New Retail Blog | Archive | Consumer Trends

Here Come the “Smarties”

Posted on 01. Sep, 2010 by Jon Bird.

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At the height of the Global Financial Crisis, when the economic sky was crashing in, commentators like J. Walker Smith of the Yankelovich Monitor were predicting a fundamental shift in consumerism. “The recent experience of frugality has ushered in an enduring era of penny-pinching and thrift that will utterly define the character and mindset of [...]

A Convenient Truth

Posted on 20. Apr, 2010 by Jon Bird.

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In an age where you can purchase just about anything at any time with a mouse click and have it delivered to your door, how are physical retailers retaliating? Some US merchants think they may have found the answer with the drive-through store. Wal-Mart, Kmart and Meijer are all testing the new format in the [...]

Merci Indeed

Posted on 17. Feb, 2010 by Jon Bird.

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Think “charity store” and you conjure up a small, overstocked, slightly dusty shop full of clothes and knick knacks of sometimes questionable taste, staffed by well-meaning volunteers with blue-rinse hairdos. Yes, sometimes you can pick up something really special, but you’ve got to search through a lot of haystacks to find that bright, shiny needle.
So [...]

Conversations with Customers

Posted on 15. Feb, 2010 by Jon Bird.

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“The future”, as William Gibson once said, “is already here. It’s just not evenly distributed.” So when I say that the future belongs to retailers who can successfully engage in one-on-one “conversations with customers”, you can already see the trend happening, but it’s not as widespread as it could be.
One retailer who is ahead of [...]

Interactive Technology and Retail Environments

Posted on 27. Jan, 2010 by Martin Osborne.

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Chain store retailers are gradually realising how Interactive Technologies can increase sales. Following are examples of this potential;
Proximity Marketing
Stores can install a Bluetooth device that sends an SMS to potential passing trade within range and with Bluetooth enabled mobile phones. This can attract attention to a store, advertise a current promotion or simply add to [...]

Licking the Windows

Posted on 27. Jan, 2010 by Jon Bird.

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They call it “leche-vitrine”, or literally “licking the windows”. The phrase is highly appropriate for the huge number of exquisite and tantalising patisseries, confiseries and chocolatiers in Paris. While on a recent trip to the French capital, one shop in particular had my tongue hanging out – La Cure Gourmande (translates roughly as the “cure” [...]

“Retail is for Suckers”

Posted on 26. Jan, 2010 by Jon Bird.

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Fans of the legendary US sitcom Seinfeld might remember the episode called “The Glasses”, where Kramer encourages George to visit a particular optometrist and mention his name in order to get 30% off. “Retail is for suckers”, says Kramer. Unfortunately for merchants wanting to protect their margins, there aren’t that many “suckers” left.
Yes, consumers have [...]

The G-Star Brand Experience

Posted on 10. Jan, 2010 by Martin Osborne.

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I bought my first pair of G-Star Elwood jeans in 1997 and I still wear them around the house occasionally. I remain surprised at the quality of their product, built like fashion architecture. I’ve since made many G-Star purchases and quality has been one of the reasons for my brand loyalty, the G-Star Brand Experience [...]

The Hermès Brand Experience

Posted on 08. Jan, 2010 by Martin Osborne.

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The Hermès brand, with its equestrian origin has greatly evolved since 1837 to become a statement of luxury. This prompted me to research the evolution of this iconic brand, from bridle to Pop-up Bar, in search of the essence of this unique brand experience.
Hermès first excited me in the early 1990’s when I had the [...]

Brand Experience

Posted on 07. Jan, 2010 by Martin Osborne.

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Brand represents the intellectual and emotional associations that people make with something. An experience is the interaction between people and their environment, anything our senses perceive. Experience co-exists with brand in our thoughts and feelings. Successfully co-ordinated Brand Experience can prompt and accelerate a target groups compulsion to take action and intensify and strengthen their [...]

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