Ecommerce will account for a third of all global chain retail sales in five years

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Analysts predict that 30% of global retail sales will be made through ecommerce channels by 2024, according to global ecommerce insights business Edge by Ascential at Retail Week’s Tech. festival.

This announcement was made during a presentation by Edge by Ascential advising retailers on growth strategies in a disruptive technology environment. This coincides with Edge by Ascentials latest ‘Store of the Future’ report, which analyses in depth how leading retailers across key global markets are achieving omnichannel transformation.

Key findings include:

• Store-based chain retail sales will decline as a share of net sales by 2024, with forecasts indicating 1,698 hyper-store openings between 2019-24 compared with 3,250 between 2014 and 2019.
• The majority of potential stores opened by 2024 will be lost to digital sales, with digitally-native markets such as China experiencing a 94% reduction in potential stores added.
• Store space will be reallocated to accommodate for more experiences, services and fulfilment processes, as omnichannel retailers continue to test and learn new technologies that will better serve more demanding consumer expectations.

Ioli Macridi, Retail Analyst at Edge by Ascential, said: “When it comes to achieving successful transformation, retailers should start with the most important part – building a differentiated proposition and becoming as relevant to shoppers as possible, before moving on to becoming frictionless by using technology intelligently to help, rather than hinder, the consumer journey. This should coincide with the final key pillar of the future store, experiential, which better helps consumers connect with retailers through enhanced shopping experiences. We believe that a large number of retail stores will become social, community-focused hubs, featuring cafes or spaces for charitable and wellness initiatives. If retailers adhere to most or all of these elements, they will align closely with modern consumer expectations and be in a better place to drive revenue growth.”

• All figures are from Edge by Ascential’s Store of the Future 2.0 Winning Strategy Report (July 2019), and are drawn from the Retail Market Monitor.