When Less is More in Retail: Be locally Relevant and Other Truisms

Image © Gensler

This post originally appeared on VMSD.

Along with quite a few retailers, I’ve been doing a lot of pondering over the last few years following the recession about various trends that have caught the industry’s attention. Smaller formats, urban prototypes, local relevancy – these all have become catch phrases identifying solutions to entice consumer spending and, hopefully, instill consumer loyalty. To me, it seems to come down to the basics: knowing your audience and speaking to it with authority.

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The Art & Science of Shopping: What Price Survival?

Outdated infrastructure inhibits retailers' ability to stay competitive. Image © Kathleen Jordan

I remember the first time I went to Tokyo. People warned me that I would need to get a temporary phone for the duration of my trip, because the cell service was incompatible with American phones. Too much technical detail ensued, but needless to say I got the gist of what they were saying. I actually didn't get a phone, and went the four days without one. It was very stressful, but being of a somewhat advanced age I dealt with it, drawing on my memories of what life was like when I had not been so tethered to the digital world. (Please bear with me; I have a point in here somewhere.)

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The Art & Science of Shopping: Beyond the Flagship

Visual Merchandising provides an impactful yet economic means of transforming space. Image © Gensler

This week, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) aired an interview with Kathleen Jordan on Lateline, a national news program. The piece explores how department stores are learning to cope with a world in which customers increasingly prefer to buy on-line rather than in store. As one of two retail authorities interviewed for the piece, Kathleen postulated that retailers will need to innovate to survive, saying “Retailers aren’t necessarily adventurous…nobody wants to be the first one out of the gate,” said Kathleen. Watch the full interview here.

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The Art & Science of Shopping: Walkable Urbanism and the Department Store

Introduction of a vending machine to sell small electronics. Its like an alien landed on the second floor between intimates and young mens. Photo courtesy of Kathleen Jordan.

I grew up in what Chris Leinberger calls Driveable Sub-urbanism. That label pretty much describes the entire state of NJ actually.

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The Art & Science of Shopping: Some Thoughts on Monetizing the Experience Economy

The Waitrose Cookery School attracts customers by offering a wide range of cooking classes. Photo credit: Gensler

Most animals are equipped with a sixth sense, a Darwinian instinct that smells fear or weakness in its opponent. Shoppers have the same instinct: They can smell a retailer’s desperation a mile away from the mall.

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