The last few years have proved to be both fascinating and scary for many in the FMCG industry. With unprecedented issues, new technologies, and constant changing consumer habits, making the right decisions for your business and consumers has never been more difficult. In this blog, we delve into the latest trends that will be taking over the industry in the next year.
In this type of environment, following industry trends is crucial for many. There will be many success stories as well as failures in the coming years as established retail giants fall, and the newer names rise on the wave of innovations that can provide consumers with the experiences and products they're craving.
Luckily, we're here to provide you with plenty of consumer insight to help you prepare for the next year in the industry.
Below are some of the big questions everyone is thinking about with the future of retail trends for 2023:
Are consumers really concerned about brand sustainability?
What are people cutting back on most?
What are people spending the most on?
What's the future of 'luxury' looking like?
Navigating the uncertainty and making better strategic decisions with the use of the following trends will only bring a positive outcome to you, your business, and consumers.
The Trends
Sustainable Shopping - A continuous retail consumer trend across most of the world that's becoming increasingly relevant is sustainability. Whether it's recycled products, local produce, or alternative meat option, consumers all across the industry are much more considerate of the impact that their purchases are having on the environment.
Due to this, retailers are finding newer and better ways to provide sustainable options for all of their customers. One of the newer trends is using technology to target products and remove the less relevant or economical products from the shelves. This could lead to simpler supply chains reducing their carbon footprints - and for shoppers, this means fewer, more tempting options and a much more tailor-made shopping experience.
Social Media Shopping - Places like Facebook Marketplace have never really shaken the retail space. However, the convenience of commerce on platforms consumers visit most of the day has not been lost on the social media companies.
The growth of social media commerce is expected to continue to rise as companies like Instagram launch their own commerce spaces for businesses to fill. This will only lead to new generations of consumers being sold products by other retailers recognising the social media rise and pushing their products onto these popular websites and apps.
This can manifest as an extension of local inventory advertising or social media marketing. However, the emergence of these new store spaces is predicted to lead to a new field of competition between companies that smaller retailers in particular are well-positioned to experience benefits from.
E-Commerce & In-store Trade - It's not unusual to hear retailers leaving their brick and mortar stores, and there has been tension amongst the offline retailers as years pass and the success of online retail continues to grow.
Recently in the UK, the Government were consulting with experts to decide whether or not to introduce an online sales tax to help aid shops. Retail giant, Marks and Spencer hit back against this, as they feel that it will damage the high street as retailers cut away the less profitable, physical sides of their businesses.
Over the next few years, some have predicted a balance between online and in-store sales since both forms of commerce will need to adapt to the changing times and consumers will be enjoying the advantages that both have to offer.
Impulse Buying - Statistics have shown that 4 in 10 of Gen-Z impulse buy online at least once every 2-3 weeks. This is likely because again, they're using social media much more for product research. Some businesses are worried about the effect this could have on returns logistics, however, 65% of impulse buyers say that they're satisfied with these purchases every/most of the time.
This doesn't rule out future logistics challenges. Moving forward, online retailers should start to focus on improving this figure by giving product information plenty of attention. Making product descriptions more reliable and personalised can go a long way with younger consumers, which will help to balance out declining trust in online reviews.
Impulse spending is a great opportunity for e-commerce, and retailers that can best target the needs and desires of their current and future customers, will continue to reap the rewards.
The industry trends that we have discussed in this blog only scratch the surface of the trends that have developed recently. Among other trends such as manufacturing, packaging, and with the help of AI, Blockchain, as well as opportunities to help increase customer engagement - experiences and satisfaction with your businesses and consumers, it will only continue to transform the sector drastically.
Identifying new opportunities and emerging technologies to implement into your business early on goes a long way when gaining a competitive advantage. It's definitely interesting to see all the new trends emerge and develop over the years, we can’t wait to see what the future holds for the FMCG Industry.