Brick-and-mortar businesses, emphasizing quality, originality and value delivered with a human touch, will continue to grow stronger in 2018 and own a bigger piece of the retail market-share pie. While it has become common place to reference the “buy local” trend Celente identified a quarter a century ago, customized services and products that reflect “local” needs and interests will excel. The “Bigs” killed the style in shopping, but from boomers to up-and-coming Generation Zers, for age related and socioeconomic reasons, they’d rather walk than drive to a genuine local shopping experience. Moreover, in the U.S., the recent Supreme Court decision clearing the way for states to require online businesses to charge state and local sales taxes, may make e-commerce less desirable, as part of that savings incentive is taxed away.
