An interesting article on Retail Dive takes into consideration the trend forecast to watch for this 2019.
Between historical failures, incredible technological advances, scandals on the violation of consumers' personal data and a highly successful end-of-year sales season, 2018 was a roller coaster for both buyers and retailers. It has also set the stage for the new year, from which the 3 most interesting trends can be glimpsed on the horizon.

1.Retail as a service to expand
Retailers are exploring options to create a more personalized experience for consumers. Accenture and the Retail Industry Leaders Association released data earlier this year that indicated that consumers, today more than ever, are looking for retailers to customize their shopping experiences. 63% of consumers surveyed said they were interested in personalized recommendations, while 64% said they were willing to share personal data in exchange for benefits such as loyalty points and automatic coupon discounts.

2. Private labels tend to grow online
In recent years, retailers have doubled their private label lines. It is a strategy that has helped, in particular, mass merchandisers to differentiate themselves into a new retail scenario where customers are overwhelmed by an unprecedented number of places and ways to buy the same products. Sales growth of private label products is currently three times higher than branded products, according to research firm CB Insights.

3. Loyalty becomes more relevant
Last year, several famous retailers made moves to change or update their customer loyalty schemes. Grant, of Euromonitor International, believes we will see more updated loyalty programs next year as retailers fight to compete with Amazon and keep their programs as relevant as possible. But even the kind of rewards that loyal customers receive are changing rapidly: innovations and stores designed exclusively on the basis of loyal customers, are giving shoppers more and more reasons to join and are offering much more convincing advantages than the usual reward points.


Source: RetailDive.com