Automated commerce, the retail trend shaping 2018

M-commerce and e-commerce may have surpassed bricks and mortar but they are no longer the new frontier of how consumers will shop in 2018. As shoppers begin to outsource their retail behaviours, automated commerce, better known as a-commerce, is quickly shaping the future of our purchasing journey.

AI and automation as we know it is already happening behind the seasons at world leading retailers like Amazon, Alibaba, JD.com, Nike, etc. These businesses are using automated warehouses, drone technology and even AI route planning to shorten the time from customers placing orders to receiving them.

A-commerce will have a profound effect on consumer behaviour

According to TrendWatching, a-commerce will have a profound impact on the way consumers behave, and what they expect of brands. And in 2018, nowhere is that impact more visible than in the retail industry.

In 2018 'time' is what everyone around the world wish they had more of. Shoppers with more important things to do – which is everybody– will embrace the outsourcing of certain retail experiences to algorithms and smart devices. That means the automation of browsing, negotiating, purchasing, delivery arrangements and more.

A key example is the new fashion website and app Finery, which launched in October of this year. The app aims to solve the age-old problem of having a closet full of clothes but nothing to wear. With its patented Wardrobe Operating System, the app allows consumers to outsource much of their fashion retail needs, by using technology to find and upload purchases from the past, present and future and merging them into a fully automated wardrobe in one place.

The app syncs to an email account and automatically adds fashion purchases to a 'wardrobe,' organised by designer, colour and type. Users can also save items to a wishlist and receive notifications such as sales or price changes.

Automated commerce will benefit millions of consumers who are fast expecting online retail to be more automated. What that will mean for the high street boutique in the future is something of a grey area.

What is certain, however, is that consumers will have heightened expectations of convenience when they visit a store's physical location. The pressure will be on the retailer to ensure a true omni-channel experience.

Photo credit: Finery website, article source: Trendwatching, 5 Trends for 2018