#ric16

[retailtouchpoints]

RTP Editors Share Insights, Takeaways From #RIC16

This year’s Retail Innovation Conference gave the most entrepreneurial and creative retailers an opportunity to showcase how they’re driving change throughout the industry, whether through customer engagement, channel optimization or omnichannel fulfillment.

The RTP editorial team shares their top personal takeaways from #RIC16, highlighting the panels, sessions and speakers that specifically stood out in their eyes.

Debbie Hauss, Editor-in-Chief: I am truly inspired by every one of our retailer and industry experts speakers from #RIC16. My personal favorite part of hosting an event like this is getting retail colleagues together to share their stories, challenges and insights. This happened time and time again during the planning process and the 2 1/2 day event. With great expectations, I look forward to #RIC17! That said, we had a last-minute surprise presentation that was a breath of fresh air for all attendees: Kevin and Jen Lavelle, CEO and CMO of Mizzen+Main joined us to kick off the event on Tuesday morning. The husband-and-wife entrepreneurs inspired our attendees with their dedication to the authenticity of their brand, while bootstrapping all aspects of the development of a big brand with a small budget. Their story has lessons for companies of all types of sizes. It was the first time the pair presented together, but I'm sure it won't be the last!

Adam Blair, Executive Editor: While both the formal presentations and casual interactions throughout #RIC16 provided both information and inspiration, I was most impressed with just a few minutes during the Store Tour I led with my colleague David DeZuzio on Monday, May 9. The whole concept of these tours is excellent, giving we journalists, along with retailers and solution providers, the chance to see real-world retail in action. We all have the experience of being consumers in common, but these tours provide the (unfortunately rare) opportunity to pull back the curtain and see how retail really works. At Gilt at Saks Off Fifth, a great example of the merging of brick-and-mortar with online commerce, the Gilt sales associate patiently answered our group's questions about planning, merchandising, and the upcoming addition of Gilt By Appointment in this midtown Manhattan location. Her generosity was matched by the group's curiosity. It was a great example of the truth that at an event like this, insights don't just flow from the podium down to the audience; they also bubble up from the participants themselves.

Alicia Fiorletta, Content Strategist: At retail conferences, it's easy to get stuck in a business frame of mind: how to boost sales, drive long-term revenue and success. While important, the bottom line is only one piece of a successful retail brand. All our speakers at #RIC16 reaffirmed the importance of passion -- not only for their brands but for their customers. I loved learning how Bluemercury finds and onboards associates who love makeup and helping others, and of course, how Adore Me looks at potential employees' passion and ability to come up with innovative ideas rather than their retail experience. I think finding employees with heart and an enjoyment for learning and pushing business boundaries will be even more important in the future -- largely because the rules of retail are constantly being rewritten.  

David DeZuzio, Managing Editor: This was my first RIC and I loved it. It was said that the customer has always been in charge, but as a customer, I’ve never really felt that. I’ve felt as though I’ve always been a part of the retail model of the last 2,000 years that Ken Hughes expertly demonstrated. Listening to the Lavelle’s of Mizzen+Main and how Alton Lane really connects with their shoppers was something special; come to think of it, everyone was great. Retailers are really making a concerted effort to make sure that the customer is completely satisfied with their experience and their path to purchase. As the world of retail goes through the inherent ups and downs of sales and has its stars, both hot and fading, it’s nice to think that they really are thinking of the customer as something more than human ATM machines. RIC was also tremendously inspiring. I came up with at least four different business ideas I would love to follow through on. Anyone have a spare $4 million?

Klaudia Tirico, Associate Editor: As this was my first Retail Innovation Conference, there wasn’t a single session that didn’t inspire me in some way. Being new to the industry, I learned a lot about the ever-evolving world of retail. One of most enlightening sessions for me was listening to Ernan Roman of ERDM talk about customer experience innovation. It was fascinating to hear real-life feedback from consumers about personalization based on his research. Turns out, many consider marketers’ ideas of it to be old fashioned. Consumers want more than just a personalized email sent to them based on transaction history and they are willing to share valuable data to get to that level of personalization. At the end of the day, retailers should focus on the customers’ wants and needs, even if it means turning the tables on traditional strategies.  

