NEW YORK — While current retail industry predictions paint a dire picture—empty store shelves, hiring instability, and rising inflation—with great challenges, come new opportunities. This new reality has opened the door to a long-overdue “great retail reset” that will propel retailers into a more stable, and more profitable, position than ever before, according to Deloitte’s 2022 Retail Industry Outlook.

The report is based on 50 interviews with senior retail executives, all of which come from companies with at least $1B in annual revenue. More than half have $10B or more in annual revenue.

Key highlights from the report include:

• The workforce reimagined: After “the great resignation,” 83% of retailers say they are having to invest most heavily in recruiting new employees and retaining them. As retailers look towards the future, they should invest in technology and automation to compete with more tech-savvy industries while also offering culture, flexibility, and purpose to attract talent.
• A shifting supply chain: Current supply chain capabilities are changing as organizations desire more credible information and technology updates to develop a more agile system that can fit the modern-day shopper. Automation, transparency, and new partnerships are key priorities among retailers.
• Physical and digital intertwined: The fusion of digital and physical experiences is set to accelerate, with 70% of retailers planning for moderate to major investments in digital marketing, and 67% citing e-commerce and online shopping as top investment areas. However, data security is a major concern, with only 25% of executives planning to make major investments in this space.

The 2022 Retail Industry Outlook is available for download here