Will the retail trends that caught on in 2019 continue into 2020, or will we see a new focus for the industry? In this episode, we look ahead to 2020 with Susan Reda, editor of NRF’s STORES Magazine, who digs into the insights reported in STORES’ 2020 retail trends forecast.
Reda predicts resale — or re-commerce — businesses are going to be big in 2020. While many consumers initially resisted the idea of luxury resale clothes and accessories, companies like Rent the Runway helped change this mindset and pave the way for a new kind of retail business. Brands like The RealReal and thredUP expanded rapidly in 2019, and Reda doesn’t think that’s going to slow down any time soon.
“We now have a consumer that isn't about packing the closet full of stuff, but is trying to understand what is most meaningful to purchase, what is going to last a little bit longer, and how to sort of jettison what was already there,” Reda says. “We all have those things that we purchased and, too often, it's hanging in there with a tag on it because you thought you were going to lose weight, or you thought it was going to look better, and it just didn't work.”
Read STORES Magazine’s full 2020 retail trends forecast to see the full list of predictions, and listen to the full episode to hear why Reda thinks experiential retail is maturing beyond Instagrammable moments and how wellness trends are shaping the future of retail.
