses both their company’s needs and what their customers value to ensure their planning processes are able to support smart decisions.

As they examine how to navigate the challenges that the pandemic has brought to the surface, retailers are prioritizing investment in modern supply chain technologies that provide end-to-end visibility into their inventories and demand—down to the item and fulfillment channel. They’re also turning to AI-based solutions to increase automation for traditionally manual processes that have sapped their teams of both time and energy.

For example, a network of dark stores or microfulfillment centers can improve speed and reduce transportation costs, while automating larger

INVESTING IN MODERN SUPPLY CHAIN TECHNOLOGY NOW–NOT LATER

Acceleration Mode: Trends That Will Define 2022

The future lies with tools that can take in vast amounts of data, automatically process that data into usable forecasts...

Best-in-class solutions can automate data sharing and offer a collaborative planning portal that facilitates conversation with suppliers and realtime visibility into shared data, making it easier to proactively prevent potential threats to availability.

This enables retailers to avoid last-minute surprises and ensure that they have the supply available to meet demand.

The latest solutions also provide more granular forecasting and digital twin modeling—two capabilities that provide a much deeper understanding of what happens when channels grow at different paces. Such solutions can also guide decisions for how to respond to disruption before it impacts your ability to fulfill an order—for example, by flagging when it’s time to assign a different fulfillment center to supply part of your demand.

With the increased level of insight that new technology solutions bring, retailers can appropriately adapt their processes to fulfill sales more quickly while controlling operational costs enough to maintain margin and profitability. This improved resource planning will also enable retailers to better manage labor costs (the highest operational costs in retail), further improving goods handling and fulfillment.

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THE PANDEMIC WILL CONTINUE TO SHAPE EVERY DECISION RETAILERS MAKE We’re all tired of hearing it, but it’s true: the pandemic is going to be influencing retailers for years—if not decades—to come. Many retailers were putting off initiatives for “the future,” but there’s no more waiting.

It’s time to prioritize supply chain investments if you haven’t already. Online channels must be profitable, omnichannel retail must be the norm, delivery speeds must go down, and retailer-supplier collaboration must be improved to do a better job of securing supply to meet customer orders.

In 2022, any retailers that haven’t embraced AI-driven technology as part of their strategy are going to be left behind. The future lies with tools that can take in vast amounts of data, automatically process that data into usable forecasts, and improve visibility into the entire supply chain network for all parties involved.

The trend for retailers in 2022 should be to ensure high availability across channels, even when the supply chain is inevitably disrupted yet again.

and improve visibility into the entire supply chain network for all parties involved.

Acceleration Mode: Trends That Will Define 2022

The pandemic has had an enormous impact on the retail labor market and industry leaders are fighting to regain lost ground. The U.S. economy lost 22 million jobs9 between February and April 2020, and even though retailers are in a much better position than they were that spring, the workforce is 4 million jobs short of where it was in February 2020.10 This, and a record 4.5 million workers who quit their jobs in November 2021, suggest the labor market is a long way off from pre-pandemic levels. Sectors including the restaurant industry raised wages by up to 10% during the last 12 months, but a significant mismatch between worker supply and demand has continued to put employers in a bind.11

In 2021, retailers planned more store openings than closures by adding roughly 537,000 jobs per month over the year according to a report by Reuters

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Still, retailers are fighting to inject healthy trends into the market by opening jobs wherever possible.

In 2021, retailers planned more store openings than closures by adding roughly 537,000 jobs per month over the year.12 Compared to 2020, a substantial uptick in store openings in 2021 is a bright light on an otherwise off-kilter economy. Unfortunately, the pandemic hasn’t come to an end and front-line workers are forced to tackle challenges including personal health, public guidelines, and workplace culture.

LABOR TRENDS Challenges among retail employees will continue into 2022 and employers are looking for more ways to retain talent than increasing wages by small percentages. Offering competitive wages is a must, but workers’ priorities have evolved over the pandemic, and employers are looking for more ambitious value propositions.

Some, including Macy’s, Walmart, and CVS are offering anything from flexible scheduling to additional training and career opportunities. Walmart planned on hiring 150,000 workers for 2021’s holiday season and beyond while touting unique perks to attract new candidates.13 Advancement opportunities including promotions and raises for entry-level employees, higher standards for diversity and inclusivity, and the company’s Live Better U program, which allows employees to earn

Acceleration Mode: Trends That Will Define 2022

certain college degrees for $1 per day were all part of Walmart’s updated employee value proposition in 2021.

