The driving forces, principles and innovators in retail

I’ve been very occupied with my work and therefor forgot to blog. Beside that I started my Flipboard where I post interesting, relevant news about retail. Since I discover that there are still a lot of viewers left I will try to rehabilitate my blog by starting to post an updated personal presentation about retail. Inhere I explain the driving forces, principals of retail and the movers and shakers in the field of retail. Hope you enjoy it.

Strange, interesting and all about retail trends 2

Because the first slideshow compilation I made a year ago was so highly appreciated. I decided to make a new compilation of photos that caught my eye and reflects recent tendencies in retail branding and design.

The most interesting retail of December and January

Since December a lot of new things seem to appear that made me move again. All sorts of concepts and ideas caught my eye because they reflect the new reality. A few I already posted on this blog and I now want to share the rest of the most attention-grabbing ones with an explanation why I consider them interesting.

1.) Polaroid announces plans to launch  polaroid photobar experiential retail stores. 

We will see more old decaying brands develop a retail concept trying to become relevant again.

 

2.) Department store Selfridges introduces a ‘No Noise’ shopping experience.

In our hectic information overloaded urban society tranquillity is becoming a rarity. Retailers and brands that can offer us an escape from this fast-paced world will win.

 

3.) Farmigo is an online farmer’s market connecting organic farmers directly with communities in their direct environment.

The Internet has been collapsing supply chains and rewriting conventional business models for nearly two decades, but until now it has had limited impact on the food industry. 

 

4.) The  Billionaire Shop is an online store for the super rich created by gambling company Multilotto.com.

The world is getting polarized and that counts for (on-line) retail too.

 

5.) The Tommy Bahama flagship store on NYC’s  5th Ave. generates two and a half times the sales per square foot than a regular store because of in-store restaurant and bar.

Big cities become leisure paradises and people like to spend their leisure time shopping. But shopping doesn’t necessarily mean immediate buying. Therefore physical stores have to find new business models that cash in on the leisure ‘shopper’. A successful model is an in-store restaurant or bar to lure people and compensate the loss.”

 6.) Takeo Kikuchi’s flagship store in Tokyo  has no one-way shopping circulation and is a place to feel at ease.

Online shopping changed the rules for offline retail. Not only became stores showrooms or places to relax, the way we enter the shop, how we browse and the moment we pay has all changed. Stores with a one-way shopping circulation will become a thing of the past

What were the 10 retail trends of 2012

On the blog of Gensler architects Barry Bourbon always gives us, at the end of the year, a retrospective of what trends appeared the past year. This month he again pointed out 10 trends that got shape this year and will influence next year. I think with all points he hit the nail on it’s head but there are 3 that caught my attention  because they aren’t talked about that much but seems to be just as significant.

Turning the pop-up into experience design: For years, pop-up shops have signaled fun if not fleeting introductions to new brands and new products, but my number one observation from 2012 is that pop-ups are here to stay. I don’t mean that we’ll see even more of the here-today-gone-tomorrow temporary shops (though I don’t think that trend is over), but rather I believe the experience that pop-up shops have provided is a major impetus for traditional retailers’ push to reengage their own customers. It’s about finding unexpected elements within retail – a health care advisor inside a grocery store or a tea shop inside a furniture store – that create value, convenience and unique experiences. Shoppers want to be wowed, and that’s a trend that’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

Elevated brand image overseas: As Western brands increasingly migrate to new international markets, it’s exciting to see prototypes adapt to global consumers’ tastes for innovative, boundary-pushing design. If it weren’t for the logo, would you have guessed that this is a Starbucks? I think this is another trend that has a long future; in fact, I think retailers’ willingness to test new ideas in new markets will raise the bar for design and branding back at home in the U.S., too. One to watch.

Department store reinvention: With credit to my colleague Kathleen Jordan for her keen eye on this trend, I’m especially excited about what department stores are doing to make themselves relevant again – improving customer experience, integrating technology, offering exclusive brands, and de-cluttering their store designs.

