As we are well aware, retailing has continuously evolved since it began informally thousands of years ago. According to research by Joel Evans:

“Modern retailing is the accumulation of incremental steps over time. The state of retailing at any given point is not only dependent on the cyclical nature of the overall economy in a country or region, but also on specific factors endemic to retailing. To succeed in the future, retailers must study, learn, and adapt in a way that both appeals to consumers and is cost efficient – a difficult balance.”

A big change between the evolution of retailing in the past and the evolution of retailing today is the RATE of change. Consider this observation from Baynote, which devised the infographic below:

“The retail industry will change more in the next 5 years than it has in the last 100. This change, driven by 30%+ growth in E-commerce in 2013, has far-reaching effects on the entire retail industry. From the required jobs, people, and skills to mobile
shopping and IT investment, it’s ‘evolve or die’ time, in which small gains make the difference between retail winners and losers. Welcome to the brave new world of modern retail.”

Click the infographic for a larger view.