Industry leaders like Thomas partner with nonprofits to provide internships for underserved communities to answer these questions.

“We can make a difference in people’s lives for a long time,” said John Furner, president and CEO of Walmart at NRF 2022. “It is so important for all of us to find the very best talent. And the only way we’ll find the very best talent is by leading organizations who are open to having the very best talent… we can make a difference in people’s lives for a very long time.”

“We did an intern partnership with the Black Women’s Health Imperative where we had 12 young women part of our organization,” Thomas revealed. “We’re continuing to think about what partnerships we have both formal and informal, to make progress and allow the opportunities for our female leaders.”

DEI For many, retaining and attracting new talent requires setting higher standards for DEI, or diversity, equity, and inclusivity.

“What are people thinking about? What are they worried about? I want to hear about it from their point of view, not from my shoes, because I’m not facing the real day in, day out,” explained Paige Thomas, president, and CEO of Saks OFF 5TH.

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At YUM! Brands, building multicultural ERGs, and reverse mentorships allowed the brand to exceed in these categories.

“In doing a multicultural ERG, the challenge from myself to our groups is solving issues for others,” said James Fripp, the retailer’s chief equity and inclusion officer. “Learn how to do that as you’re coming up in the organization so when you get to a leadership room, you have the skill and you have the capability to do that.”

But building strong DEI standards also requires leadership from the top-down. Morgan Stanley’s multicultural innovation lab is an in-house accelerator

“

We have been so isolated, so the ability to bring people together, to listen, to have that sense of community so that people feel like they belong. That’s an important part of building trust, growing others, and has made a big difference in terms of how we’ve thought about our business and how we can continue that sense of community.”

Sharon Leite // CEO of The Vitamin Shoppe

that brings in early-stage companies that have been founded by women and people of color.

“When you’re at a senior level in your organization, the way you amplify your impact is to create other leaders,” said Morgan Stanley Vice Chairman Carla Harris during an NRF 2022 Keynote session. “That is also how you grow your market share.”

COMMUNITY A strong workplace culture requires community— something retail teams across the country have lacked significantly since Spring 2020. Instead of sharing space, team leaders and their employees were forced to conquer DEI challenges, meet workers’ expectations, and communicate effectively across a spectrum of workplace settings.

According to Paige Thomas, leadership must engage with team members no matter the physical environment of the workplace.

“We have a cultural opportunity and a leadership opportunity,” she said. “Zoom has been a crucial communication tool for almost two years, but learning

how to replace spontaneous connections that once took place in hallways, elevators, or at lunch breaks is going to take behavioral changes and cultural commitments.”

But as Carla Harris explained, building community doesn’t stop at the employee, management, or executive level.

“It used to be the case that companies had three primary constituents: the shareholders, the customers, and the employees,” Harris said. “But today there is a fourth constituent and it’s called community—and community is not local, it’s global.”

It takes courage to be intentional about diversity, courage to engage with people, and courage to bring your authentic self into any environment, and that requires leadership.

“In order to be successful, you need to have everybody at the table,” said Fripp. “And if you don’t have everybody at the table, it’s not a zerosum game.”

Acceleration Mode: Trends That Will Define 2022

THE YEAR RETAILERS REALLY START SUPPORTING THEIR ASSOCIATES

By Jordan Ekers // Co-Founder & COO, Nudge

As retailers continue to navigate the “new normal” of post-pandemic life, it’s time for every organization to give their staff the support they desperately need.

Because when it comes to employee experience, the KPIs at stake touch every single facet of an organization. When a frontline is armed with the tools, information, and support it needs, the impact on business outcomes is massive.

The opposite is true, too: when a frontline is starved for support and information, the organization will also see substantial impacts on the business—just in the wrong direction. And the worst part is: leadership often doesn’t even know there’s a problem that needs addressing.

Case in point: according to The Deskless Report, research conducted by digital communications platform Nudge, 59% of frontline workers said the communications they receive are somewhat to notat-all useful, while 86% of leaders feel they’re sending out meaningful, quality communications.14 That disconnect might account for the fact that 37% of retail workers currently want to quit their jobs, which no organization can afford right now.

Let’s explore what supporting frontline teams really means—and then go through a few of the most

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compelling reasons that every retailer needs to start truly supporting their teams in 2022.

