How will the global retail market look like in 2020 | Progresiv

Retail markets will deliver mixed results in 2020, according to a The Economist Intelligence Unit, reffering to the fact that sales will remain at a level similar to that of 2019 in terms of volume, but will grow in value. Thus, the evolution will reflect both regional trends and the difference between currencies and the fact that emerging markets will grow at a faster rate than developed ones.

One of the important factors in the evolution of sales in the retail area will be, in 2020, the trade war between the United States and China, which will determine the prices in several areas of the world, especially Asia.

In nominal terms, retail sales in the 59 countries analyzed by the Economist Intelligence Unit will increase this year by about 4.8%, to 20.200 billion dollars. In terms of sales volume, the increase will be only 2.2%, down by 0.3% from the one reported in 2019. Sales of food products will increase by 5.1% to 9.500 billion dollars, in while sales of non-food products will increase by 4.6%, reaching 10.700 billion dollars.

At regional level, analysts at The Economist Intelligence Unit estimate that the largest growth will be in Asia, with retail sales increasing 3.3%, and the biggest advances this year will be reported in Vietnam and India. Although sales in China, Australia and the Philippines will fall, Asia will still generate about 45% of global transactions.

Online commerce will also continue to grow, but this evolution comes along with difficulties for retailers, the positive dynamics of this segment forcing retailers to close more physical stores. Sales based on social media will have platforms like TikTok or Instagram in the center, but there will also be increases in the segment of innovative technologies such as augmented reality. Investments in the area of ​​e-commerce will also be significant in 2020: Amazon, for example, plans to invest about 640 million dollars in developing operations in India.