Retail trends in 2022: Second-hand market surges, return services upgraded

Recently, research firm Forrester released a survey report titled "2022: Retail Industry", predicting the development trends of the retail industry in 2022.

According to the survey, retail trends in 2022 include the rise of the second-hand market, the upgrade of return services, etc. The following is Forrester's prediction for the retail industry in 2022 .

The second-hand market is growing and will receive a lot of investment

Forrester predicts that by 2022, second-hand companies and platforms will receive more than $2 billion in investment .

Sucharita Kodali, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester, noted in a corporate blog post that consumers like to buy second-hand products because they are unique and inexpensive , and consumers enjoy the pleasure of finding a bargain or special item.

Buying second-hand goods also makes sense for environmental protection . Forrester found in a survey of online adults in the United States that 41% of respondents prefer to buy environmentally sustainable products.

Returns will become the next competitive differentiation strategy

Returns, initially seen as part of an “ annoying but necessary ” service for retailers , will become a differentiating competitive strategy for retailers in 2022. About 60% of online U.S. adults surveyed by Forrester prefer retailers that offer free returns . About two-fifths prefer retailers that offer a refund for the original shipping cost . In addition, more than a third of U.S. online consumers told Forrester that they would buy less online because they were worried about the hassle of returns .

Forrester expects retailers and brands to upgrade their return processes ( e.g., streamline processes, issue refunds, internalize returns processing), and will share data internally and upgrade the way they display products to avoid returns.

Big retailers will get more advertising revenue

A few retailers, such as Best Buy, Carrefour, eBay, Kroger, Macy's, Target, Tesco and Walmart , are gaining growing advertising revenue. It is understood that Amazon's advertising revenue in 2020 was about $21.5 billion, far higher than $9.3 billion in 2019 .

These retailers offer advertising space on their websites and in-store to partners and sellers . These ads provide retailers with a new source of revenue. Advertisers also find them effective because they reach shoppers who are planning to spend money .

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