2020 promises to be a wild ride filled with presidential campaigns, unpredictable economic forces and yet more crazy weather. In spite of that, our team has a few predictions for the upcoming year. Some are more likely than others, but we’re looking forward to taking on the challenges of the new year together.
The Continued Growth of Retail
The grocery store market will continue to evolve as online grocery shopping becomes more seamless. I think that all grocers will start to have smaller stores. In contrast, the convenience stores are getting larger. They will each begin to compete for the same land and customer, as they start to merge as a product.
Retailers will continue to find innovative ways to draw customers into their stores to compete with online competitors. An example from the Wall Street Journal shows a New Jersey grocer began offering yoga classes and a small gym equipped with cardio equipment to customers at no added cost.
I predict that I will finally succumb to my husband’s demands for a larger car to carry our three boys. —Kay Stallworthy
The larger markets are highly saturated with retailers and the cost of construction and operations is economically unfeasible for these retailers so we will see a shift to secondary and tertiary markets as employment increases in those markets.
What’s Happening in Colorado
Aldi will announce plans to open their first grocery stores in Colorado.
Colorado will have one of its best ski seasons to date with historic snow falls and tourism dollars.
The Broncos will go 8-8 under Drew Lock and secure a wild card spot in the 2019-20 NFL playoffs. —Everyone in Colorado
The Colorado minimum wage increase will impact the retail / food industries, and consumers will bear these added costs.
What We’ll Be Eating
Ghost kitchens will make their way to Denver in a big way, with multiple national VC-backed companies expanding to Colorado (including Kitchen United and Cloud Kitchens), causing a new demand for commercial kitchen space in industrial areas.
I will eat my first mustard-fried with chopped chiles Double-Double in Colorado. In-N-Out is coming! —Daniel Allen
The fast food chicken sandwich craze will get out of hand when McDonald’s introduces their new contender, causing a national poultry shortage while generating the highest revenues the QSR industry has ever seen.
The Big Picture
The global market will become more unsteady as the 2020 Presidential election gets closer, however, once investors cut through the noise the market will show signs of steady growth and general attitude will be bullish.
The KC Chiefs will win their first Super Bowl since Super Bowl IV.
The unemployment level will continue to be at a historic low, which will cause employers to get creative in their recruiting methods moving to secondary and tertiary markets where the labor pool is not as tapped out as in larger markets.
I will become an Uncle! —Ryan Beckmann
