1rends |n reta|||ng

CusLomers ln ConLrol l wroLe abouL Lhls Lrend ln my column lasL week lL's all abouL Lhe power
shlfL flrsL from manufacLurers Lo reLallers and now Lo consumers and how (as uS Wlred
Magazlne puLs lL) shoppers are beaLlng reLallers aL Lhelr own game" 1echnology ls drlvlng Lhls
Lrend eg smarLphone prlce comparlson apps deal of Lhe day" webslLes and overseas onllne
shopplng whlch l'll dlscuss furLher under Lrend #9 ConsLanLly ConnecLed" 8eLaller
references Croupon Amazon
2 IlnLage 8eLall ?ou can already see Lhls Lrend emerglng wlLh vlnLage (greaL Lerm for
secondhand) collecLlons ln 1op Shop London and SporLsglrl here and lL wlll gaLher momenLum ln
20 used wlll be huge ln !apan (ofLen a wlndow lnLo Lhe fuLure) kln[l ls a ma[or (and cool)
preloved cloLhlng chaln and 8ook Cff ls a masslve secondhand books manga and Cu reLaller
wlLh 866 sLores across Lhe counLry 8eLaller references Levls IlnLage 8ook Cff
3 SLore as Lxperlence CenLres Cnllne ls devasLaLlngly effecLlve as a LransacLlon medlum lL's a
fasL efflclenL way Lo browse compare and purchase 8uL lL can'L compeLe wlLh physlcal reLall
when lL comes Lo dellverlng an experlence 8eLallers wlll need Lo lnvesL more ln creaLlng
experlence cenLres" whlch should be always hlghLouch ofLen hlghLech and deslgned Lo geL
Lalked abouL llke Lhe Apple SLores all over Lhe world 8eLaller references naLlonal Ceographlc
London Selfrldges London AnLhropologle uS and uk
4 1hls 1lme lL's ersonal 1he Lrend Lo cusLomlsaLlon of producLs and servlces has been gaLherlng
sLeam for a couple of years and lL's deflnlLely one Lo waLch ln Lhe nlke SLore ln Para[uku 1okyo
earller Lhls year l esLlmaLed LhaL 60 per cenL of Lhe shoes and apparel on sale were
cusLomlsable And when l vlslLed Anya Plndmarch 8espoke ln London Lhe whole concepL was
orlenLed Lowards Lallored producL such as handbags and keepsake boxes As Plndmarch says
1he ldea (ls) LhaL someLhlng has your name on lL noL mlne" 8eLaller references nlke
(especlally Lhelr concepL sLore 223 loresL) Anya Plndmarch 8espoke
3 All klnds of Commerce 1he fuLure ls ln allowlng your cusLomer Lo purchase when and where
she wanLs Lo 1haL wlll lnclude LradlLlonal (lnsLore) commerce ecommerce mcommerce
(moblle) fcommerce (facebook) scommerce (soclal) and vcommerce (vldeoenabled eg
?ou1ube) 8eLaller 8eference lrench ConnecLlon ?ou 1ube channel
,8 $,08: II retailers are Iacing wear-out with price-based promotions, then the next
logical step is to invent new sales events At this point, 'Saturday-morning deals and
'Tuesday only discounts are old hat Going Iorward, retailers should use the experience
oI shopping in-store as inspiration Ior new events Is it possible to create an aIter work,
social, shopping event? In many ways, store-based retailers can learn Irom online
retailers Gilt, Rue La La, HauteLook, and the grand dame oI them all, Vente Privee
have created huge online businesses by tapping into deep-rooted desires Ior deals and
designer goods On the opposite end oI the spectrum, the deal-oI-the-day site, Woot, has
created a legion oI Ians who snap up gadgets, t-shirt, wine, and occasionally, a paper bag
Iilled with miscellaneous junk Clearly, 'Ilash retailing is in its inIancy
reen ] Crgan|c ] Lnv|ronmenta||y Ir|end|y 1he envlronmenLally consclous push ln reLall
conLlnues Lo galn LracLlon and ls clearly here Lo sLay Whlle we don'L expecL wholesale swlLches
Lo envlronmenLally frlendly pracLlces or maLerlals we expecL reLallers Lo adopL any change LhaL
ls cosL neuLral and many LhaL have sllghLly lncremenLal cosLs 1hls ls a vlrLuous cycle As more
reLallers clamor for ecofrlendly soluLlons cosLs of Lhese soluLlons fall enabllng more reLallers
Lo clamor for ecofrlendly soluLlons and so on