New digitally tuned-in retail fixtures may help department stores regain some of the fashion authority they have given up to specialty stores and mass merchants. The Virtual Personal stylist, developed by nG Connect Program, takes away some of the frustration of fitting rooms and messy makeup counters by enabling customers to “try on” apparel and [...]
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In-store web access In an effort to draw customer focus to the store as the primary means of merchandise distribution, some retailers are turning to in-store Internet-connected kiosks to engage customers, provide convenience, and increase shopping satisfaction. A digital misstep Best Buy was one of the pioneers of the customer-oriented Internet workstation in the early [...]
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Gone are the days of retail product-and-service assortments that reflect a single brand! New store brand synergy is juxtaposing complementary brands in retail environments that tempt new customers, provide time-saving convenience, and give shoppers a satisfying, novel customer experience. International, avant-garde retail brand convergence The U.K.’s avant-garde Monocle Magazine that features an inventive mix of [...]
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Posted in Innovation, Retail Strategy on Apr 15th, 2011
“Mobile retailing” no longer involves only smartphones. It’s hard to believe, but shoppers get more demanding year by year, forcing retailers to be ever more creative in their merchandise distribution methods and the customer experience they deliver. Several new examples of stores on wheels are offering unique ways of connecting with shoppers where they live. [...]
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As early as September of last year, several news sources, including Forbes, announced that Walmart was scouting locations for a new small retail format. Now it is official. On March 16, the company that made popularized the supercenter concept at 185,000 sq. ft., began construction on Walmart Express, a 14,400-square-foot store in Gentry, Arkansas, a [...]
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Gone are the days of in-store communications with a static message that is replaced seasonally or as a result of a new advertising campaign! By integrating proximity marketing with digital signs, messages can be matched to consumers’ interests, shopping trends, or demographics. Shoppers with shared characteristics tend to shop at certain times. Digital signage, informed [...]
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What tech innovation is providing a Bloomingdale’s location with inventory accuracy of 95%, Dillard’s a 96% time savings in cycle counts, and American Apparel with 14% increase in sales? Many retailers are keeping closed mouthed regarding their testing of Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) tagging at the item level, but industry reports indicate that J.C. Penney has [...]
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