Moreover, ecommerce, m-commerce and in-store commerce will evolve closer into simply commerce, according to estimates from the real-time omnichannel personalization firm Certona.

The battle between brick-and-mortar stores and digital channels such as online and mobile will be more reduced in intensity, and instead, each and every channelwill be designed to direct the customer down the most likely path to conversion, retailcustomerexperience.com reports.

Access to APIs will pave the way to more personalised consumer experiences so that merchants can pursue open APIs to develop more predictive apps that allow sharing of information and leveraging new functionality in real time to better personalise the user experience.

Discounts will be in high demand by customers, threatening retail margins. Retailers will be forced to offer discounts and free shipping to meet consumers demands during the peak shopping season. However, retailers will also have the opportunity to make up the gap in revenue with personalised offers and recommendations. Ultimately, this will allow brands to deliver in-demand discounts, while recovering margins through recommended add-ons.

Customer data will claim its position as a companys DNA. Businesses with data centric cultures will thrive, while companies that ignore the discipline of data science will lose to competition.

Mobile device makers will redesign hardware and software strategies to specifically cater to mobile commerce. In response to consumer demand for streamlined commerce, device makers will make strategic decisions based on improving geo-tagging, integrating payment technology, user authentication, messaging and inter-app communication.