A Look Back: Our Favorite 2018 Retail Trends
2018 is over…finally! It was a long year – one that started with the Winter Olympics (yes, we had the Olympics this year) and high schoolers eating Tide Pods. In retail news, we said goodbye to Toys”R”Us, hello to oat
An All-Encompassing Trend: Why Health and Wellness Retail Is About More Than Vitamins
The start of the new year can only mean one thing: it’s time for resolutions. And for many consumers, that list of goals for the upcoming year starts with wellness through healthy choices. Health and wellness retail is their starting
Retail Storytelling: Uniting Products Under a Theme
The Night Before Christmas, The Polar Express, The Gift of the Magi, Love & Latkes. Who doesn’t love a great story? During the holidays, everyone cuddles up with our favorite seasonal stories. Now, storytelling is extending to how you merchandise, not
Calculated Risk: A Marketing Lesson Learned from the Nike Kaepernick Gamble
Last year’s Nick Foles Super Bowl trick play on 4th down for the TD. Going for the three-point buzzer beater and the Big Dance win. The defensive slide tackle on a counter that’s either a PK or a game-saving stop at
Physical Retail’s 80/20 Rule Is Rapidly Changing. Is Your Store Ready?
The 80/20 rule for brick and mortar stores meant stocking their shelves with 80% basics and 20% items that would delight and surprise shoppers. E-commerce changed that balance. With a click on your device, you can instantly order everything from
Retail Holiday Creep: Pros and Cons of (Too) Early Retailer and Retail Brand Displays
Today is the spookiest day of the year – and it’s also one of retail’s sweetest and tastiest. After the kids crash from sugar overload, the last cobweb is swept up and the witch’s hat is hung up until next
Rotating Pop-Up Retail — The Trick to Compelling Return Visits
Everyone loves good pop-up retail. With inventive cross-brand partnerships and creative merchandising, you entice customers into your store for an exciting purchasing experience. And there’s the rub. One pop-up. One experience. One visit. Why not turn one visit into two?
Rethinking Consumer Retail Tech to Target Younger Audiences
Over the past decade, consumer retail tech has advanced rapidly. Flat-screen televisions, gaming consoles and MP3 players used to dominate the market, sold primarily at big-name tech stores like Best Buy. Today, smartphones and other smart devices lead tech sales
The Original Holiday Pop-Up: What Retailers Can Learn from Spirit Halloween
Holiday pop-up retail defies expectations. The so-called retail apocalypse has in fact claimed a lot of victims. Circuit City, Toys”R”Us, Borders are all resting peacefully in the graveyard of “shoppings past”. But amidst all of the passings, there’s one retailer
Beautifying Experiences: Tech-Savvy Services Boost Beauty Retail
Beauty retail is booming. Of all retail sectors, it’s the one that appears unstoppable, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in brick-and-mortar shops. The greatest way we see beauty retailers innovating right now is through the marriage of tech
The Incredible Power of Movie Retail Partnerships
Soon to be released on DVD, Incredibles 2 has already stirred up a world of marketing buzz for movie retail partnerships. For the cinematic release in June, Disney partnered with no fewer than 14 brands ranging from McDonald’s to Zillow. The
Pop-Up Retail Moments at NYFW: Feminism, Color and Eye-Catching Experiences
Around Manhattan, Labor Day signals two things: the end of the summer and the arrival of New York Fashion Week (NYFW). This year was no different, with designers, retailers, models and celebrities descending on the Big Apple for a week
Are You Ready for Holiday Retail 2018?
We are happy to present Rich Kizer and Georganne Bender as our Guest Bloggers this week writing about holiday retail. Rich and Georganne are consumer anthropologists, keynote speakers, authors, consultants who have helped thousands of businesses in retail, restaurant, hospitality,
The Pinterest to Retail Revolution: Leveraging the Platform to Inspire Younger Shoppers
Decorations for a birthday cake. Patterns for a knit sweater. Innovative ideas for bedroom organization. Pinterest to retail. Pinterest has become the place for finding inspiration for retail DIY projects. This is especially true for the younger generations. Sixty-seven percent of
Athleisure Isn’t Going Away, It’s Going Up
Sports brands aren’t just for athletes anymore. Athleisure has been disrupting the sports and fashion industries for some time. But now this trend is gaining massive momentum beyond the confines of these two sectors. In 2016, for the first time
Plants, Fizz and the Pursuit of Healthiness at the 2018 Fancy Food Show
Three days. Six football fields of walking, 2,600 exhibitor stands, 200,000 specialty products. Eating our way through the 2018 Fancy Food Show was an exhausting – yet delicious – task. The event was never more timely. The specialty food market is
Shopping Physical Stores: The New Fashion Retail Experience Is About Service, Not Products
We’ve been told the opposite again and again, but the truth is consumers still like shopping – and they still enjoy shopping physical stores. In a survey of consumers across age groups and genders, 27% of all consumers found that shopping
The Art of Thriving: Why Some Brick and Mortar Retailers Do and Others Don’t
5 Differentiating Strategies for Brick and Mortar Survival It’s a popular myth that brick and mortar retail is nearing extinction; in reality, strong strategies and effective execution can support thriving in-store retail. Brick and mortar survival is simply a matter
Recreational Marijuana Dispensaries: A Modern Lesson in Retail
When legalized recreational marijuana burst onto the scene across eight states, a whole new category of retailer emerged too: recreational marijuana dispensaries. Long gone are the days of sketchy head shops with dark paneling, dim lighting and dodgy-looking shelves. In
Nine Questions to Ensure Effective Retail Store Merchandising
How many times have you heard a shopper exclaim, “Those Rococo-inspired chairs in the corner make me want to buy sweaters in every color you have!”? Never. Because it’s retail store merchandising, not retail store decorating. Interior decorating speaks to