Expansion of Omni Market

I have been saying for a while now that the omni market practices and capabilities have been expanding and increased in acceptance as the consumer base has changed and especially as millennials have grown in their participation in the marketplace.  In addition to this change in the consumer make-up and comfort in technology the improvements in technology including wireless technology and mobile technology has continued to increase the usage and the acceptance of the omni marketplace. These changes have resulted in the growth and expansion of both the capacity of the omni channel shopping and purchasing along with a growth in the types of shopping and purchasing capabilities that are available through the omni marketplace.  The quickening of the expansion in capabilities along with the expansion of the types of product and materials available through the omni market shows a growing maturity of the marketplace along with a maturity of the acceptance by the consumer in the omni market.

Looking back you can see the early beginnings of these changes and the growth in the capabilities have been driven just as much, if not more, by the acceptance of a greater number of consumers for these capabilities and they have been driven by the technology developments.  This two pronged impact and development of the marketplace has allowed and encouraged the development and expansion of the marketplace. The change this time is that both technology capabilities and consumer interest and acceptance have come together at the right time and the right place to really allow and encourage the expansion of the marketplace.  In the past there these two areas were not aligned, either the technology was not available to truly support the demands of the marketplace or the capabilities were really not interesting to the consumer. This change in consumer interest now, I believe, is driven by the growth of millennials in the market and their comfort in technology.

There are many new shopping verticals added or expanded in the marketplace now that were either somewhat of a niche offering or just not viable in the past.  These are starting to be driven by both the technology capabilities along with the comfort in virtual shopping. Amazon is driving an expansion in the fresh and grocery market with the acquisition of their Whole Foods and their experiments in convenience shopping to combine the the Prime membership is many ways that is changing the fresh grocery market.  Then the most interesting new shopping opportunity is in the auto shopping and purchasing area where the consumer can shop and purchase a car and then have the car delivered to their home. This shows the types of expansion and capabilities that can be expected in the near future

I also see an opportunity for dramatic changes in the marketplace continuing and growing into areas that people would have never expected even a year ago.  Quite frankly, the ability to purchase a car online and have it delivered to your home is a little surprising, however I can see the niche and the opportunity for this niche to grow.  The opportunities will only be limited by the imagination and demands of the consumer.