Conclusion: What you need to do now

Retailers that have continued to invest, manage their proposition and closely follow consumer trends to ensure they have the relevant mix of stores and online focus for their customers will be able to take advantage as the economy improves in 2024. 

However, it is not too late for those who have stood still in the cost-of-living crisis; there are so many areas that even the most embattled retailers can focus on in the coming months to make a success of next year and set themselves up for future growth. 

Continued investment in people remains a must. The retail industry faces an exodus of talent and the workforce is declining, so retailers have to set suitable pay and rewards, and build a nurturing atmosphere across their business to remain attractive employers. 

Doing that should fuel the creativity and customer service required to drive these organisations forward. As we’ve highlighted, there are several retailers adapting the roles of their staff and rolling out reward schemes to keep motivation high. 

Exploring the new will remain vital – and that could be in the form of international territories or emerging online marketplaces, which will give access to new customers and fresh routes to growth.

With customers keen for as many ways to shop as possible, it will continue to be crucial for retailers to invest in back-end systems and IT services to enable speedy, eco-friendly and efficient product fulfilment, too. 

And it can’t be overstated that stores continue to be the heart of the retail landscape, despite pandemic spikes in digital retailing and expected ongoing growth in ecommerce. So many of the retailers in growth mode we interviewed are putting their investment in new stores, new-look stores and experimentation with stores in fresh locations.

Consumers are fickle and want to shop with retailers in different ways every time they make a purchase, so the more diverse a brand’s service offering is, the stronger position they will be in. 

The underlying message for retailers is: do not stand still. Although recent years have seen many major players in the market such as BHS, Arcadia and Made.com fall by the wayside, there are always new brands arriving on the scene. And that means there will always be fresh competition on the horizon.

Retailers we spoke to are embracing the economic challenges, generally being bold in their approach, and they appear confident about what 2024 brings. However, they also know to maintain some caution, with the last few years presenting many surprises.