2. GLOBAL RETAIL INNOVATION:
The Latest Concepts and
Ideas Driving Change
MODERN CONSUMERS are used to having a level of control. Curated
collections offer this to them, as being curated separates a brand
apart from the noise of everything else available on the internet.
Trunk Club in the U.S. offers personalized clothing recommendations
from a real person, and it’s effective in today’s climate because it
combines an eCommerce experience with a storefront experience.
As successful ideas are put into place in one part of the world,
they get copied across the globe, with Outfittery following in the
footsteps of Trunk Club. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery,
after all. In London, Selfridge’s has taken customization to a new
level with their new Fragrance Lab, which allows a customer to enter
a profiling experience and leave with their own unique fragrance.
CURATEDCOLLECTIONSAND CUSTOMIZATION
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3. GLOBAL RETAIL INNOVATION:
The Latest Concepts and
Ideas Driving Change
WE’RE STILL A LONG WAY off from physical stores
becoming obsolete. So, retailers need to concentrate
on creating a consistent experience for the customer,
whether they’re shopping in store or without. To create
an authentic in-store experience, retailers need to
find out the true reason for building their store in
the first place. Is it a place for social gatherings? It
it where customers are educated about products
and offerings? Are you offering a one-on-one
interaction with the brand? In the UK, Hedonism is a
good example of an immersive experience around
its product, wine. It has everything one could ask
for in a wine — tastings, decor, education. Clearly
defining the purpose behind the store will go a long
way towards creating a memorable, synergetic
experience that very well may begin on the screen.
EXPERIENTIALRETAILING
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4. GLOBAL RETAIL INNOVATION:
The Latest Concepts and
Ideas Driving Change
HYPER-
LOCAL
IT’S ALWAYS BEEN about staying fresh and
supporting the community you’re a part of, and
now hyper-local is exploding and expanding.
Retailers should ask themselves how local and
how meaningful can they go for the customer.
In France, Au Bout du Champ is trying to
bring about a new era of consuming and
distributing fruits and vegetables, delivering
fresh, in-season produce from within 100km
of the consumer. And in Germany, Original
Unverpackt stores offer good without any
packaging; consumers bring their own jars,
tupperware, etc. and grab everything they
can fit, from coffee beans to shampoo to
toiletries. Consumers as though they’re
taking part in a meaningful change, in this
case helping to better the environment.
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5. GLOBAL RETAIL INNOVATION:
The Latest Concepts and
Ideas Driving Change
ONLINE/
OFFLINE
MASHUP
YOU HEAR THE WORDS “Omni-channel” and
“Multi-channel” all the time. Yet, regardless of
where and how, we’re still talking about retail.
Technological tools are going to continue to
evolve, but the future lies in how brands utilize
these tools and blend them with traditional
methods to create new business models.
Argos, in the UK, have evolved their stores
into delivery points for customers looking for
the “order online, pick-up in store” option.
The stores are also now virtual showrooms,
which allow customers to order products on
screens and receive them within 90 seconds.
These types of changes should have retailers
thinking: what do we need to have in-store,
and what do we need to have elsewhere?
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6. GLOBAL RETAIL INNOVATION:
The Latest Concepts and
Ideas Driving Change
RETAILOVATIONRETAIL CAN’T BE A PLACE that merely responds
to innovation, but drives it. How are retailers
changing what the business model is for
retail? And where will the next innovative
retail business emerge? An example of retail
innovation over the recent past is Warby Parker,
the nearly all-online glasses manufacturer out
of the United States. Their direct-to-consumer
model keeps prices low, avoiding the markups
that brick-and-mortar stores are known for.
In Brooklyn, New York, Urban Outfitters has
opened Space Ninety 8, which offers a bar and
restaurant in addition to a place to buy clothing.
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7. GLOBAL RETAIL INNOVATION:
The Latest Concepts and
Ideas Driving Change
IT IS OFTEN SAID THAT “technology is not the
answer, it’s an aid.” That may or may not be
entirely accurate in a given situation, but the
overarching theme is that technology can
help solve problems. Retailers need to look at
making technology meaningful and relevant
to the customer. Disney has introduced the
Magic Band to its theme-park customers; it’s a
wearable bracelet that’s much more than just
an admissions ticket. It allows customers to go
on rides and attractions at a previously-booked
time, and it can be a form of payment on various
Disney properties. Aside from opening many
doors for the customer, it also provides Disney a
wealth of information about customer behavior.
TECHNOLOGYINTERVENTION
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