Looking Back in 2020: Retail
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The role of customer service is being reframed. As the number of communication channels has grown, the relationship between brands and consumers has become more complex. Our 2020 macrotrend Feedback Frontiers explores how businesses must reconsider how they connect with their customers, and fundamentally alter their perception of them.

With the understanding that every piece of information can provide insights to improve their business, brands are taking a less extroverted approach. Some are rethinking the structure of their internal teams, while others are creating new business models.

‘Our approach is part of a new era of direct-to-consumer businesses – one we’re calling ‘direct-with-consumer’ or DWC,’ says Nick Ling, CEO of Pattern Brands. ‘At its core, we see DWC as a model intrinsically designed to build intimacy at scale through much deeper, more personal consumer relationships.’

As customer service evolves from a cost centre to a driver of profit, these brands will no longer try to limit interactions with customers as in the past. Instead, they will strive to create conversations, forging ahead across the multiple interactions and touchpoints that are emerging as the next frontiers for brands.

While sustainability took the back seat for many retailers amid the Covid-19 crisis, British department store Selfridges continued to push the issue with an ambitious new sustainability initiative that aims to transform the state of retail by 2025.

Building on Selfridges' sustainability initiatives from the past 10 years, Project Earth addresses everything from the materials used in products to repair and resell models. ‘Project Earth is not only our bold, new commitment to stretching environmental targets, it is about imagining new ways to do business, within the next five years,' says Alannah Weston, group chairman at Selfridges.

Aiming to inspire mindset shifts among consumers and employees, its August launch was also be supported by talks, takeovers and screenings that tacked topics such as ethical consumerism and sustainable beauty. As part of this series, The Future Laboratory also hosted an Instagram takeover in October, discussing the future potential of Immaterial Fashion and the end of product ownership.

Reconceiving the store as a reactive retail space, Virgil Abloh and architects AMO designed the Off-White flagship in Miami Design District to serve seamlessly as a fulfilment centre and multipurpose events space. The idea, according to Samir Bantal, director of AMO, was to create a ‘space that is adjustable and transformable over time.’

The two-storey store is fronted with a moveable wall on the ground floor, which can be pushed back, while all the furniture is placed on wheels or is collapsible. These changeable design elements mean that both the shop floor and storage spaces can be compressed or expanded to accommodate a variety of activities or events.

As such, the store’s physical layout can react and respond to the immediate needs of the Off-White brand, rather than betting on square footage that needs to be used for retail exclusively. Moving away from the strict measure of sales per square foot, the store can leverage its adaptive design to host runway shows and live events or focus on fulfilment.

Now that you know what shaped 2020, discover what’s on the horizon. Download our Future Forecast 2021 report comprising 50 new behavioural patterns across 10 key consumer sectors, expert opinion pieces and interviews with global innovators.