Predicting the Next 5 Years in Retail

A common theme heard at the National Retail Federation's Annual Convention & Expo in New York City this week was that consumer shopping behavior was transitioning towards e-commerce and a cross-channel approach as a result of the growing consumer adoption of smartphones. As such, it's incumbent upon retailers to adjust accordingly in order to remain relevant in 2012 and beyond. Helping retailers get a glimpse of what their future might look like was Mitch Joel, preseident of digital marketing agency Twist Image. Joel led a session where he outlined five things retailers will need to focus on in the next five years to be successful.