This episode provides a data-rich look back at 2021 retail growth and identifies six pivotal trends that ecommerce operators need to understand. It highlights the dramatic shifts in fulfillment, customer acquisition through social commerce, the rise of ultrafast delivery, and the explosive growth of retail media networks. Ecommerce professionals will gain critical context for strategic planning, understanding where the industry has been and where it's heading.
Key takeaways
Retail grew 22% between 2019 and November 2021, an historically fast pace, but with clear winners and losers across sectors. Analyze your niche's performance against this benchmark.
Recognize Amazon and Walmart's expansion into shipping and fulfillment as a major competitive shift, impacting logistics and delivery expectations for all retailers.
Prioritize social media, especially live-streaming, as a primary discovery channel for customer acquisition, adapting strategies to leverage these platforms more effectively.
Investigate ultrafast delivery solutions and Amazon Fresh-like walk-out technology for grocery/convenience, as consumer expectations for speed and seamless in-store experiences are rapidly increasing.
Allocate significant budget and strategic focus to Retail Media Networks (RMNs), as they are exploding and competing with traditional social media for advertising eyeballs.
Understand the apparel industry's shift from designer-led to consumer-led trends, exemplified by brands like Shein, and apply this insight to product development and merchandising for your own brand.
Review the provided PDF on retail growth 2020-2021 for deeper data insights to inform your 2022 strategy.
EP283 - Year End Review It's our final show of 2021! We recap the US Dept of Commerce November Advanced Retail Sales Data. We do a deep dive into the retail industries growth from 2019 through November 2021. In those 23 months, the retail industry grew 22%, historically fast growth. There were clear winners and losers. If you want to follow along on with all the data, here is a visual recap of retail growth 2020-2021. (PDF Download). We also highlight the six most important trends of 2021. Amazon fulfillment capacity growth (Amazon and Walmart become shipping companies) Social Media becomes the discovery channel for e-commerce (led by live-streaming) Ultrafast delivery services Amazon invents and starts to scale a grocery store (Amazon Fresh) with just walk out technology Retail Media Networks explode, led by Amazon's $30B in ad sales. Retailers now compete with social media networks for eyeballs Apparel has shifted from designer led to consumer led, as evidenced by the meteoric rise of Shein We're so very grateful to our audience, both for the time you have shared with us, and for generous opinions, feedback, and knowledge that many of you have shared. We wish you all the very best holidays and New Years, and look forward to seeing you in 2022! Episode 283 of the Jason & Scot show was recorded on Tuesday, December 21st, 2021 http://jasonandscot.com Join your hosts Jason "Retailgeek" Goldberg, Chief Commerce Strategy Officer at Publicis, and Scot Wingo, CEO of GetSpiffy and Co-Founder of ChannelAdvisor as they discuss the latest news and trends in the world of e-commerce and digital shopper marketing.
What does this episode say about retail & omnichannel?
Retail grew 22% between 2019 and November 2021, an historically fast pace, but with clear winners and losers across sectors. Analyze your niche's performance against this benchmark.
What does this episode say about supply chain & operations?
Recognize Amazon and Walmart's expansion into shipping and fulfillment as a major competitive shift, impacting logistics and delivery expectations for all retailers.
What does this episode say about paid acquisition?
Prioritize social media, especially live-streaming, as a primary discovery channel for customer acquisition, adapting strategies to leverage these platforms more effectively.
What does this episode say about analytics & attribution?
Investigate ultrafast delivery solutions and Amazon Fresh-like walk-out technology for grocery/convenience, as consumer expectations for speed and seamless in-store experiences are rapidly increasing.
What does this episode say about retail & omnichannel?
Allocate significant budget and strategic focus to Retail Media Networks (RMNs), as they are exploding and competing with traditional social media for advertising eyeballs.
