My son is 15 and in a self-discovery phase around his personal image - thinking what his style says about him and how to put the best version of himself out there. What he has quickly realised is that e-commerce can be pretty demoralising for someone who hasn’t quite yet nailed their own look and the anticipation of waiting for a delivery to arrive is rarely matched with the same joy once it’s put on in front of the bedroom mirror.
He's come to the conclusion that physical retail is both a lot more fun and effective. He’s a 100% convert.
I joined DHR Global last October, off the back of a traumatic year for retail with constant talk of business transformation and rationalisation of store portfolios. However, this year, everyone is talking about the importance of prioritising stores, with the view of opening ‘fewer, but better’ spaces.
This neatly segues into this article on the Future of Retail from CNBC who asked leaders including Fran Horowitz Michelle Gass Trina Spear, Geoffroy van Raemdonck for their views and predictions on the next five years of retail.
Fran Horowitz:
"Stores matter. You need a store. I’ve watched a lot of pure plays over the years and they end up opening up stores because you need a store, you need that hub for the return, the exchange, the pickup, whatever it might be that they’re using that hub for. The future of retail is small, efficient, omni stores, and they’re located where the customer tells us."
Geoffroy van Raemdonck:
"If you look at a product, you have to try it on to know if it’s your size, if it fits, and there’s so many technologies that are going to be able to show you the product in 3-D to see how it would fit on you. There’s so much friction in helping the customer buy the product that is right for them, and technology is going to remove a lot of that, and we’re going to see the return rate go down and customer satisfaction go up."
Michelle Gass
"Technology, data, machine learning, and even AI. I get really, really excited about what this means in the operations of the business, using predictive analytics to help us forecast demand. The power of machine learning, of predictive analytics, as a retail operator is extremely powerful because it is going to help us execute at a higher level to better serve our customers."
Trina Spear:
"Turning physical stores into a real true hub. Where people want a place to gather and to learn and to be part of something bigger than themselves. Especially the younger generation, Gen Z, it can’t just be about transacting, everyone wants to believe in something bigger than themselves and be a part of something bigger than themselves and that I think is going to be the most disruptive force."
These are just a small selection of views, but nothing is actually that radical. The truth is retail is about human connection and this interaction is everything. Take that and amplify it, enhance it and make it joyous though any means necessary.
#retailbusiness
