Macroeconomic trends matter, and in the aftermath of the 2020 U.S. election, there are some major trends staring the nation and, more specifically, retailers right in the face.
The divide between the rich and the poor continues to grow, the ethnic composition within the country continues to shift, and technology, like it or not, has irrevocably altered how people spend their time with one another. All of which will have important and lasting implications, not just on national policy, but on how the country, as a nation of consumers, continues to consume and, most importantly, on how its money continues to flow.
If the election has shown anything, it is that the retail landscape will change even more than one can imagine over the next 10 years. Sure, Amazon AMZN 0.0% and e-commerce had already wrought digital transformation across retail, the likes of which have never been seen before, but the changing behaviors and social norms from the trends just described above will likely leave an even greater mark on retail consumerism, one akin to the ripping off of a Band-Aid from the skin of a world everyone once thought they knew.
Retail stands to evolve in three major ways, all shaped by the very same things that will forge America’s own national identity. Retailers can either fight to push against these changes or elect to move with them.
Source: Forbes