WHAT DOES SUPPORTING RETAIL TEAMS LOOK LIKE? What does supporting retail teams mean? At its core, it means giving them the information, technology, and support they need to thrive. This means access to clear, concise information, and two-way feedback loops. And it means investing in the tools and technology that make these communication and feedback channels effective—and shaking off the legacy tools (like email and Intranet sites) that are built for deskbound employees, not frontline workforces.

WHY DO RETAILERS NEED TO SUPPORT THEIR ASSOCIATES? 01 IT’S THE SOLUTION TO THE LABOR CRISIS (AND THE GREAT RESIGNATION) The labor shortage continues to annihilate retailers.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported over a million open jobs in retail in November, a 45% increase over the year before.15 And even if retailers are doing everything they can to get fully staffed,

it’s an uphill battle—and there are external forces at play. So rather than focusing all their time on sourcing and training new talent—which may or may not be out there—retailers need to focus on the staff they do have.

Supporting and developing existing retail staff helps retailers do more with less, which is critical when locations are understaffed, battling high customer expectations. As Harvard Business Review put it, “Well-trained people are far more productive.”16 It also mitigates the risk of turnover (The Great Resignation also continues to rage). In The Deskless Report, when frontline workers were asked what would make them quit their job, “Poor Communication” was one of the top responses.17 When associates are set up for success, they’re more likely to stay put.

But if hiring is still the top concern, supporting existing staff can help with that too.

Companies that invest in employee experience have a better shot at attracting and retaining new hires through an enhanced employer brand that appeals to younger generations more focused on a sense of purpose at work and having access to the right tools and technology (According to Emergence Capital’s 2020 State of Technology for the Deskless Workforce, 60% of the workers are unsatisfied with the technology they’re provided.)18

02 IT DRIVES THE HEIGHTENED EXPERIENCES CUSTOMERS WANT As retailers heard again and again at NRF, employee experience is driving customer experience and loyalty like never before. With the demand for meaningful in-store experiences intertwining with fully-integrated ecommerce shopping, customer expectations are at an all-time high.

Why? Because customers have access to information like never before. And when they walk into a retail location armed with more information than the

59%

of frontline workers said the communications they receive are somewhat to not-at-all useful according to a recent The Deskless Report

Acceleration Mode: Trends That Will Define 2022

organizations that lead in customer experience are more resilient during challenging periods, experiencing “shallower troughs and quicker recovery” according to McKinsey

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The biggest mistake retailers are making is thinking that this heightened CX is impossible with reduced staff. In fact, by ensuring existing staff have the realtime information and feedback channels needed to match customer expectations, even understaffed stores can deliver.

03 IT DELIVERS THE INSIGHTS RETAILERS DESPERATELY NEED Another common theme at NRF was data and the power that it can bring to retailers looking for repeatable, consistent business outcomes.

The same is true for retail workforces.

The data and metrics that can be harvested from investing in employee experience (through a robust communication platform, for example) can drive operational consistency, standardize execution, identify red flags around preparedness and disengagement, and much more.

For one thing, investing in employee experience allows retailers to quickly identify knowledge gaps, protocol confusion, disengagement, and other red flags. In addition, surveys, knowledge-testing quizzes, execution metrics, and other data give retailers the insights they need to address urgent needs. They then tweak communication, development, and support programs to ensure the same issues don’t happen again.

associate they deal with, the customer experience is broken. And when that experience breaks, customers are often lost forever. According to a recent study by Talkdesk, 68% of customers said that a single negative experience will reduce their loyalty to a brand.19 But prioritizing CX right now is about even more than customer loyalty—it’s about staying agile during unprecedented times. According to McKinsey, organizations that lead in customer experience are more resilient during challenging periods, experiencing “shallower troughs and quicker recovery.”20

These crucial data points can also help retailers see into the future—no gut check required. How do stores perform in the next product launch? Which regions need more support? If the right data is in place and armed with these answers, retailers can stay agile and responsive, even with hundreds of locations and thousands of workers.

There was a time when employee engagement, retention, morale-boosting, and even onboarding were relegated to HR. They were “nice to haves,” but these are the initiatives that fall by the wayside when times are tight.

But no more. 2022 is the year retailers start truly supporting their teams—and seeing better business outcomes across their organization as a result.

Acceleration Mode: Trends That Will Define 2022

SUSTAINABLE VISIONARY:

IKEA

The climate crisis has become a business imperative and IKEA is taking steps towards reducing consumption and adopting environmental protection and regeneration strategies.

