2019 The Year of Betterment

摘要

Coming off a yearthemed around "blended retail," NPD Group expects 2019 fo be driven by well-being. "Looking across the retail landscape at large, barring any national catastrophes, all indications point to the ability to sustain what's at retail," noted Marshal Cohen, NPD's chief industry advisor, retail, in the research firm's newly released forecast report, "A look in 2019: What's Driving Growth." Cohen continued: "The economics continue to show that consumers are willing and ready to keep spending on the things they need." 2019 is positioned to be the year of "betterment" as consumers are focusing on products that truly improve their lives, he added. This year has kicked off with consumer confidence on a high note, despite the current unpredictable economic environment, said NPD. "Consumers came out of Black Friday proving a willingness to spend," Cohen explained. "Although American shoppers are trading off where they're spending, they're not trading how much they're spending." NPD cited "a steady climb of positive comp-store sales across retail" over the past two years, with 75% of retailers tracking positive comp-store sales in Q2 2018. Two factors are helping to drive this trend: stores and the home segment. "Stores started to regain some traction in 2018 in blended retail, and 2019 might be the year we're at an inflection point," Cohen said. "Traditional brick-and-mortar retailers are doing a better job of competing with pure play, and we're seeing more online support for in-store trends." The home category has a lot to do with what NPD calls the "power of stores." "The home industry is powerfully contributing to comp-store sales growth," noted Joe Derochowski, vice president, industry advisor, home. "Retailers have had success tying home solutions back to consumer needs and using home products as a leverage point in stores - so I expect continued investments in home to fuel 2019 store sales."