Vision 2020: A Future Commerce Podcast on the State of Retail, presented by Gladly

Published: Jan. 10, 2020, noon

Download the Vision 2020 Report Right now

The next phase of the growth of your business will be based on your ability to plan for the changes coming over the next 10 years. Things like outsized customer expectations, online behemoths and marketplaces like Walmart and Amazon, Generation Z coming of age, aging of the Millennial population, and a whole lot more there are things to consider in the 2020s that will either put you ahead of the pack in your DTC or retail business or at the back of the pack. In this podcast, we break down what you need to succeed in the next 10 years, from our perspective as analysts.

Show Notes:

Main Takeaways:

  • It's our annual predictions episode, and 2020 is going to be quite a fascinating year for retail
  • Relationships between company and customer are crucial to consistent retention
  • Phillip and Brian cannot go a week without making predictions
  • GenZ is all about building relevant and exciting skills, even if they can't afford life yet.
  • Consumers are going to start having expectations that the products they purchase are going to improve their health, and brands are going to have to meet that demand.
  • Future Commerce partnered with the customer-service platform Gladly to create a report on the future of retail, and it's crazy good.

Vision 2020:

  • Future Commerce partnered with Gladly to create a comprehensive report on what 2020 retail will look like, and it's available for download.

  • The report is a buffet of Future Commerce predictions all in one place

  • Want this report? Of course, you do, click here →

  • Brian and Phillip cannot go more than a week without making predictions

  • This is the year where profits are king

Brands Are Going To Have To Better Your Life To Retain Your Business:

  • Something we've seen at Future Commerce is that the relationships that retailers build with their customers can indicate if they can retain those customers long-term.

  • And brand trust is super important because it allows brands to take risks and loyal customers to follow that journey.

  • It's a new world: Zebras > Unicorns

  • The evolution of health and wellness is going to evolve beyond what we can currently understand.

  • How can the products that you purchase help make your life better?

Sustainable Skill Learning: Why You Need to Tune In To CARLY:

  • GenZ is a totally different generation, and GenZers are interested in a very different world than Millenials.

  • We covered this in our Future Commerce Insiders #18, where we talked about CARLY (Can't Afford Real Life Yet), as the new generation of shopper.

  • And while CARLY might value a new experience, they're also natural creators, seeking out new marketable skills.

  • And as Brian said: "CARLYs are learning skills because one, they care about sustainably doing things. They care about the environment. And so they're patching their clothes, and they're making their art, and they're doing things for themselves. We live in a Minecraft world where people want to build out things for themselves and build experiences for themselves and use those experiences."

The Future of Retail: Sustainability is Everything:

  • As we learned in 2019, sustainability is a lot more than just a buzzword; it's the path forward for retail.

  • Second-hand commerce is more sustainable, it allows for less waste, and resellers can capitalize on this.

  • The story for sustainability has to continue in the 2020s

  • Brands that are leading the way are public-benefit corporations or B Corporations, which is always a significant focus on our show.

Want to hear the rest of the key trends for 2020? Check out our report on the Vision of 2020 with Gladly, it has all of the info that you need to be able to indeed stay on top of the future of retail.

Download the Vision 2020 Report Right Here!

Show notes