8 Retail Trends To Prepare For This Year

Perhaps no industry is changing more rapidly than retail. To help you keep up, I’ve gathered some predictions from two recent retail studies, “How We Shop Now,” and a report by TOBE presented at the National Retail Federation’s Big Show, that will give you insight into upcoming retail trends and may help your business.Taking a cue from the sharing economy and businesses such as Uber and Airbnb, 15 percent of U.S. consumers are interested in renting products from stores. The most popular products people wanted to rent are exercise equipment (17 percent), consumer electronics (15 percent) and furniture (11 percent).
The general idea is a subscription program that lets customers rent a certain amount (or an unlimited amount) of the items in question. Millennial consumers aged 25 to 34 are the most interested in this idea (35 percent). If you have merchandise that’s past its season, try renting it instead of putting it on clearance. Read more at Small Business Trends.