Glenn Taylor, Associate Editor: In attending RIC for the second time, it was excellent to see so many retail executives intent on transforming the industry in one place at the same time. With so many outside-the-box thinkers under one roof, you just know that there will be plenty of ideas thrown around. One presentation that impressed me in particular was the panel including Shawn Nelson of Lovesac and Jerry Hum of Touch of Modern. While both retailers had very different product offerings, their stories fascinated me because of their abilities to start (and stick with) the company from the ground up. As someone who has purchased from Touch of Modern in the past, I do enjoy that the company continues to provide an unique curation of products designed for a 21st century shopper. While I have yet to have any personal experience with Lovesac’s offering, the fact that they have molded such a successful business off of essentially two patented pieces is a huge testament to their marketing and ability to make those products customizable. With stories like these, I’m already looking forward to what next year’s conference has in store!

Do you happen to know any retailers spearheading disruptive campaigns? Nominations for the 2017 Retail Innovator Awards are already open!

[retailtouchpoints]

#RIC16 Showcases The Continuing Relevance Of The Retail Store

By Glenn Taylor, Associate Editor

To close out #RIC16, Maureen Mullen, Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder of L2, made a blunt statement reflecting the state of the retail industry today: “It’s going to be increasingly difficult to compete in e-Commerce without an omnichannel strategy.”

Where once the message to brick-and-mortar retailers was to get online as quickly as possible, today it's the pure play merchants who are being advised to establish a physical presence — and to do it quickly. Online-only retailers need to differentiate themselves from the industry's behemoth, Amazon, as much (if not more so) than more traditional enterprises.

Amazon’s clout can't be overstated: The retailer accounted for a whopping 24% of the entire industry’s sales growth in 2015. On top of this, Amazon has a 36% share of online sales among the top 50 U.S. e-Commerce retailers.

Stores Provide Path To Profitability

Even as total e-Commerce purchases continue to increase year-over-year, the store’s influence can’t be denied, particularly when looking at the success of retailers that have gravitated away from online-only sales.

“Stores aren’t an expense,” Mullen said during her presentation. “Stores are a path to profitability.”

In the case of once-pure play retailers such as Trunk Club, Warby Parker, Proper Cloth and Rent The Runway, their organic search traffic online shot up tremendously as each merchant opened up their own brick-and-mortar stores. With organic reach becoming more of a challenge as retailers flood the market, showcasing physical stores will be increasingly necessary as a means to broaden awareness of the brand as a whole.

The work done by these retailers exemplifies what can be accomplished when thinking outside the box and taking steps that may traditionally be considered risky.

“Innovation can be convenient or cool,” said Colin Hunter, CEO of Alton Lane during a "Meet the Disruptors" panel discussion at #RIC16. “If it's not convenient or cool, it's not worth doing.”

While the “go omnichannel or go home” philosophy may be daunting for retailers struggling just to make their mark in a single channel, there can be a bright future ahead if they trust in their store offerings, hire more digitally-oriented executives and employees, and test out newer delivery models.

Even the current top-performing retailers aren't immune to competitive forces: far from it. Kasey Lobaugh, Principal of Deloitte Consulting, indicated in his #RIC16 keynote panel that the top 25 retailers have actually lost 2% of their market share since 2009, equating to approximately $64 billion. First and foremost, this indicates that there are companies disrupting the retail environment effectively enough to take revenue away even from the industry's powerhouses. While this money isn’t going to the big names, it isn’t going away; it’s just going someplace else, said Lobaugh.

Additionally, it shows that these young guns are actually winning over consumers in a way many top traditional retailers haven’t been able to accomplish, creating a better blueprint for how omnichannel retailing can be carried out in 2016 and beyond.

[retailtouchpoints]

Retail Innovation Conference 2016 Kicks Off With NYC Store Tours

By Klaudia Tirico, Associate Editor

For the second year, Retail TouchPoints’ Retail Innovation Conference kicked off its three-day event with Store Tours across New York City. Executives from both in and out of town were given a chance to see how retailers tackle the in-store experience with technology, merchandise and unique engagement strategies.

Studies show that 92% of retail sales still take place in stores, but that doesn’t mean retailers shouldn’t be evolving to enhance the in-store experience for customers. The stores we visited this year each have their own way of making shopping fun, and of inspiring customers to visit their brick-and-mortar locations. Here are just a few of the stops on our tour, and how these retailers are upping the ante on the in-store experience.

