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retail trends 2014
101
crafted
creative
new york
New York, New York,
Retail Trends Kit
Retro/VintageMake your store feel like home
Niche Smaller just got big...
Pop-UpThe element of surprise
Bradley Brand
Rural HipstersThe anti-brand revolution
SocialvenienceKeep customers in the loop
Ah don’t go... Make it a destination hot spot
CampfiresGet to know your customer
Show roomThe straight talking retailer
Real ValueValue fashion retailing
Go Poshand vend
cut out and keep
things are
getting
creative
the art of retailing...
little differences matter
To gain competitive advantage, retail spaces are being given a new creative lease of life with a view to capturing the interest of customers and getting them excited enough to come visit.
The creativity does not need to be across the whole store, one unique focal point that
can be easily adapted in order to stay
fresh and relevant seems to be the order
of the day. A simple example that struck us was a single pink light strip stretched across the wooden !oorboards of ABC Kitchen. Club Monaco’s wall of hand mirrors is another example, where they are bringing new meaning to the concept of ‘mirror mirror on the wall’.
Elsewhere, gra"ti wall art and creative visual strips added striking points of di#erence that didn’t seem to serve an obvious purpose, other than bringing an extra dimension of creative ‘je ne sais quoin’. Quirky elements in-store help create a de$nite sense of brand personality that people can relate to. What’s certain is that boring, antiquated retail layouts are a thing of the past. To keep people interested in the store’s o#er, a little !air goes a really long way.
We saw lots of stores with a subtle
quirky edge that makes them rather
remarkable and definitely unforgettable.
And retailers are frequently turning to
art to achieve this.
Drop in
Hang out
inviting consumers to come sit,
relax and hang out
No one does hospitality quite like the Americans. NYC retailers are always the $rst to welcome you with open arms into their store. Customers are
encouraged to drop by just to hang out.
More stores are becoming venues or destinations rather than simply a vehicle with the sole purpose of driving sales. Just being there is an experience and being seen there is marker of identity. For the $rst time retailers are giving over shelf and display space to create seating areas where customers can relax in the midst of their shopping experience.
The sales process has evolved and community is a key part of the package. At the centre point of any Ted Baker store you will $nd inviting armchairs by an open $replace, which encourage customers to sit and relax. All this cultivates an enjoyable in-store experience that resonates and encourages customers to return. Remember that as a retailer you are, by default, also a hospitality maker.
Tuned in
one size
fits all
a hobby shop for every enthusiast
Everybody you meet in New York is interested in something more wild, whacky or wonderful than the next. On the back of this, you can hardly walk a block without noticing that retailers are quickly breaking through their general ‘one size fits
all’ o#ers more unique retail experiences that are tailored to niche markets.
The ‘Buy American’ boutique store on Bond Street celebrate great everyday American-made products. Featuring clothing, home accessories and body creams, everything has been carefully selected and merchandised with skilled precision. The shop’s artisan feel lends itself to the credibility of its extensive range of 100% American hand-made products. You can’t but help buying into something that feels so authentic and purposeful.
For brands claiming to be expert, the
perception is changing from ‘bigger is
better’ to ‘smaller is best’. Even brands, like Nike and Adidas, are opening smaller, dedicated stores that are speci$c to one type of sport with a view to boosting the perceived credibility of their expertise. After all, can the big brands really be expert at everything?
If you can prove you really are expert,
customer-enthusiasts will be more
likely to identify and align with
your brand.
Great niche brand! www.rapha.cc
pop-up &
vend trends
from pop-up to vending:
what you need to know
The pop-up shop, now in it’s tenth year, is by no means a new concept… yet it’s as fresh and relevant as ever before. Why? Well, as a business model, pop–ups work not just because of their !exibility but because they create a sense of
ephemeral fun for consumers, something that is uncontrived and should be enjoyed now because of its ad-hoc and transitory nature. The impulsive nature that this business model creates more often than not translates into spontaneous purchases.
Global brand Kate Spade opens and closes a pop–up shop each month. ‘Kate Spade Saturday’ captures the carefree spirit of the weekend. Even its very name excites and entices customers to check out the o#er.
In store news, vending machines have gone posh, you heard it here $rst. A delicious example that we enjoyed (for research purposes of course!) was that o#ered by Sprinkles Cupcakes, who have developed the insanely clever cupcake ATM. This is retail genius for cupcake addicts on-the-go. Conveniently located outside the bakery, the Cupcake ATM is continuously restocked day and night with a variety of freshly baked cupcakes. For anyone time-starved this o#ers the perfect hunger buster solution.
real
valueeducate the shopper...
exceed expectations
The UNIQLO brand was omnipresent across each New York district. Fast becoming a global retail phenomenon, this brand and retail experience is essentially the Japanese answer to value fashion retailing (and so a rather sophisticated answer at that).
