Future of retail predictions

Retail has seen unprecedented upheaval over the last several years.

Some of the industry’s key decision-makers expect even more evolution ahead.

Covid-related shocks have upended retail, after clogged ports and merchandise shortages gave way to excess inventory levels and shifting consumer demands amid persistent inflation. 

Those disruptions accelerated transformations in the industry that were just hitting some companies before the pandemic, such as the growth of curbside pickup and increased use of mobile apps.

As retail leaders enter 2024 hoping the turmoil is now behind them, they’re building businesses for the future and making changes that will transform the industry.

Over the past few months, CNBC has spoken with a dozen of the retail industry’s top executives and leaders to get a sense of what’s next.

So what will retail actually look like five years from now, and how will it change? 

The following is a sampling of their insights, which were edited for brevity and clarity.

Fran Horowitz, Abercrombie & Fitch CEO: The future of retail is small, efficient, omni stores, and they’re located where the customer tells us. [For Abercrombie] these big, massive stores were just not productive and not efficient — the consumer was responding to a much more intimate associate experience, and then economically, they were not productive. You don’t get the kind of traffic through the stores like you did in the past when there wasn’t a digital option, so you have to provide a location that is financially sound, which has X amount of traffic and X amount of digital orders that come together.

Michelle Gass, Levi Strauss CEO: The role of the store needs to be much more experiential than it is today. I think consumers are going to raise the bar, and…