As the formerly discreet worlds of Physical, Human, and Digital aggregate in a new shopping future, what does the end-game look like for retail? What is beyond the current omnichannel rhetoric? With proven, thought-provoking style, Christian Davies assess the way forward for retailers and brands as they attempt to navigate this challenge. The hypothesis is a simple one: that the combination of Physical, Human and Digital touch points results in an Experience Signature unique to every brand. Davies outlines not just why Experience Signatures matter, but why strategically addressing them will be critical for the future of retail. Presentation given at NRF 2015 in New York City on Jan. 13th.

1. Experience Signatures
Christian Davies, Executive Creative Director, Americas FITCH

2. So, we are here today to discuss the concept
of Experience Signatures
The undeniable future of all things retail

3. The next 45 minutes
What is an Experience Signature?
Why they matter
Who does them well and who doesn’t
How you can create your own
Q&A (hopefully)

4. SO, WHAT IS AN
EXPERIENCE
SIGNATURE?

5. An Experience Signature is a higher order,
unifying principle of retail branding
What is it?

6. higher order – ASPIRATIONAL
unifying principle - HOLISTIC
What is it?

7. It informs, rationalizes and influences the
ways in which a retail business presents
itself to the world
What does it do?

8. A unique combination of brand-led touchpoints
that exist between a retailer and the people
that shop its stores
What are its ingredients?

9. By an enhanced perception of a retailer’s
presence leading to increased loyalty,
preference and sales
How is it measured?

10. Every shopping journey is made up
of touchpoints

11. And every retailer, simply by virtue of being in
business, already has touchpoints between
itself and its customers

12. Literally any point that shoppers touch the
retailer, whether through physical, digital or
human interactions

13. PEOPLE
PLACES
COMMS
TOOLS
EVENTS
SERVICES
WEB
SOCIAL
GUEST

14. These moments of connection are all too often
fractured, and only sporadically effective

15. PEOPLE
PLACES
COMMS
TOOLS
SOCIAL
SERVICES
WEB EVENTS
GUEST

16. PEOPLE
PLACES
COMMS
TOOLS
E V E N T S
SERVICES WEB
SOCIAL
GUEST

17. PEOPLE
PLACES
COMMS
TOOLS
E V E N T S
SERVICES WEB
SOCIAL
GUEST

18. The first step towards an Experience Signature
lies in taking these sporadic moments, unifying
them, and bringing them into harmony

19. PEOPLE
PLACES
COMMS
TOOLS EVENTS
SERVICES
WEB
SOCIAL

20. PEOPLE
PLACES
COMMS
TOOLS EVENTS
SERVICES
WEB
SOCIAL
GUEST

21. PARITY

22. DUPLICATION

23. PEOPLE
PLACES
COMMS
TOOLS EVENTS
SERVICES
WEB
SOCIAL
BRAND

24. DISTINCTION

25. DIFFERENTIATION

26. Only with touchpoints working in harmony, and
infused with the brand’s DNA can we be said to
have achieved an Experience Signature

27. A way to express yourself to the world that both
feels intuitively right and which simply couldn’t
be someone else’s

28. WHAT AN
EXPERIENCE
SIGNATURE
ISN’T

29. NOT YOUR BRAND

30. Your BRAND is who your are, what you
stand for…it’s your story

31. If your brand is your ESSENCE,
your Experience Signature is your PRESENCE

32. NOT YOUR PRODUCT

33. BRAND is who you are, PRODUCT
is what you sell

34. Your Experience Signature enhances your
products, reinforces why they exist, brings
them to life and adds meaning to them

35. WHY DO
EXPERIENCE
SIGNATURES
MATTER?

36. Because they lie at the heart of why one retailer
differs from another in the minds of the people
who shop there

37. An Experience Signature encapsulates all the
things that a retailer is famous for

38. It encompasses the reasons we come back
for more

39. The things we tell stories about, the things we
tweet, blog and post

40. Most of all, an Experience Signature creates
retail that is truly defensible over a lasting
period of time

41. Or put another way, Retail’s Holy Grail

42. SOUNDS GREAT
RIGHT?

43. Except for one thing

44. OTHERWISE
KNOWN AS,
THE PROBLEM

45. The number of retailers today who have achieved
an Experience Signature is very small

46. Consumer Purchase
And, in actuality, the number is shrinking as
retail becomes more fragmented and complex

47. In certain categories Experience Signatures
are not merely a rarity, they may be in danger
of actually becoming extinct

