Inviqa Predictions: 2025 Digital Challenges by Industry Sector

• Inviqa predicts 2025 digital challenges by industry sector for retail, DTC ecommerce, FMCG, B2B, Higher Education and Sports.

• Composable commerce, low-code and PIM solutions will benefit multiple sectors, data and personalisation is key for others

• Enabling meaningful and memorable interaction as well as transactions online is crucial for all the sectors highlighted below

As we approach 2025, industries across the board face unique challenges in adapting to a rapidly evolving digital landscape. Here at Inviqa, our team has worked closely with clients from a wide range of sectors, gaining insights into the digital challenges industry sectors are likely to see in 2025.

From retail, DTC ecommerce and FMCG, to higher education and sports clubs, we explore the predictions and insights shared by our team of digital experts, as well as how businesses can navigate these challenges so they can thrive in 2025. 

B2B: driving customer retention through digital transformation 

“If there’s one industry that recognises the need to retain long-term customers, it’s those engaged in B2B” says Dominic Feenan, Inviqa COO. “With smaller customer pools, higher acquisition costs and greater lifetime values against each customer, retention is key to success. Excellent service levels are critical for retention, so investing in solid, coherent digital platforms is therefore paramount. 

B2B organisations can utilise advances in customer experience to drive retention - however, this has often been difficult due to the relative complexity of their operations, acting as both a barrier and a risky endeavour to change.” 

However, there are several solutions, Dominic assures: “The rise of composable approaches lowers the risk to change, by enabling businesses to incrementally tackle their technical estate and focus on areas of change that add the most value. Also, SaaS and low/no-code solutions have lowered the technical complexity of implementing and managing key business tools, streamlining the skills required and reducing reliance on underlying (sometimes legacy) inhouse technical infrastructure. 

Industry-leading platforms are now providing tools to directly support B2B needs, with flexible options available to integrate with existing systems. We’re also seeing practical applications of AI that can lead to efficiencies and automation of previously complex, time-consuming tasks.”

Retail: optimising productivity amid financial pressures

“My prediction for retail centres around the requirement for continuous small productivity and profitability improvements” explains Joanna Perry, Marketing Director at Inviqa. “Inflation, the National Insurance hike and other cost factors mean retailers face further squeezed margins in a highly competitive market in the coming year. Many are already leveraging relatively sophisticated marketing, merchandising and personalisation solutions to maximise revenue through their websites, so are likely to leverage technology to improve processes or cost-to-serve to alleviate some of the current financial pressure.” 

Reflecting on what businesses can do to offset squeezed margins, Joanna explains: “I expect more retailers to adopt product information management (PIM) solutions in 2025 for this reason, for both head office productivity and tangible CX benefits such as improved conversion and reduced returns. Other technologies I can see benefitting retailers (and consumer brands) include low-code and no-code content management systems. While not yet sophisticated enough for commerce sites, these solutions can allow retailers and other brands to quickly and easily spin up microsites to support marketing campaigns, and they are perfect for non-transactional corporate websites which many also operate.”

DTC Ecommerce: the rise of unified commerce platforms

According to Inviqa Solutions Architect Jeremy Keen, unified commerce platforms will be appealing to ecommerce merchants who feel composable architectures are too costly and complex for their requirements.

“Composable commerce has gained significant traction in recent years, promising businesses the ability to build custom ecommerce ecosystems by integrating best-of-breed solutions for each function. However, the limitations of this approach are becoming apparent. Managing multiple vendors, APIs, and integrations has proven complex and costly, particularly for mid-sized companies lacking extensive development resources. This operational overhead is causing many businesses to reconsider composable strategies.

However, there are multiple solutions we can now implement. Unified commerce platforms, such as Shopify Plus, BigCommerce, Big Cartel and others are emerging as the preferred alternatives. These platforms have evolved to offer robust ecosystems with built-in flexibility, seamless third-party integrations as well as powerful APIs should you need to go beyond what comes out of the box.

These modern solutions provide businesses with most of the customisations needed to meet unique requirements, without the complexity of managing a fully composable stack. Additionally, they enable faster deployment and a lower total cost of ownership, making them attractive to companies seeking scalability, self-serving simplicity and minimal technical dependencies.

As the ecommerce landscape continues to evolve, we predict that unified platforms will dominate, especially for small and mid-market brands. While composable commerce may remain viable for large enterprises with niche needs, most businesses will prioritise platforms that balance customisation with ease of use, accelerating growth and innovation with fewer technical hurdles.”

