Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.
In this paper is a theoretical analysis that provides rationalization to identifying and understanding the main determinants that have led to a shifting retail environment. Effectively over the last 20 years the traditional retail industry has had to modify its traditional ways of businesses strategy to better accommodate the latest behavioral pattern shifts of consumer spending in retail environments and non-retail environment externalities. Some of the major factorial determinants that have and are producing retail shifts are; the developments of new technology being introduced into the retail environment, like informational data analytics tools as well as ecommerce, and online shopping platforms. Another major determinant producing shifts in the retail environment is the changing identity of the average consumer, and the evolving spending habits and behavioral objectives and interests of retail customers. It is apparent that as much as consumers have relied on retail companies, retail companies now rely on consumers, specifically consumer’s developing purchasing trends, desires and objectives. This paper will continue to further highlight and rationalize the causes and or determinants of major shifts in the retail environment as well as allocate the effects these shifts have had and will have on producer retail strategy implementation, and the retail environment’s future