48. THENCE, THE
OPPORTUNITY

49. To tell shoppers who you are, what you are selling,
why you exist and what you believe in

50. Most of all WHY YOU ARE
DIFFERENT FROM THE
OTHER GUYS!!!

51. And to do it at every touchpoint you have with
your customers, every single day

52. SO, WHO IS
DOING IT WELL?

53. The first things to say is that non-retailers
are, for the most part, doing this much better
than retailers

54. Virgin

59. But there are retailers which own best in class
Experience Signatures - perhaps unsurprisingly
they also represent best in class retail. Period

60. A BETTER
EVERYDAY LIFE
FOR THE MANY
PEOPLE

61. TOOL

62. $0

63. COMMS

64. BOOKBOOK
COMMS

65. SOCIAL

66. COMMS
SOCIAL

67. EVENTS

68. EVENTS

69. WEB

70. TOOLS

71. TOOLS

72. PEOPLE

73. SPACES

74. SPACES

75. SPACES

76. SERVICES

77. SERVICES

78. BALLS O MEAT

79. WITH GRAVY

80. (AND LINGONBERRY JAM)

81. LITTLE TOUCHES

82. PEOPLE
PLACES
COMMS
TOOLS EVENTS
SERVICES
WEB
SOCIAL

83. IKEA

85. And their masterstroke? I just described a
completely unique retail ecosystem. And I didn’t
mention the product once.

86. OK, SO WE
SHOULD JUST
GO BE IKEA?

87. IKEA
Only sells its own products
Which they also design and manufacture
It only has one voice – its own
And it only sells in its own stores

90. IKEA, Nike, Lego et al are still doing things
amazingly well. But a Signature can be harder
when you are a multi-category/brand retailer

91. And yet, the best retailers in the world have
figured it out

92. SO, HOW DO WE
GET THERE?

93. To achieve an Experience Signature you
literally have to activate every touchpoint
and infuse it with purpose, meaning
and character

94. And while an Experience Signature isn’t the
same thing as your brand, developing one
begins with your brand

95. If you don’t know who you are or what you
stand for, nothing else will work

96. It also begins with knowing your customers.
At FITCH we plot the touchpoints leading to
an Experience Signature against 3 shopper
mindstates

97. D E
L
Exploring
Purchase intent
in the category
Locating
Specific product
or service
Dreaming
No specific
purchase intent
Being inspired
Learning
Having fun
Browse easily
More information
Narrow choices
Easy to find
Useful reminders
Reassurance

98. P
H
D
Physical: The tangible – from objects that can be
touched to settings that can be experienced
Human: Dynamic interactions – with individuals,
employees and social groups
Digital: Electronic Tools – technologies that talk
to everyone, or just talk to me

99. P
H
D
D E L

100. Through PHD/DEL we audit our client’s and their
competitor’s touchpoints, brainstorm new
concepts and uncover opportunities

102. P
H
D
D E L

118. IN CLOSING…

119. 100 years ago, at the birth of modern-day
retail, Experience Signatures were the norm

120. Fueled by founders, who infused the retail brands
they created with their heart and their soul

121. Guys like this guy

122. Exceptional service, selection and quality

123. Or this guy

124. Pile it high, sell it low

125. Or this guy
Or this guy

126. Or this guy
The theater of retail

127. But over time, we have lost our way, becoming
more obsessed with the size of our operations,
than what we stand for, or how we behave

128. We talked ourselves into the idea that size really
does matter, and brawn has beaten out brain

129. But no-one falls in love with scale. They fall in
love with brands that make shopping a delight
every time. They fall in love with experience

130. The sort of experiences those early pioneers
were all about, and which today’s retailers must
rediscover, or risk becoming irrelevant

131. And that’s where we find ourselves today. Shelf
after shelf of me-too products at discount prices
and foot traffic falling at an alarming rate

132. To that end look at the impact of the decline of
meaningful Experience Signatures on a single
touchpoint - physical spaces

133. November and December Foot Traffic
40 billion visits
30
20
10
Source:The Wall Street Journal
17.6
BILLION
2010 2011 2012 2013

134. November and December Foot Traffic
40 billion visits
30
20
10
Source:The Wall Street Journal
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

135. Why does this decline in relevance of the
physical space concern us so much?

136. Because in many ways physical stores remain
the most robust of all the channels when it
comes to meaningful and powerful touchpoints

137. Clearly, opportunities continue to be missed

138. Its time to reverse the tide. But, you will need an
internal champion if you ever hope to achieve
this aspirational goal we have discussed today

139. These guys were all over it

140. This guy is all over it today

141. A Champion
CEO

142. A Champion
Chief Experience Officer

143. Only then will this amazing industry called
retail get the future it deserves
And only then will those that shop our stores
get the experiences that they yearn for

144. THANK-YOU
www.fitch.com