Converging channels, customization and constant
connectivity to impact the shopping sector
Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF), a premier consumer financial
services company, today released findings from its inaugural Future
of Retail: Insight and Influences Shaping Retail Innovation report,
examining consumer perspectives and shopping trends expected to
change the retail industry by 2030.
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For its Future of Retail Study, Synchrony
Financial gathered input from industry experts and consumers to
learn what excites them about shopping in the future and their
expectations of the evolving retail environment. (Photo: Business
Wire)
Building on input from retailers and industry experts, consumers
were asked what excites them about shopping in the future and their
expectations of the evolving retail environment. Findings from the
multiphase research is organized into six core themes:
Do-It-Yourself Retail: The Evolution of Self-Service
Technology will bring a new era of DIY shopping – changing how
shoppers access, select and pay. The self-serve retail model, 24/7
stores with robot-assisted drive-thru windows, and interactive
mirrors will become mainstream. Nearly half (47%) of consumers
surveyed ranked interactive touchscreen mirrors in dressing rooms
among the top three most exciting innovations of the future.
“Findings show shoppers seek self- and on-demand service,
increased customization, and seamless home and in-store
integration,” said Whit Goodrich, CMO Retail Card, Synchrony
Financial. “By having a pulse on the evolving desires of the
American consumer, we’re able to pioneer new solutions to help
retailers deliver a better shopping experience with tailored
loyalty benefits and rewards.”
Automation Nation: Using Smart Data to Deliver
Customization
Consumers will expect retailers to tap into the personal
information they willingly provide to deliver better customized
products and offers. From RFID in phones and wearables to
biometrics such as finger and palm scanners, retailers will know
shoppers well enough to direct them to preferred in-store items and
send immediate and individualized sales offers. In-home chat bot
devices and unbiased experts within “digital assistants” will
become popular.
“One of the biggest disrupters in retail in the future could be
3D printing – footprints to create shoes and ways to produce many
things faster and more inexpensively in a manner we never could
before. It’s mass customization,” said Courtney Gentleman, CMO,
Payment Solutions, Synchrony Financial.
Retail On-Demand: We Want It Now
Increasingly, technology will give rise to a more demanding
shopper base – one that expects what they purchase to be instantly
available or returned. Among consumers surveyed, 77% anticipate
better ways of making returns from online purchases in the future.
Instant gratification will be an important part of the shopping
experience offered in the form of stores on wheels, trunk stores,
pop-up shops and subscription services; return buttons in retailer
apps that re-package and pick-up items; and real-time inventory
views and better ship-to-store options.
Retail Comes to You: Bridging the Gap Between Home and
Store
The confluence of channels and high-definition camera technology
will enable shoppers to access an interface through virtual or
augmented reality to see how a new sofa, fabric and paint, garage
door, flooring or other items will look in their house. Consumers
will be able to secure in-home retailer services, purchase on
demand using smart labels or QR codes, shop in 3D and use instant
try-on features.
“Why have anything altered again?” said Bart Schaller, CMO,
Synchrony Financial. “Shoppers will be able to take a perfectly
dimensioned picture of a person’s body, type and form and upload it
to retailer apps. Without moving from the sofa, a pair of pants
will arrive at their doorstep ready to go.”
Brick-and-Mortar’s Reason for Being: Entertainment and
Engagement
Brick-and-mortar stores of the future will focus on delivering
genuine brand experiences to build both trust and loyalty – tapping
into consumer desires. More than half of study participants (55%)
are excited about blended in-store and entertaining experiences
such as coffee shops, cafés, music, bars, or complimentary
samplings of products or services.
Less is More: Streamlining of Brands
Instead of appealing to everyone, 57% of consumers agree that
retailers must streamline and focus on doing one or two things
well. Specialty retailers will remain a go-to in high-involvement
categories, while online and automated reordering will reduce the
need for as many one-stop-shop stores. Regardless of category,
brands of the future must have a strong reason for being.
Adds Goodrich, “The future of retail will look dramatically
different in 2030 than it does today. We’re urging retailers to
begin planning for that future now, and our emerging trends
analysis is just the start.”
Study Methodology
The Future of Retail report was developed from multiple research
phases conducted January-February 2017 on behalf of Synchrony
Financial with consumers and industry experts including:
- Consumers – A quantitative study
with 1,016 consumers and online discussions and half-day workshops
in two U.S cities spanned generational groups 18 years and older;
ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds; and online and in-store
shoppers.
- Retail Experts - Input
contributed from Synchrony retail partners across different
industries, representing online only, mass merchandisers and middle
market businesses. One-on-one interviews with a retail futurist;
in-store and digital retail technology professionals; and Synchrony
business leaders in strategy and innovation, marketing and IT.
The Future of Retail brief can be downloaded and viewed, along
with forthcoming insights and videos on this topic and other
research at http://synchronyfinancial.com through the “Insights”
link under the “News” tab. For more information about how Synchrony
Financial can help grow business, go to www.synchronyconnect.com or
email synchronyconnect@synchronyfinancial.com.
About Synchrony Financial
Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) is one of the nation’s premier
consumer financial services companies. Our roots in consumer
finance trace back to 1932, and today we are the largest provider
of private label credit cards in the United States based on
purchase volume and receivables.* We provide a range of credit
products through programs we have established with a diverse group
of national and regional retailers, local merchants, manufacturers,
buying groups, industry associations and healthcare service
providers to help generate growth for our partners and offer
financial flexibility to our customers. Through our partners’ over
350,000 locations across the United States and Canada, and their
websites and mobile applications, we offer our customers a variety
of credit products to finance the purchase of goods and services.
Synchrony Financial offers private label and co-branded Dual Card™
credit cards, promotional financing and installment lending,
loyalty programs and FDIC-insured savings products through
Synchrony Bank. More information can be found at
www.synchronyfinancial.com, facebook.com/SynchronyFinancial,
www.linkedin.com/company/synchrony-financial and
twitter.com/SYFNews.
*Source: The Nilson Report (May 2016, Issue # 1087) – based on
2015 data.
©2017 Synchrony Bank/Synchrony Financial. All rights
reserved.
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