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;[…]
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[…]
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[…]
Apple Watch: Why Apple’s new retail strategy is just the beginning
With the launch of their long-awaited Watch, Apple has implemented a game-changing strategy to position themselves as leaders in the wearable tech market, choosing to aggressively target the luxury consumer rather than relying on their core customers. However, luxury consumers, specifically fashion-savvy consumers, can be a hard sell. With obstacles to surmount, Apple’s new retail strategy is only the first step in what has to be a long-term strategy. Apple’s new retail strategy Apple has always been an innovator, carving out their own niche by bringing beautifully designed-designed and user-friendly technology to the masses while redefining the customer experience along[…]
5 Reasons for art in retail
Some retailers have become curators and patrons of the arts, highlighting local artists and emerging artists or even internationally renowned artists within their retail locations. Far from a fleeting trend, leading-edge retailers across the globe have embraced the concept of art in retail. On an international level, Selfridges in the UK has a long history of hosting exhibitions and commissioning professional and amateur artists to create sculptural installations and windows displays; Reiss, the fashion retailer, has collaborated with artists for a travelling exhibit in their locations in the Middle East; Anthropologie often interjects playful rotating installations into their stores, and[…]
Why off-site team shops make sense
Recently, while wandering through the Toronto Eaton Centre, I discovered nestled there among national and international retailers, a Toronto Blue Jays store. Even though the store launched last August, not being a sports fans per se, nor a frequenter of that part of the mall, I was unaware of its existence. Spotting it, I was intrigued. Typically, stadiums and arenas are the domain of team shops, but here in the foremost shopping centre in downtown Toronto, it was a surprise – but somehow a pleasant surprise. The Jays Shop is the first such team shop in Toronto, neither located directly[…]
New Anthropologie store: From neglected church to lifestyle temple
Just before Christmas, a new Anthropologie store opened – another outpost in Toronto, for the popular American retailer of clothing and housewares. The location: a 19th century church in the heart of Queen St. West that has been respectfully renovated and converted into a cathedral of fashion – or perhaps more accurately a lifestyle temple. Go west Queen St. West The location in itself, is one on the leading edge of the gradual westward creep of national and international retail chains, along Queen St. West. Over the past two decades, gentrification has been changing the face of retail along[…]
5 Retail Learnings from Cirque du Soleil
Recently while enjoying the current Cirque du Soleil show, Kurios, it struck me that many of the principles behind their success could be applicable to the world of retail. Behind the wildly creative costumes, clever sets and spectacular performances lay some very simple ideas that create some of the magic that is Cirque du Soleil: in particular 5 simple ideas that retailers can learn from to make their own magic. 1. Change it up From their beginning in 1984, Cirque du Soleil has never rested on their laurels, instead continuing to reinvent and innovate year after year. They have constantly[…]