Meanwhile, IKEA recently purchased TaskRabbit, a platform that connects consumers with service providers who can do things like assemble furniture, install appliances, and more. Clearly, IKEA wants to build up its in-home services offerings, and the purchase of TaskRabbit is a huge step towards that.

We're also seeing a few retailers bringing back the "travelling salesman." Both Amazon and Best Buy are sending people into consumers' homes to consult and recommend electronics they could use around the house.

Meanwhile, retailers that have placed health or sustainability at the core of their business from the beginning are continuing to thrive. Dresden (mentioned above) has been growing incredibly fast, opening 5 new stores in just 18 months.

There's also, HealthPost New Zealand's largest online retailer of natural health and beauty products, which expanded to brick and mortar retail in 2014. In that time, HealthPost has seen a major improvement in their customer experience and business success, experiencing a 75% year over year (YOY) increase in their Auckland retail store.

This trend won't slow down in 2018.

As more consumers embrace instant messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, we can expect retailers to use these platforms to talk to customers and streamline communications. For instance, if a shopper wants to track their order, they can just "ask" the retailer on Messenger, and a chatbot can automatically retrieve the shipment information. Other retailers (e.g. Victoria's Secret) are using chatbots to showcase their product lines.

In 2018, it would behoove retailers to look at what messaging platforms their customers are using, and explore ways to use chatbots to build relationships and improve customer service.

We have also seen several new eCommerce platforms, with a specific focus on the grocery vertical, enter that market. This has created competition in the space and introduced a greater feature set that has helped make eCommerce a profitable endeavor for grocery retailers. Rather than modifying generic ecommerce offerings or building in-house solutions, new platforms are offering the back-end logistics that enable the picking and packing and inventory management that make fulfillment scalable and profitable.

2. The results are in for early adopters: Many in the space have been taking a wait and see approach, letting a few early adopters establish best practices and validate the opportunity. After several years those efforts have proven fruitful and can no longer be ignored.

Via direct conversations with retailers and grocery eCommerce providers, they are seeing on average a 4x increase in average basket size. Even more exciting than the large basket size is the cause of the large basket size; new customers. Corporates, assisted living facilities, and universities are all realizing the benefits of being able to save your shopping list, click a button, and having those groceries delivered, same day or next day.

Both factors are amplified by the increasing competition from Amazon, Walmart, and others who continue to fragment grocery retailers share of basket.