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Experts Weigh In on the 2025 Consumer Outlook for Shopping, Technology

How will consumer buying and priorities evolve in the retail fashion sectors in 2025, particularly considering recent global economic and social changes?  What technologies or innovative practices will significantly shape the retail and fashion apparel industry over the next few years? WWD asked a handful of industry experts in retail, technology and consumer behaviors to weigh in.

Answers have been edited for brevity. This is the first Consumer Outlook 2025 article in a series.

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Consumer Buying and Priorities

October 24, 2017 - Washington, DC, USA: National Retail Federation Staff photos.   Photo by Ian Wagreich / © Ian Wagreich Photography
Kathrine Cullen (Photo by Ian Wagreich / © Ian Wagreich Photography)

Katherine Cullen, vice president of industry and consumer insights at National Retail Federation (NRF)

On uncertainty: 2025 has a fair number of unknowns — from tariffs to inflation — that could impact the consumer wallet. What we do know is that consumers’ view of the economy has improved, and they remain supportive of retail sales. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey climbed for the fourth consecutive month to 71.8 in November 2024, reaching its highest level since April. For the first 10 months of the year, retail sales rose 3.5 percent year-over-year (based on U.S. Census Bureau numbers) and were in line with NRF’s annual forecast of between 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent growth over 2023. The 2024 holiday season demonstrated that consumers continue to prioritize areas like celebrations and are willing to spend to make these events special.

On “living for today”: At the same time, today’s shoppers are more likely to embrace a “live for today because tomorrow is so uncertain” mentality than they were before the pandemic, which could lead to more of a focus on self care and treating yourself by spending on discretionary categories in 2025.

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Ian Fredericks

Ian Fredericks, chief executive officer at Hilco Consumer Retail, division of Hilco Global

On luxury: There’s big movement away from luxury by consumers, and part of this shift is from what I’ll call the secondary market — people who traditionally couldn’t afford luxury and weren’t your typical luxury buyers. Because of the secondary resale markets that were created, people were using luxury goods almost like assets that they were collecting — watching them appreciate in value on these secondary markets and then reselling them at profits.

What nobody really understands is how much of what’s in the system is brand new, fresh goods that are going to become available over time on the secondary luxury market. I think you’re going to see the bottom drop out of a lot of that secondary market pricing, and see consumer demand continue to go in the negative direction relative to luxury because of those paradigms.