IKEA is a growing company, but it has recognized its impact and has promised to “meet ​​ the needs of people today without compromising the needs of future generations,” according to the company’s People & Planet Positive strategy.21 The document comprehensively outlines IKEA’s long-term

“

agenda, but its purpose is to “inspire, activate and lead us” towards a healthier, more sustainable planet.

Long-term agendas are also key, as Quiñones questioned the possibility of limiting one’s carbon footprint by 100%.

At NRF 2022, Javier Quiñones, CEO & CSO of IKEA, argued making sustainable commitments isn’t just a business imperative.

“It's a process. It's a change in the mindset—a cultural change,” he explained.

“We must make sustainability a leadership issue and not only a business priority,” Quiñones said. “And that will only happen through leaders that stand up, take action, and are fully committed.”

Sustainability has to be affordable for everyone... we need to be the brand that gives opportunity to everyone.”

Javier Quiñones // CEO & CSO of IKEA

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As of 2021, IKEA employs roughly 225,000 employees worldwide.22 To make an impact, the company believes that coming together collaboratively on a global scale is the best way to move forward.

IKEA’s People & Planet Positive strategy further outlines three focus areas that are aligned with the company’s sustainability agenda: healthy & sustainable living, circular & climate positive, and fair & equal. And Quiñones argues that IKEA will need to support people invested in these focus areas.

“Sustainability has to be affordable for everyone,” Quiñones concluded. “We need to be the brand that gives opportunity to everyone.”

Healthy and sustainable living // Image Courtesy of IKEA

Acceleration Mode: Trends That Will Define 2022

CREATING EFFICIENCIES IN RETAIL THROUGH TECHNOLOGY

By Ali Knapp // President, Wisetail

Many retailers attempted to solve recent challenges by throwing technology at the problem, creating employee tool fatigue. However, by implementing the right technology, retailers can keep customers satisfied, employees engaged, and see more success overall.

Technological advancements have always provided solutions for everyday problems and inconveniences. For example, no one uses paper maps anymore because everyone has

a digital map in their pocket.

Also, at the click of a button, you can now video chat with someone on the other side of the world.

Therefore, when the pandemic disrupted our world in 2020, people naturally turned to technology to solve the new issues they were facing. For retailers, this meant investing in new tools to do everything from virtually onboarding new team members, communicating with colleagues, managing suppliers, taking customer

By implementing the right technology, retailers can keep customers satisfied, employees engaged, and see more success overall.

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orders, and more. However, more isn’t always better, and retailers must ensure they have the right tools to keep operations running efficiently.

EMPLOYEE BUY-IN By piling tools onto employees, retailers are creating more problems than they’re fixing.

Rather than efficiently getting work done, employees are wading through technology, checking boxes because they have to, and trying to figure out where documents and files are located.

To be truly successful and efficient, retailers need employees to buy in to adopt tools. This means taking an audit of every tool that your company has implemented and deciding if it should stay or go.

The first step in this process is giving your employees the space to provide honest feedback on their given tools.

Your employees are the ones who use these tools on a

demonstrates how much you value their input and will ultimately lead to higher employee retention rates.

DOING MORE WITH LESS As the hiring market continues to face turbulence, retailers also need to strive to develop plans for disrupted work-flows, supply chains, and staffing.

With fewer employees on staff, efficiency becomes a top priority, and technology can help fill in the gaps.

In the fast food space, many drive-thru restaurants have revamped their spaces to focus on to-go orders solely, and grocery stores are embracing curbside delivery. These changes are made possible by implementing new technologies such as online ordering apps, and they can help retailers adapt to the talent shortage while still satisfying customers.

LEARNING EXPERIENCE PLATFORMS

daily basis, so it’s essential that they like the tool, understand how to use it, and are committed to incorporating it into their workday.

EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE Before implementing a new tool, retailers need to think through their digital strategies for the year.

By getting back to the basics around core tools, retailers will help the business and their employees succeed. As a significant part of this, they will need to evaluate any prospective tools to add to the employee experience—not taking away from it.

For example, a tool that is forced on employees will only create frustration, while a tool that adds value and efficiency to employees’ workday will create a positive experience.

