Sustainability, artificial intelligence and e-commerce are the top wholesale trends for 2024, study finds

A recent NuOrder report from Lightspeed, a business-to-business marketplace, surveyed 65 brands and retail experts, looking at wholesale trends for the coming year.

Retailers and brands identified e-commerce, sustainability, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, personalization, data and analytics, and inventory management as the top trends shaping the industry over the next five years.

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The report’s authors noted that it is no surprise that artificial intelligence and new technologies will disrupt every aspect of the industry and the need for adaptation will be greater than ever before. Companies are expected to rely on digitally-enabled practices to dictate their strategies. Seventy-seven percent of surveyed experts said that digitalization would influence changes in wholesale trade “to a great extent” and “to a great extent.”

The main challenges that brands and retailers will face include rising costs of doing business, supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, inventory management, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, data and analytics.

It is worth noting that both retailers and brands are looking for greater data liquidity through distribution and sales. Looking to the future, brand-retailer relationships will transform the wholesale ecosystem through data sharing and collaboration, private label development, sustainability and ethical practices, flexible terms and seamless technology integration.

In the face of these rapid changes and innovations, companies want to adapt by investing in training to ensure employee comfort, introducing it gradually, working with technology experts, prioritizing cybersecurity, staying up to date with the latest tools and trends, meeting customer needs a centric approach and not only.

More than 90 percent of survey respondents said that close collaboration and communication efforts with wholesale partners are key to the success of their businesses. Most brands and retailers said they were adopting an approach of creating shared goals, collaborative problem solving, training and workshops, regular check-ins, transparent decision-making and maintaining an open communication channel.

As brands and retailers understand the product lifecycle and customer journey as an essential practice, they have become smarter in making more informed decisions about products and distribution, access to data, and sustainable and ethical initiatives. Metrics used to track wholesale success include volume, gross margin, order frequency, reorder rate, average order value, and total sales.

Sustainability continues to be a top priority among wholesalers; The report’s authors note that experts are increasingly developing strategies to adopt more sustainable and ethical values.

Wholesalers conduct life cycle analysis of products, invest in sustainable education and training initiatives to ensure complete business alignment, collaborate with NGOs and other organizations, engage with consumers to promote environmental awareness, pursue Organic, Fairtrade or Rainforest Alliance certifications, and collect feedback from stakeholders and consumers about the company’s initiatives to improve its environmental impact.

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