With a general election coming up, it’s hard for retailers to second-guess prospects for 2015. Retail Week looks at the Christmas gifts retailers will hope for.

The gifts all retailers want under the tree for 2015

1. Real reform of business rates

Retailers will hope that whichever party or parties get elected next year will finally grasp the nettle on business rates and deliver root-and-branch reform.

2. A warm spring and a cold autumn

The warm autumn helped no-one this year as cold weather failed to make much of an appearance until well into November. After several years of unexpected weather patterns, retailers will be praying for a more normal year to help drive seasonal and fashion sales.

3. Robust consumer confidence

After rallying early in the year, consumer confidence faltered in later months as shoppers continued to harbour uncertainties about how the economy is performing. In 2015 retailers will hope consumer sentiment improves on a sustained basis.

4. Customer loyalty

Loyalty has been on the wane for several years now, as consumers choose to shop around and became increasingly promiscuous in how they spend their money. The grocers have been particularly affected in the past year as shoppers defected to Aldi and Lidl, or traded up to Waitrose. A loyal band of merry customers will be near the top of every retailer’s wish list.

5. Political and economic stability in international markets

Russia and Ukraine were perhaps the most problematic international markets this year for retailers, who found it difficult to contend with unrest in the region. New Look was one of the retailers affected by the problems - in November it announced it had closed its 20 stores in the two countries. Chief executive Anders Kristiansen said at the time: “All retailers are having an extremely tough time in Russia. The energy, drive and money [we were investing in] for Russia, we are now channelling into China, where we are doing exceptionally well.” Here’s hoping 2015 brings no new political problems.

6. Consumer trust

Success in retail in 2014 relied in part on how much you were trusted by your shoppers, and 2015 will be no different. Trust in retailers hasn’t taken quite such a drubbing in the past 12 months as it did in 2013, when the Bangladesh factory collapse and horse meat hit the headlines. But it’s still a huge issue, and there were some problems - not least the investigation into chicken hygiene at M&S, Tesco and Sainsbury’s in June following an industry-wide exposé of hygiene standards. Aldi’s and Lidl’s ability to make middle-class shoppers trust the quality of their food has arguably been the deciding factor in their success this year. Whether it’s being trusted to provide the cheapest prices or on sourcing decisions, many shoppers increasingly only interact with brands whose values and actions they can rely on, meaning retailers will be crossing their fingers for a healthy dose of trust on Christmas morning.

7. Popularity

If Tesco taught one thing this year, it was the importance of being liked. The grocer’s lost popularity among its shoppers was one of the key reasons it experienced so many problems this year, and one of its priorities will be to reconnect with its customers and get them back on side. Its monolithic, corporate image - built up over several years - has helped to alienate it from shoppers, demonstrating the crucial importance of being liked.

8. Certainty

General elections have a habit of increasing economic uncertainty. Retailers will hope that shoppers will remain on a steady keel as the political parties take up cudgels.

9. A level playing field on taxes

Amazon, Starbucks and Google have all been accused in the past of not paying a fair amount of taxes on the revenue they earn in the UK, and George Osborne is reportedly planning to take measures to ensure this stops happening. Some big retailers will hope that action follows the noise surrounding the issue.

10. The right digital skills

It’s never easy to find the right people to support a business’s growth, and that is particularly true in a digital age. In an environment where the right digital offer is crucial for retailers whose business models and offers need to evolve, finding a digital maven capable of guiding a business to its next phase would be the perfect gift for lots of retailers in 2015.

11. The right franchise partners or international talent

International growth is just as difficult to get right as digitally led growth - and in some cases, more so. Asos’s experience in China this year - overall its international sales fell 2% in its first quarter - showed how hard it can be to hit the right note overseas. In many markets successs can only be achieved by finding the right partners to work with, and retailers will be searching high and low for the best franchisees or internal talent.

12. Investor confidence remaining high

2014 was the year of the retail IPO - 12 retailers floated on the stock market during the year, a boon for an industry that had sometimes attracted little attention from public investors in the recession and its aftermath. There are no imminent retail flotations but retailers from furniture retailer SCS to shoe specialist Office have been the subject of speculation in the past few months. Anyone eyeing a potential float will be asking Santa for continued investor confidence.

13. Higher disposable income

Wages in the UK have failed to keep pace with inflation over the past few years, leading to consumers feeling the pinch as disposable income takes a hit. Retailers will be hoping wages start to creep up, providing a boost to the consumer economy.

14. A mobile payments crystal ball

2015 looks as though it could be the year that mobile payments start to take off in a more serious way, and retailers may finally have to start taking some punts on the services they think will win. It’s not an easy gamble to make, and retailers will wish they could gaze into the future when it comes to choosing where to invest.

15. A format that travels

Travel retail is going from strength to strength at the moment - airports and stations are playing a role in everything from international expansion to UK trading and delivery via click-and-collect at Tube stations. It will only become more important as retailers clamour to think of formats that will help them take advantage of this trend. There are also big infrastructure projects such as Crossrail nearing completion, as well as a Heathrow/Gatwick expansion decision, meaning this topic will remain high on the agenda.

16. Higher UK tax revenues

The UK’s budget deficit is one of the biggest in Europe and the International Monetary Fund predicts it will be 5.3% of GDP in 2014. The deficit is still growing, despite the last five years of austerity measures from the Government. Unless tax revenues start to grow next year, more austerity measures will be required to cut the deficit. The retail industry will be hoping for higher tax revenues under the Christmas tree this year. Otherwise further cuts and austerity measures will dampen consumers’ spending appetites once more. The trick, of course, will be increasing tax revenues without denting disposable incomes.