This is another chance to involve your employees in the decision-making process. Talk to them about what challenges they face, and any tools they think would improve workflow. By allowing employees to be heard, you’re creating a culture of community that

One piece of technology designed to produce efficiencies and add to the employee experience and every retailer should consider is a Learning Experience Platform (LXP). LXPs help retailers create a people-centric culture that revolves around a community of continuous learning and development.

Employees are retailers’ most important asset.

Because we’re currently in an employee’s job market, retailers need to focus on that asset by turning their company into a community. An LXP helps retailers achieve this by creating a central hub where all communication is hosted, documentation can be found, and onboarding/training takes place. LXPs also allow retailers to tie gamification into the tool’s usage, initiate team building activities such as book clubs and crowdsource employees for creative ideas like new menu items or new product launches.

An efficient employee is an engaged employee.

By getting the right technology in place, you’re ensuring your employees are able to do their best job possible, which will lead to higher employee retention rates, higher customer satisfaction rates and ultimately more success in 2022 and the year to come.

Acceleration Mode: Trends That Will Define 2022

NEXT STOP,

METAVERSE 40

A mere matter of months ago, to the average person, the term “metaverse” wasn’t even part of the lexicon.

Fast-forward to late 2022; the internet found itself aglow with this seemingly new-found concept.

Mark Zuckerberg announced the rebranding of the Facebook group to Meta in late October encompassing the myriad social networks within their roster—and suddenly it seemed as though it’d been in the public consciousness forever.

During an NRF Big Show session, Cassandra Napoli, senior strategist at WGSN Insights, shared her views on the matter, stating that the metaverse is poised to become “the fabric that binds our society and culture together through connected, third-platform places.”

BUT WHAT IS THE METAVERSE EXACTLY? Despite its appearance as a brand-new phenomenon, the term ‘metaverse’ was actually coined as far back as 1992 by novelist Neal Stephenson in his science fiction release ‘Snow Crash’.

Finding its beginnings in the videogame sphere, it has slowly burgeoned into new avenues such as gaming, social networking, e-commerce concepts, and fashion.

It helps to consider the internet as a whole—and its transformation over the last four decades—when trying to wrap one’s head around the metaverse.

Cathy Hack, chief metaverse officer and CEO for forward-thinking consultancy Futures Intelligence Group, said to GQ in December 2021, “Web 1.0— facilitated the transmission of information, while Web 2.0 connected people, creating the sharing economy dominated by companies like Spotify and Facebook.”23 Now, Hackl explains, “We’re at the evolution of Web 2.0, [and] we’re heading into Web 3.0”.

As it stands, the metaverse in any tangible regard is essentially a souped-up, 3D-interactive version of The Sims, whereby reality and the virtual world collide to create a three-dimensional virtual space.

Acceleration Mode: Trends That Will Define 2022

AND WHAT HAS IT GOT TO DO WITH RETAIL? Despite its infancy, retailers are taking notice of the metaverse and the opportunities it presents for products that, until recently, could only exist in our dreams.

And although the metaverse has a ways to go before it becomes the behemoth that its current fanfare implies, the virtual world has found an unlikely partnership with the fashion world over the past couple of years, in a more immediately lucrative manner.

Luxury fashion houses such as Burberry, Ralph Lauren and Gucci have already ventured into the fold, creating NFTs and in-game clothing items for the likes of Fortnite and Roblox.24 Non-Fungible Tokens, known as NFTs, are items that exist only in the virtual world, attached to digital ledgers on what’s known as a blockchain.

In the metaverse, consumers are equipped with a more three-dimensional, embodied experience in a VR-enabled virtual world, where consumers are faced with a new reality called direct-to-avatar. The technology is new, but companies like Nike have already dipped their toes in the metaverse. In a partnership with Roblox, Nike unveiled ‘Nikeland,’ a replica of their actual HQ in Oregon that can be found within the game.

And it’s not just fashion and luxury—beauty brands are catching on to the NFT craze, too. In late 2021 Clinique launched its first digital collectible represented by a limited edition NFT as part of a contest to drive loyalty.

During a fireside chat with Coresight Research Founder and CEO Deborah Weinswig, Liz Bacelar, executive director of global tech innovation for Clinique parent company, Estée Lauder, revealed that instead of selling NFTs, the brand gave its reward members the opportunity to receive one of three editions of an NFT artwork.

Following the success of its contest, Clinqiue went on to create 100 NFTs to sell for cancer research.