FMCG: owning the customer relationship by leveraging data

“In 2025, FMCG brands will be heavily focused on collecting and leveraging their own customer data”, predicts Inviqa Business Development Sr Manager Leila Wolford Butt. “Retailer data is often aggregated or anonymised, limiting depth and specificity. Relying solely on retailers creates dependency and limits the brand’s ability to build direct relationships with end consumers. 

Retailers may limit the data they share, or charge an arm and a leg for access, acting as gatekeepers of valuable insights and leaving brands open to financial exploitation. Because retailers act as intermediaries, it’s hard for brands to control or influence customers’ brand perceptions.”

Leila believes that brands should capture data themselves as it “provides unfiltered insights into who customers are - their preferences, purchasing behaviour, and feedback. Direct access to data means quicker insights and decisions, allowing brands to pivot strategies in real time. It also enables tailored marketing, loyalty programmes, and product recommendations so brands can personalise every experience, ultimately driving engagement and repeat purchases, building trust, and differentiation in an over-saturated market. Brands can easily leverage data to identify unmet needs, test new products, and refine offerings, evolving with their audience whilst upholding brand values.”

Higher Education: transforming the student experience through digitalisation

“Modelling has shown a major risk to the financial sustainability of universities, with reports showing that almost three-quarters of universities are expected to be in financial deficit in 2025, according to OfS data”, warns Inviqa Business Development Adviser Amelia Dolan. “A contributing factor is the failure of recruitment numbers to meet predicted levels, particularly in international recruitment which could be attributed to changing UK visa restrictions. The industry is being forced to reevaluate the traditional operating model: looking at their product offering, recruitment processes and cost structures, otherwise risking a sector-wide crisis.”

An important element of the path forward will be a transformation of the digital student experience, explains Amelia. “A particular trend I believe we’ll continue to see is a focus on reforming the prospective student journey, which has largely remained archaic, impersonal and drowns students in a ‘sea-of-sameness'. Higher education institutions focused on creating personalised, bespoke experiences which optimise prospect engagement and enrolment processes will continue to stand out, with universities that fail to adapt falling behind.

Student’s rising expectations are also driving this shift. Gen Z and Gen Alpha, accustomed to the seamless digital experiences of their favourite brands, expect the same level of convenience, personalisation, and responsiveness. Selecting a university isn’t just a significant financial investment—particularly for international students—but also a major life decision. Institutions that can meet and exceed these expectations will be better positioned to attract and retain top talent. 

Universities are powerhouses of innovation, curiosity and research and it’s time to bring this mindset to the digital student experience. User-centric design, data leveraging, personalisation and accessibility - I'm excited to see how the higher education sector utilises these new and innovative techniques to cement themselves as key players in today’s digitally focused landscape as we enter 2025.”

Sport Clubs: building loyalty through hyper-personalisation

“The key to building a loyal fanbase lies in acquiring supporters while they’re young, as most fans stick with one club for life,” explains Business Development Adviser Tyreece Lorrington. “This makes their lifetime customer value exceptionally high, creating long-term opportunities for monetisation through selling merchandise, tickets, and digital engagement.

The challenge lies in the often-unshakable loyalty of their fanbase. Fans are highly unlikely to switch their support, no matter how compelling a club’s marketing efforts are. Therefore, it’s essential clubs understand the root causes of fan loyalty and what drives them to become supporters in the first place. Often, this stems from personal connection - such as identifying with players who share the same nationality, city, or cultural background.”

Tyreece predicts the path we’ll see the industry follow in 2025, and the strategies they should implement: “In 2025, I believe clubs and teams will prioritise hyper-targeted content strategies based on regional or personal affinities. This means tailoring content to resonate with fans in specific regions by highlighting players who share cultural or geographical ties. For instance, Arsenal could push Kai Havertz's content within Germany, leveraging his background to deepen connections with local fans. This approach not only strengthens loyalty but also helps clubs expand their international footprint by making the experience feel more personal and relevant to diverse audiences.

The goal is to capture the attention of younger audiences - clubs will increasingly rely on short-form content across platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, etc. As attention spans shrink, AI will play a crucial role in automating clip creation for every possible moment - from instant game highlights to funny interview moments, fuelling virality and reaching younger, global audiences.

Social media platforms will also evolve into primary sales channels for sports merch, with features like in-app purchases and shoppable live streams enabling fans to buy products directly from their favourite club’s social pages. For example, a fan might see their favourite player wearing new kit during a TikTok Q&A and purchase it within seconds via the same platform.”

If you’re interested in any of the topics discussed in our article, please don’t hesitate to reach out to discuss how Inviqa could support your digital initiatives in 2025.