Beyond stores … In search of the essence of consumer experience
If you've attended IMS Retail University, you've heard me say many times "get out of town". To fully appreciate the nuances and best practices of retail, you need to go see different kinds of stores in other cities. It's even better if you can visit retailers in other countries. One of my opportunities this year is to take Retail U abroad to many countries. While I've learned a lot in the Ukraine, UK, Brazil and Singapore, nothing quite prepared me for Morocco! If you get to the streets of Marrakesh, you will discover that the real roots of consumer experience are alive and well in the stalls of the market place.
Retail is still detail, but it is being transformed by social media
By Heather Lantz
Many of you may have seen me at IMS Retail University workshops. I've had an opportunity to work with Chris Petersen for the last 16 years putting together courses for thousands of participants. Heather Lantz often appears on the IMS list of Retail U resources, but last week I had an opportunity to personally lead another Retail University workshop on social media. During these workshops, I rediscovered how important the "sound bites" are in capturing both the essence and challenge of retailing. In teaching our social media workshop, I found that there a host of new sound bites for this social age of retail, where the consumer is now in charge.
How and why tablets are so compelling with kids … from all species
The twins absolutely love their iPad. They can’t get enough time on it. In this Miami family, the teenagers also exhibit a high preference for consumer tablets. The parents and elders really don’t show much love for the technology. The main difference between your family and this Miami family is that you are a different species. The Miami family is a group of orangutans living on Miami’s Jungle Island. Yet, these orangutans are no different than your kids when it comes to the power of the 3 Cs of consumer experience. Maybe retailers need to go to lunch with the zookeepers to learn how to engage their consumers as effectively.
Love it or hate it, IKEA’s labyrinth is sticky and sells
Almost every other retail headline is about the growing tide of online sales and the rise of mobile shopping. CEA just forecasted that more shoppers will shop for Father Day gifts online than in-store. Traditional stores are scrambling to stop the growing trend of “showrooming” – consumers shopping for lower prices on their smartphones in the aisles. Maybe it’s time for retailers to take a look at IKEA, who produces a-mazing results by virtue of the very nature of the “showroom” itself.