Rebecca Minkoff

At designer Rebecca Minkoff’s Greene Street location, customers are invited to interact with a 122-inch touchscreen to virtually assemble outfits. The store’s RFID-tagged items are then delivered to a customer’s fitting room based on what they choose on their touchscreen, and the shoppers are invited to the fitting room via text message when their selections are ready to try on.  

96 Greene St. (between Prince & Spring Streets)

Alton Lane

Alton Lane takes shopping for menswear to another level. Aside from offering a multiple ways ways to customize a suit, the store invites men to hang out in their “speakeasy”-style location, enjoy a glass of whiskey and watch a sporting event. Additionally, Alton Lane’s cutting-edge fitting room technology takes a laser image of customers to ensure the right fit.

11 W. 25th St. Floor 5 (at Broadway)

Timberland

Even though the Timberland store in Herald Square is small, it packs a lot of punch in terms of customer experience. Most of the inventory is RFID-tagged and customers are encouraged to use store-supplied tablets to create wish lists and have items delivered to their homes. There is also a “Design Your Own” section where customers can use a large, interactive screen to create a customized shoe, and a “Lace Bar” for a quick and easy shoe update.

28 W 34th St. (between 5th & 6th Aves.)

Macy’s

Macy’s Herald Square is the ultimate shopping tourist attraction, with an entire level of women’s shoes, a food-truck-inspired food court, and digital signage displayed throughout the massive department store. The basement level is specifically targeted to Millennials, with a charging lounge and a wearable tech section. Interactive displays include an extra-large “Selfie Wall” that lets customers take photos with iconic New York City destinations, such as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and Macy’s Fireworks.

151 W. 34th St. (on Broadway or 7th Ave.)

Retail TouchPoints encourages you to visit these unique stores the next time you’re in New York City. There is plenty of inspiration to go around!

[retailtouchpoints]

Cheers To Retailers Focused On Social Good

By Debbie Hauss, Editor-in-Chief

I am happy to report that I'm hearing about a lot of retail companies stepping up their efforts to improve the world beyond their own bottom line. I know this may sound a bit corny and cliché, but in my opinion, every person and business should think about what they can do to make the world a better place for future generations.

Of course, it's even better if these socially responsible efforts improve business. Over a six-year period, 52% of consumers said they purchased at least one product or service from a socially responsible company, according to Nielsen research. The same percentage of consumers also said they check product packaging to ensure brands are delivering on their socially responsible promises.

During the Retail Innovation Conference, May 9-11 at the Apella in New York City, a panel of retail executives will share their perspectives and experiences with cause marketing and social good projects. The session will be moderated by Greg Buzek, President of IHL Services and Founder of RetailROI — an organization focused on helping children around the world. Attendees also will hear from four retailers who are very passionate about their different approaches to social responsibility:

Marci Zaroff, Founder, Under The Canopy

Bridget Burns, Social Media Strategist, Tom's of Maine

Mary Holahan, Digital Marketing Manager, Dick’s Sporting Goods

Kane Calamari, President, Ace Hardware Foundation

I'd like to highlight just a few other retail companies we've covered on the Retail TouchPoints site, that are dedicated to social good in different ways, including a focus on sustainability, energy efficiency, education, hunger and much more:

Zappos is partnering with Natural Capital Partners to support forest projects in Mississippi, Chile and Brazil. Carbon offsets from these projects will mitigate more than 6.8 million miles of company air travel (to more than 25 different countries), making Zappos’ corporate travel carbon neutral in 2016 and beyond. The project was developed by Zappos’ Travel, Sustainability & Brand Aura departments.

Simon Property Group (Simon Malls) is working with Current, powered by GE, a digital power service, to deliver the next generation of efficient, intelligent malls. Through the partnership, Simon plans to install intelligent LEDs, electric vehicle charging stations and demand response systems across 200 properties.

Boll and Branch has developed a line of environmentally friendly sheets, towels and luxury bedding, with a strong focus on fair trade.

Many retailers — including Nike, IKEA and Target — have joined forces with the White House to combat climate change. A total of 81 companies, representing a variety of industries, have pledged to support the American Business Act on Climate.

These examples are just a snapshot of the efforts put forth by retailers and all types of businesses. As a reporter and consumer, I look forward to even more good news like this from the retail industry, year after year.