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“As we were filling in the details, we said, hang on, we want to check the notion of, does this bring value,” said Bacelar. “I was shocked... one of the NFTs was on auction and the others were at a fixed price, and we sold out.”

It’s striking that the retail industry has rallied so enthusiastically toward this latest edition in technological progression; the velocity of said change being formerly unprecedented within the sector.

As Bloomberg stated in December 2021, “Even by 2008—three years after Amazon Prime started— only one-third of the luxury companies surveyed by Forrester Research sold wares online. By then, Prada barely had a website.”25 Start-ups focused purely on the niche between the metaverse and fashion world began to pop up throughout 2021, including RKFTK—a virtual sneakers brand—whose recent successes include selling out a $3.1million virtual drop in less than 7 minutes in March, leading to their acquisition by Nike in December 2021. The cost of the purchase remains undisclosed, but “RKFTK was valued at $33 million” as far back as May 2021.26 The question of whether this is purely a fad, or a glimpse into an exciting retail landscape in the wake of a failing highstreet, remains to be seen.

Presently, the numbers speak for themselves, with the metaverse being “worth $46 billion in 2020” and the fact that $10 billion has already been invested in the Metaverse by Meta (Facebook)’s Reality Labs segment.

Toward the end of her session, Bacelar stressed the importance that brands begin searching for metaverse-savvy talent sooner rather than later.

“I want to send a very clear message to the tech community that we’re serious about the metaverse,” she said. “There will be companies fighting for talent, and we’re in on that fight, too.”

As Drapers’ Daniel Bobroff said in a recent article, “these movements will build a bridge between the physical retail world and the metaverse sphere—and “retail’s winners will learn to play at its intersection.”

Despite its infancy, retailers are taking notice of the metaverse and the opportunities it presents for products that, until recently, could only exist in our dreams.

Acceleration Mode: Trends That Will Define 2022

Endnotes 1

https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregpetro/2021/03/02/online-retails-hidden-post-covid-cost-returns/?sh=222350f97002

2

https://www.supermarketperimeter.com/articles/6118-nielsen-omnichannel-shopping-increased-by-50-in-20

3

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/retail-buy-online-pick-up-in-store-191953131.html

4

https://www.insiderintelligence.com/insights/social-commerce-brand-trends-marketing-strategies/

5

https://www.ypulse.com/article/2020/10/19/the-social-platforms-gen-z-millennials-are-open-to-shopping-on-in-one-chart/

6

https://www.insiderintelligence.com/insights/social-commerce-brand-trends-marketing-strategies/

7

https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=0db32aa7-6d81-4988-b9cd-b7f9b73491be

8

https://www.talkdesk.com/resources/reports/the-customer-experience-cx-revolution-in-retail/

9

https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2020/article/employment-recovery.htm

10

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-11-21/niall-ferguson-u-s-has-entered-the-post-post-pandemic-labor-market

11

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/restaurants-raise-wages-workers-moment-industry-wide-change/story?id=77688268

12

https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/pre-pandemic-us-job-market-is-long-way-off-2022-01-07/

13

https://www.uschamber.com/co/good-company/launch-pad/retailers-recruiting-in-tight-labor-market

14

https://nudge.co/desklessreport/

15

https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.a.htm

16

https://hbr.org/2017/06/how-managers-drive-results-and-employee-engagement-at-the-same-time

17

https://nudge.co/desklessreport/

18

https://www.emcap.com/technology-for-the-deskless-workforce-2020/

19

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210330005706/en

20

https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/adapting-to-the-next-normal-in-retail-the-customer-experience-imperative

https://gbl-sc9u2-prd-cdn.azureedge.net/-/media/aboutikea/pdfs/people-and-planet-sustainability-strategy/people-and-planet-positive-ikea-sustainability-strategy-august-2020.pdf?rev=3a3e9a12744b4705b9d1aa8be3b36197&hash=099EADD58A6B850BD522866B8E01F518

21

22

https://www.statista.com/statistics/241825/number-of-employees-of-the-ikea-group-worldwide-by-function/

23

https://www.gq.com/story/metaverse-fashion-explainer

24

https://www.chargedretail.co.uk/2022/01/11/the-top-5-high-fashion-brands-embracing-the-metaverse/

25

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-09/luxury-fashion-brands-are-already-making-millions-in-the-metaverse

26

https://www.businessinsider.com/nike-acquires-rtfkt-as-it-accelerates-metaverse-play-2021-12?r=US&IR=T

Contributors

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