I’m taking a break from my blog. I hope to be back soon. Meanwhile you can follow me on social media @retailseen.
Great customer experience = happy shoppers!
It’s no secret that customer experience is a huge element in any successful retail equation. Retailers have come to realize that it’s simply not enough to provide customers with great product; that in a crowded marketplace, to achieve a competitive edge, retailers need to connect with their customers by delivering a great customer experience. But there’s more to it than that. A great customer experience makes for happy shoppers. And there’s science to prove it. As an avid reader, with an innate curiosity about consumer psychology, I often pick up books, that in any way whatsoever, speak to human nature.[…]
Nobis: The flagship that isn’t
Recently, Toronto-based brand, Nobis, opened their first North American store on trendy Queen St. West in Toronto. In fact, for the hot outerwear brand that sells primarily through wholesale, it is their only branded store, outside of a stand-alone in the Marais area of Paris. Yet, what could have been and should have been an ultimate flagship, one that was unique and proprietary to Nobis and launch them as a bona fide retailer, fails to deliver! The power of a flagship Regardless of the sector, successful retailers know that their retail locations need to be anything but ordinary. And that[…]
MAP Provincetown: Seasonal retail done right
As I touched on in my last blog, seasonal retail, especially when aimed at affluent urban vacationers, can and should provide a more sophisticated shopping experience than the run-of-the-mill. While on vacation, style-savvy LGBT urban dwellers as well as their straight counterparts, are perfectly primed for indulgent shopping and self-gifting. In the gay mecca of Provincetown, MAP, offers a uniquely curated collection of product in a sublimely simple and sophisticated shopping experience completely on target with the demographic. In a thriving summer resort town where seasonal retail is the norm, taking a curated approach to retail offering isn’t particularly new;[…]
Provincetown: More than clichéd seasonal retail
Retail at its best evolves and matures with customers; ebbing and flowing with the demographic of the locale and the changing needs and desires of customers. As in many other cities, towns and neighbourhoods, retail in the tiny resort town of Provincetown too has morphed and matured in response to the demographic, shedding predictable sea-side clichés of seasonal retail for high design and sophisticated offerings. Provincetown – more than Pilgrims Nestled at the northern tip of Cape Cod, Provincetown was the original landing spot of the Pilgrims in 1620, prior to them venturing on to Plymouth. Over the centuries it[…]
No gold for Pan Am Games Superstore
While Toronto seems to have pulled off the Pan Am Games without any major glitches, the official retail efforts have been nothing but disappointing. And as I suspected, even the so-called Pan Am Games Superstore at Nathan Phillips Square failed to deliver anything more than a rudimentary retail experience. Theoretically well-positioned at Nathan Phillips Square, home to Pan Am Games concerts and the immensely popular giant Toronto sign, the Pan Am Games Superstore proved to be nothing more than a larger version of the out-of-the-box pop-up shop at Toronto Eaton Centre. Lacking completely in personality and customer experience, the superstore’s[…]
The importance of location: Indigo’s American Girl misplay
In the world of retail, location is critical. Even a highly recognizable brand with a ravenous following, like American Girl, cannot underestimate the value of a well-chosen location. Yet, their initial foray into the Canadian market, via shop-in-shops in select Indigo stores, belies the importance of location. American Girl – American success story Wildly popular in the United States, American Girl has built a reputation for delivering a compelling retail experience to customers. Aimed at girls of all ages, their extensive range of customizable dolls available in a multitude of combinations of hair, eye and skin colours and shades, are[…]
4 Survival tips for middle market retailers
Amidst announced store closings by GAP and news of faltering sales for once untouchable middle market retailers Abercrombie & Fitch and J Crew, one of the hot topics of the moment is the questionable future of the middle market. But is it really the end for the middle market? Or simply time for a reset? Off-and-on for well over fifteen years, there have been many, both within and outside the retail industry, that have predicted the death of the middle market. Sure, the middle market has been and remains a tough market. With savvy middle-class consumers simultaneously trading-down on commodities[…]
Pan Am Superstore: Another missed opportunity?
After my last post regarding Toronto’s Pan Am Shop at Toronto Eaton Centre, I held out little hope for the seamless integration of a viable and memorable retail experience into the coming Pan Am Games. However, last weekend my hopes were buoyed, as quite by chance passing by Nathan Phillips Square, I spotted a large tent emblazoned with a sign, “Pan Am Superstore”. Hoping to stand corrected regarding my disappointment with Toronto’s Pan Am Games retail effort thus far, with great anticipation, I made my way over to the Pan Am Superstore this week. Even though a quick Google search[…]
Toronto’s Pan Am shop: Event retailing that falls short
In less than 5 weeks and after years of preparation, the long-awaited Pan Am Games will begin, but sadly Toronto has missed a huge opportunity to leverage event retailing. In an era when product simply doesn’t sell itself and experiences reign supreme, successful retailers across sectors have been ramping up their efforts, like never before, to engage customers. Yet, Toronto’s Pan Am shop at the Eaton Centre disappoints. Event retailing Event retailing, more than a peripheral courtesy, is a very real revenue stream, directly and indirectly. Like off-site team shops, event linked retail is more than an opportunity to dabble[…]