Self-described as ‘clothing with innovation
and real value’, this retail brand is bringing shock waves to the low-cost fashion retail sector and bringing about even greater expectations in consumer mindsets. How? UNIQLO’s range might be limited to every-day essentials, but the quality and performance of the product is outstanding, while the prices are incredibly low.
The functional design of these retail spaces are clever and e#ective by way of o#ering innovative stock storage solutions that blend well with a pleasurable shopping experience.
LGE SMLMED
sit & eat on
the street!
inviting consumers
to your brand’s campfire
Eating is at the epicenter of the NYC experience.Food is everywhere with a vast selection of food o#ered from street vendors, delicatessens and food-to-go retailers. What is surprising is
that every food shop is now offering
some sort of sit-in facility.
Why? These retailers are cherishing the opportunity to connect with customers and to make ‘food-on-the-go’ more comfortable
and appealing. And these sit-in facilities tend to be nothing fancy, often just a couple of tables and chairs, but it reinforces the message that these retailers are proud of their food o#er and are inviting you to try it.
The quality of food street vendors is on the up in NYC. And well branded too. You can take your pick of Indonesian curries, pork baps, burgers, juices, fancy salads and, of course, the infamous NYC hotdogs, plus so much more. And, as these street vendors become more and more successful, they’re expanding their o#er by moving inside.
As street vendors become more
successful, they’re expanding their offer
by moving inside. La Serena Taco’s is a
case in point, serving customers from
its iconic Volswagen Camper Van from
inside the shop!
cut out and keep
never sleeps
Socialvenience
Just when you think social media can’t become any more ubiquitous, 7-Eleven embrace it. In NYC, more stores are starting to run live feeds on !at screen monitors in-store to feed our social media obsession. 7-Eleven’s store o# Wall Street has a twenty-four hour news feed streaming on !at screens to entertain customers in their seating area. Quite a clever tool for messaging a captive audience.
Show rooming
A new trend called ‘show rooming’ has emerged and it’s not one for the most faint-hearted of retailers. Why? Because it’s all about price transparency and empowering consumers to shop only where they $nd the cheapest price. We’re seeing New York retailers providing tablets (or touch screen monitors) to quench the consumers’ thirst for excess product knowledge. To achieve this, transparency you must be con$dent that you have the best product range, competitive prices and excellent knowledge to assist the customer in selecting the right product for them.
One of the best examples we experienced was from great beauty retail brand Sephora. If Sephora don’t have the perfume you’re looking for in stock, they have touch points available that allow you to insert the scents you like and, by analysis of the fragrances that you select, they can suggest alternatives that would suit you. This helps instill con$dence in the customer that they are buying the right perfume. It’s particularly ideal for men who want to show some initiative but are scared of getting it wrong!
smart retail
Product reviews, advice, and
recommendations are all highly
valued, so it’s important to facilitate
customers so they can ‘explore from
in-store’.
hipsters
rural
anti-branding is like,
so hot right now...
Once upon a time, several years ago, in the heart of NYC, the hipster was born. As a tribe, they have multiplied in numbers around the globe ever since. But fast forward to 2014 and these urbanites seem to be getting more rural in their old age. There is a trend towards outdoor life occurring, with shops like Best Made selling clothing, camping equipment and luggage for the coolest-of-cool hipsters.
The hipster movement has inspired many retailers to become somewhat anti-brand. Ultimately this entails not rolling out identical stores in each location and, instead, choosing to localise the store experience with a view to embracing the local community culture.
Take, for instance, Jack Spade stores selling menswear in what are best described as old-school saloon bar settings. With the hipster movement we’re also seeing old, sometime antique products, get a new lease of life. Gramophones that play songs from iPods and classic armchairs are some of the contemporary products with vintage vibes that are appealing to this hip audience.
get hipsterised! www.jackspade.com
Let’s talk shop...
Andrew Bradley - Managing Director
t: 01 293 7787 www.bradleybrand.ie
Some final thoughts…
If you take away one key point, it’s that retailers are doing more than ever to create shopping experiences that consumers simply cannot resist. New York retailers are the $rst to beat to the newest drum. Whatever is hip, they are all about it.
They are the retail chameleons of this world - switching up their retail formats to blend right in with the cultures of an increasing variety of consumer tribes. Breaking from the mould and delivering something unique is the winning formula for success, so perhaps it’s time you started thinking outside the box to up the ante of your retail o#er!
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