12/20/2022
Retail Trends to Watch in 2023
As we close out this year and look ahead, the holiday season has made it clear that consumers are still keen on retail — but on their own terms.
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We made it! Or at least, we’ve almost made it to the end of 2022. This year, in many ways, has been the most challenging we’ve seen across the industry since the onset of the pandemic. We have consumers who needed to face reality this year after feeling personally wealthier than ever during the pandemic. The industry faced insurmountable comparison periods to 2021’s high-flying growth.
As we close out this year and look ahead, the holiday season has made it clear that consumers are still keen on retail — but on their own terms. With 2023 just around the corner, here are my top themes to look for next year in relation to the consumer and the retail industry:
- The U.S. retail consumer’s wallet will continue to tighten in 2023, as student loan repayments, credit card debt and investment portfolios pull their share of attention and money away from retail.
- Retailers and brands need to watch movements and behavior of high-income shoppers closely, as they may soon begin to feel the same effects that lower-income consumers felt this year.
- New store concepts from retailers — both large and small — will focus on efforts to curate assortments for consumers and also provide better efficiency and in-store solutions.
- 2023 is certainly going to bring headwinds to the retail industry, and we will likely see new waves of consolidations, operational challenges and store closures.