In the business world, on a yearly, monthly, weekly and daily basis, the society keeps changing. Consumers are changing and there are also other changes that occur in processes, outputs or conditions of the market that transform the way we connect and market with our audience. These changes follow a pattern and they are called market trends.
A market trend in the retail world is a perceived tendency of the direction of movement of the financial markets to change over time.
Lots of things are changing such as information exchange speed, transport facilities and technology and that is why you as a retailer needs to study and keep up with these trends to remain relevant in the retail market world.
These trends can be classified as secular for long time frames which can last for one to three decades, primary for medium time frames which can last for one to three years and secondary for short time frames which can last for as little as two to eight weeks.
Types of Market Trends
- A bullish or upward trend indicates a rising market and orders are placed upward in a bullish trend.
- A bearish or downtrend is a period when investment prices fall and is accompanied by widespread pessimism. Orders are placed downwards in a bearish trend.
- A sideways trend occurs when the price trend of a certain trading instrument has been experiencing neither an uptrend nor a downtrend. Sideways trend is generally a result of the price traveling between strong levels of support and resistance. When a sideways trend ends, an uptrend or downtrend may begin.
In order to keep up with the changing nature of retail market trends, you need to keep your business formats, store designs, modes of communication with customers and ways of handling commercial dealings very flexible.
There is also need for you to adapt new technology for marketing, retail operations and business transactions. In addition, you should make good use of the social media to communicate with your customers.
If you run an online retail store, you might need the help of Augmented Reality such as 3D mock-ups that allows your customers try the products on themselves. You should also work progressively on delivery of orders that customers place through online shopping.
As a retailer, you have to keep bringing something new every now and then to charm your customers.
The internet and technology have also helped in changing the way products are advertised and the manner of selling and buying transactions in order to keep up with the trends. Now, your retail businesses such as malls, specialty stores and hypermarkets can make use of micro development and contemporary technology to increase your customers’ shopping experience and in turn generate revenue for your business.
Conclusively, lots of things are changing in the retail market, lots of trends are coming up, but it is the ability to recognize these trends and apply changes to your marketing efforts to fit into these trends and stay ahead of your game as a retail marketer that will determine your success and relevance in the retail market world.