18 EDUCATIONAL TIPS Retail Revitalization The Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, is credited with the quote “the only constant is change.” While I am not certain of exactly when he made this proclamation, I agree with it… especially when it comes to retail. As a consumer and forever student of merchandising, I am fascinated by all the retail changes that I have seen during my life. Most of us have witnessed the growth of the big box store and the backlash that has come with it. We have also seen the tremendous growth of e-commerce, which has tripled as a percentage of total retail sales, in the last decade. Additionally, during a sixmonth period in 2020, growth in online sales matched the previous 10 years of progress. A statistic that illustrates our ingenuity and the determination of the retail community to find a way to survive. While a few pundits have expressed concern for the future of physical retail stores, we now know that in-person retail is here to stay. Online shopping and in-person shopping can and will exist concurrently in our future. BOPIS… buy online pick up instore, and its cousin, curbside pick-up, are terms that have become ubiquitous since the recent pandemic. Viva la brick-and-mortar! The keys to survival are retail readiness and a commitment to omnichannel selling. The average consumer WANTS to leave the house and go shopping. One of the godfathers of modern merchandising, Paco Underhill, goes to the anthropology book on us for his explanation of this phenomenon. He teaches us that human shopping behavior derives from our early hunter-gatherer days. Some of us, more than others, love to browse, shop, and browse some more… no matter how long it takes, until we find exactly what we need. Of course, we typically pick up a few “want” items along the way. Think about the act of thrifting. There are books, blogs, Facebook pages and offline clubs dedicated to the hobby of spending hours and hours in second-hand stores to find treasures and deals. It’s a big deal. According to the gurus at the University of Florida, “We shop to relieve stress, celebrate personal accomplishments, as a balm for depression and to make up for life's little disappointments.” Our job is to create environments that facilitate this. So, what defines readiness? A retail environment is ready when it is wellorganized, well-stocked store and designed with the customer’s comfort as a guide. The store must have adequate shelving, thoughtfully selected product mix that serves the needs and wants of shoppers, strategic placement of categories or departments and a competitive price structure. The essential add-ons include daily store conditioning and the execution of a strong, consistent in-store marketing plan. Many traditional retail strategies are also still relevant. For example, we know that American shoppers tend to walk to the right when they enter a store (the invariant right) and move in a counterclockwise direction through the retail space, so promotional items should be placed in key areas in order to draw traffic through the store. Routinely purchased categories, By Val Bell Byrd, Customer Merchandising Manager; NTP-STAG
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