Retail Customer Experience released their list of the Top 100 Movers and Shakers in retail.
The list not only profiles top retail brands, but also examines retail and economic trends that are significantly impacting the way everyone is or will be doing business.
#1 and #2 are “The Economy” and “Gas Prices.” The combination of these two factors have negatively impacted retail prices and consumer behavior in a way that many believe will be felt long after the economy recovers. They also gave rise to the reports number #5 trend, Bankruptcies in Retail.
Sparked by Circuit City and followed by every over-leveraged, consumer-facing business from banks to Sharper Image, the economic dust up wiped out a good bit of the retail landscape. According to the report, “2008’s bankruptcies came out in two waves, the first of which hit in February and took out companies that sell things we want but don’t need. A second flurry hit in July, taking out companies that sell necessities that are available cheaper elsewhere.”
The top ten trends and brands in this 24-page report also include Amazon, smaller format stores, digital delivery of products, Apple stores, the iPhone, Holiday 2008 and the future of the shopping mall. It’s an interesting read that addresses all things we’ve gawked at and questioned and are now having to take a position on to move forward.
Top 100 Retail Movers and Shakers
Not only can Google point a camera at your house, now they can peek inside a retail store and show you the interiors. Could this spark design wars if shoppers use this to decided if they’ll visit your store…or not?
Future Of Retail: Explore Shops Through Google Maps – PSFK.
Social media has taken industry by storm. Initially put off as a novel communication game for ‘kids’, social media, including Facebook, Twitter and Myspace (although MySpace has been marginalized by the others), have developed real business applications. So much so, that marketers are trying to figure out how to apply it at all the various consumer touchpoints, including retail. The question is, how do you make Twitter, and other such technologies, relevant in a store experience.
In March of this year, Arc Worldwide conducted a survey of shoppers examining how they connect social media and shopping. They found that at this point social media is more of a pre-shopping device. It influences brand perception and provides product information from trusted peers before the shopper gets to the retail outlet. However, social media is slowly making it’s way into the store. Manufacturers and retailers are already experimenting with shopping assisted by smartphones. Wall Street Journal reports that Best Buy will be employing the Shopkick app this summer which pushes advertisements through to shoppers’ phones while they’re in the store. “With the Shopkick app, the retailer will know who individual shoppers are and can communicate, ‘when you need it, and how you want it,’ says Rick Rommel, Best Buy’s senior vice president of new business.’ Mobile retail is evolving in the US but has yet to catch up with Japan who has been out front with what they’ve coined ‘m-commerce.’
PSFK reports on multitouch displays that resemble Wolf Blitzer’s touch screen wall panels. These life-sized screens would allow “groups of people to simultaneously engage.” Shoppers could pull up product opinions and information without having to talk to a sales associate. Future Of Retail: Massive Multitouch Displays – PSFK.
Instore Marketing Institute has reported on many of the technologies being explored to integrate social media and retail. The implications are vast and growing as technology begins to catch up.
First Brooks Brothers moves out, then Uniqlo moves in and there goes the neighborhood? It’s a question. Fifth Avenue, synonomous with sophisticates and upscale shopping, seems to have taken an economic beating that’s changing it’s landscape.
Uniqlo had been eyeing the 30,000 square foot vacancy left by Brooks Brothers since last summer. This week the company announced plans to take over the space in the world’s most expensive retail district, paying “a record $300 million in rent over 15 years.”
Uniqlo is Japan’s largest apparel retailer, popular amongst frugal fashionistas looking for affordable fashion. However, affordable and Fifth Avenue have never gone together. So what’s happening on Fifth Avenue? What does it mean for luxury and specialty retail? Tiffany & Co. is holding with their iconic flagship store on the famed retail row, but another high-end retailer, Takashimiya Co., is closing their Fifth Avenue location in June. Wall Street Journal ran a very telling article on the impact of Japan’s changing consumer tastes on their Ginza shopping district. So is Rodeo Drive next?
Brian Dunn, cheif executive at Best Buy, admits that their cell phone department is, “not the top-performing area in our stores for customer experience.” So what are they going to do? Open up to 1,000 stores dedicated to that category.
The plan is to make a move on the mobile phone market in contest with Walmart and Radio Shack. With the increasing capabilities of smart phones, purchasing a cell phone is more and more complicated and thus, more of a hassle. According to the Financial Times article, US consumers rate buying a cellphone below going to the dentist. That’s pretty bad. Best Buy plans to enhance the whole experience and make this purchase less painful.
Read more… FT.com / UK – Best Buy in drive to open mobile stores.
