Levelling the Playing Field for Independent Retail Businesses

By Doron Friedman, Chief Product Officer, SpotOn

When you hear the word “hybrid” these days, the first thing that comes to mind is work. The hybrid trend is gaining momentum in retail, too. Spawned by the pandemic, and born of a need for flexibility and convenience, throughout 2021 we saw tiny mom-and-pop shops going online in
the same breath as juggernaut e-tailers opening brick and mortar stores. The message?

Meeting the customer where they are means being on Main Street and online with an array of flexible payment and fulfillment options. The biggest trend I see for retail in 2022 is cross-pollination between retail and ecommerce, but an imperative to provide customers with more options for how (and how quickly) they can receive their goods.

According to a survey SpotOn, a leading software and payments provider, conducted with Harris Poll, consumers want independent retailer goods with big-box convenience and transparency when it comes to shopping and fulfillment. Consider this, 40% of Americans responded to that survey saying they would be more motivated to purchase from an
independent retailer over a larger, national retailer based on the availability of a “buy online pickup in store” (BOPIS) option. That same survey revealed that 78% of Americans would be more likely to purchase from a store offering both in-person and online purchase options over a store that offers only one purchase option.

Collaborations, Profitability & Quick Commerce

By Neil Moses, CEO, Wynshop and Mi9 Retail

The US economy’s robust recovery is great news, but has helped cause supply shortages and inflationary pressure on everything from computer chips to potato chips that will carry on well into 2023. Retailers across industries will continue to face both labor and inventory shortages. These considerations are the guiding force behind my three predictions for the upcoming year.

• Adoption of automation and innovation will accelerate. With inflation at a 39-year high, retailers will become extremely focused on profitability. Wynshop conducted a joint study with Incisiv in 2021 called the State of Digital Grocery: Growth at the Cost of Profitability and found the #1 challenge facing grocery retailers is the low profitability of their online business, with 56% of grocers surveyed reporting that they lose money or make less than 10% average gross margin per online order. For retailers across all sectors to remain profitable, I predict there will be an increased emphasis on labor utilization, picking efficiency, micro-fulfillment centers, semi-autonomous delivery, contactless check-out and improved curbside experience. We should also expect closures of less profitable stores and significant investments in online commerce.

• The growth of “quick commerce” will expand. The “30 minutes or less” rapid commerce model that swept grocery in 2021 will continue to expand into other retail segments such as convenience stores, liquor stores, pharmacies, and perhaps even DIY. Retailers will develop their own rapid delivery capabilities or partner with last-mile partners to deliver in 30 minutes or less.
  
  
• Retailers will enter a new era of collaboration. Retailers and manufacturers will find opportunities to share data more directly in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of shopper preferences and purchase intent. It may also be time now for retailers to choose collaboration over competition with each other. Home Depot has already made the leap, partnering with GoLocal, Walmart’s last mile service. Bed Bath & Beyond have signed on to offer home and baby products in Kroger aisles. In the UK, garden centers are partnering with clothing retailers. I predict we will see more of these types of collaborations in 2022.