"With the rising cost of acquiring new customers, loyalty will become the new frontier for growth. Whether that’s focusing on reputation management, allowing customers more flexibility to manage their finances through offering a range of payment options such as buy now, pay later, or tapping into a growing desire to shop local, retailers will need to be laser-focused on retaining existing customers as we move into 2022."

Forbes contributor Catherine Erdly, a small-business retail expert and founder of The Resilient Retail Club, writing in her recent Forbes.com post, “Four Trends That Will Shape Retail in 2022.”