2025 State of the Industry
Unified Commerce in Specialty Retail
Q1, 2025
The foundations of specialty retail are being fundamentally upended as rising acquisition costs, fleeting customer loyalty, and outdated operational models collide with an era of instant gratification and elevated expectations. The traditional advantages are eroding rapidly, with new digital platforms dramatically outperforming traditional retail in both customer acquisition and conversion rates. In this landscape, the unified commerce imperative isn't just about convenience—it's about fundamentally better economics, as multi-channel shoppers demonstrate significantly higher spending and retention rates compared to single-channel customers.
This report, drawing from a survey of retail executives, examines the new economics of specialty retail and provides a transformation reality check on unified commerce maturity in the industry. It explores how retailers are navigating four critical battlegrounds: stores, payments, fulfillment, and services. While many retailers claim their transformation is in advanced stages, only a small fraction rate themselves as having high unified commerce maturity, highlighting both the urgency for transformation and the clear path forward for those who can successfully bridge the digital-physical divide.
FOUR KEY B2C COMMERCE IMPERATIVES
Incisiv
Here’s a preview of the report. The full report is available for free download via the form below.
As consumers continue to reshape their expectations,
enterprises must contend with a uniquely challenging landscape.
The consumer technology landscape is forever changing.
From Pinterest to TikTok, WeChat to Instagram, new experiences can rapidly gain consumer adoption and relevance.
From augmented reality to voice, smartwatches to chatbots, consumers are constantly embracing new interaction paradigms.
Commoditized convenience is eroding loyalty and margin.
Consumers expect convenience. If you can't deliver it, they'll go elsewhere - e.g. next day shipping becoming the new standard.
Walmart will reportedly lose USD 1 billion on eCommerce revenue of USD 21 billion this year as it faces challenges in its bid to complete against Amazon – from trouble integrating its DNVB acquisitions to impact on margin from its next-day delivery operations.
Consumers value experiences that are curated to fit their lives better.
They want to engage, be served, and transact at their time, their pace, their place. They have little patience, infinite choice and the freedom to swipe left at the slightest hint of friction.