The seven other trends are

– Personalized coupons

– Digital transactions simplified

– Local made products

– Showrooming

– Big data

– Brazil in the spotlight

– Design collaborations

via Gensleron

Girls only telecom store.

In an extremely mature retail environment like Japan, retail is less generic and often very niche, specialized or single subject focused. An example of this single subject focused retail is lifestyle or gender orientated stores. One of the most recent cases is from Japanese mobile carrier DoCoMo who has just opened a new communications concept called The Shelf. It is a relaxing environment for young women where technology is being presented as part of people’s everyday lives rather than a (beautiful designed) technology orientated phone store.

Located in the backstreets of Omotesando (Tokyo, Japan) The Shelf has two floors to explore and test the communication technology, books, magazines and make-up. The first floor features four areas surrounding the themes of Travel, Work, Beauty, and Fashion. All the different services and products are curetted by a popular role model who represents one of the themes. They have collaborated in creating a space that shows how the smart phone integrates into everyday’s life for young women. The second floor is the café and lounge to sit down, enjoy tea, read a magazine and check out some make up.

The Shelf is a fascinating idea That is based around understanding lifestyle and need instead of features and models.

via Shift East

Rethinking Retail by Dana Cho and Beau Trincia, Ideo

The opportunity, as Dana Cho and Beau Trincia from IDEO shared in their presentation, is for brands to make it possible to connect individuals. Wether it is with people who like the same product, the maker or just friends.

Read also their paper the future of retail

Retail concepts and formats that are transforming retail

If you are interested in Retail innovations. Check out the slideshare of Ebeltoft Group they gave during the World Retail Congress 2012.

In this slideshow presentation they point out nine key innovation themes and show examples of retailers that excel in this theme either through format innovation or business innovation.

Themes are:

1. Curated Collection
2. Eco-Friendly
3. Hyper-Local
4. On-line/Off line Mash Up
5. Channel Transformers
6. Service Experience 2.0
7. Technology Intervention
8. Customization/Ask the Crowd
9. Retailvention

Check also the rest of their presentations here

McDonald’s host pop up public library

photo McDonald’s

As I reported earlier the Dutch public libraries are having a hard time as a result of the cost cuts by the government. To keep on being relevant they have to show the Dutch government that people still want to be member.

To achieve this the organization comes up with some pretty unconventional solutions.  They already introduced  libraries at high traffic locations like Schiphol airport and the railway station in Haarlem and recently announced to collaborate with retail partners like IKEA and Mc Donald’s.

The last one hosts since this week a pop up library that is opened two days a week till 27^th of October in the city of Arnhem.  The pop up library is targeted to teenagers and reward them with a free hamburger if they want to become member. Further more is this initiative a chance for the library to show the teenagers that they are more than books. If this initiative will help the library survive the 21st century I can’t say. But it is always nice to see unconventional solutions especially from conservative institutes like the library

via retail news

The Future of Retail in Six Trends

Nurun published a useful trend report on the future of retail defining . They define Six trends that they think will shape the future of retail.

1.) Social Product Discovery, Consideration and Evaluation

2.) Product placement morphs into content and commerce

3.) Integrated Expansion of the Omni-channel

4.)The New Geography of Merchandising

5.) I’ll trade my privacy for a 5 dollar coupon

6.) Sophisticated Frugality

For the whole report Digital for real life

Chinese store named worlds best

It was just a matter of time and now it it is reality. The chinese are here to stay also in retail innovation!

A 2000sqm combined bookstore, fashion retailer and gallery has been named the world’s best designed store of 2012.

Fangsuo Commune in Guangzhou, China, was judged the best from some 100 entreis from all over the world. The massive store, which encourages shoppers to visit to rlax and ‘hang out’ as well as to shop, aso features a cafe, home living collection and space for special cultural events.

via Inside Retail.