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As STORES’ editors were working to pull together predictions for the coming year, we began to wonder how the next generation of retailers expects the future to unfold. Who better to ask than students on the cusp of entering the retail workforce?

Working closely with Vincent Quan, Associate Professor of Fashion Merchandise at the Fashion Institute of Technology, SUNY, STORES requested that several of the school’s top seniors share their ideas on how they expect the retail industry to change in the next five years. The feedback was eye-opening.

Online retailers maintaining their positions on STORES’ Favorite 50 list year after year have done so through a successful balance of consistency and enhancement.

The top e-retailers keep excitement alive by providing value across consumers’ five specific pre-requisites: competitively priced merchandise; free shipping; a flexible returns policies; easy online navigation; and toll-free live customer service.

The Hot 100 Retailers section is the definitive annual ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing retail companies. Rankings are determined by increases in domestic sales between 2009 and 2010; all retail companies with domestic sales in excess of $300 million were eligible. Hot 100 retailers managed average year-over-year domestic sales growth of 9.3 percent. This represents a solid improvement over 2009’s average of 8.5 percent and indicates that – for these companies, at least – there were some bright spots in the economy in 2010.

Best-of-class and unique operating propositions dominate the food/drug/mass value segment — even as No. 1 Kroger is the very definition of the exception that proves the rule (which, in this case, is that traditional supermarkets are a dying breed).

Walgreen has been energized by its Duane Reade division at a time when its national drug chain rivals are struggling. Rite Aid is still trying to find solid footing, and CVS Caremark is fending off union-fueled opposition and critics of its takeover of pharmacy benefits manager Caremark Rx.