With the close of 2014 upon us, I thought it would be worthwhile to outline "The New Normal" of Retail:

eCommerce

2013: Strong eCommerce growth with flat store sales

2014: eCommerce growth strong enough to offset negative year over year store sales

Mobile

2013: Mobile visitors account for 25% of traffic and 10% of sales

2014: Mobile visitors exceeding desktop visitors and contributing 30% of sales

Shipping

2013: "I'm not paying for shipping"

2014: "I want it now and I'm not paying for shipping"

Fulfillment

2013: Big box retailers shipping from stores.

2014: Big box retailers shifting selling space and payroll to fulfillment space and payroll.

eTail

2013: "All commerce is shifting to eCommerce"

2014: "When is this lease space available?"

Beacons

2013: "Tracking is an invasion of privacy"

2014: "The bridge of offline and online retail"

Social

2013: Retailers sharing links on social media sites with off app/site transactions.

2014: Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, Wanelo transactions happen in-app/site.