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Taking a break
I’m taking a break from my blog. I hope to be back soon. Meanwhile you can follow me on social media @retailseen.
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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,…
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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…
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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?…
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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…
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Saje: Riding the latest wave of wellness retail
More than ever before consumers, aware and mindful of their health, are actively striving for a healthy lifestyle – and seeking retailers that can enable them. Driven by consumer demand, health and wellness retail has been one of the fastest growing retail sectors of the past few years. More than a fleeting trend, the sector…
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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…