I was fortunate to attend the National Retail Federation Expo in New York on January 11-12. I had not attended for a number of years so it was quite fascinating to see what has changed and what has stayed the same.

On the surface, the show continues to be a retail technology showcase; however software, not hardware, has become the centerpiece of the show. I was surprised to see that some of the same business problems that challenged retailers 20 years ago (POS automation, supply-chain management, etc.) are still a focal point of many of the solution providers. There was one clear emerging trend that appeared throughout the conference – retail is changing from being supply-chain driven to consumer focused.

Over the last 20 – 30 years, most retailers’ investment in technology and management attention has been focused on supply-chain optimization. I don’t think anyone was suggesting that this was wrong; after all, getting the right goods, to the right place, and the right time is essential to good retailing. It’s just that a lot of people are now saying the game has changed.

Consumer-centric retailing focuses first on the customer experience and then builds everything from that starting point – product/menu offering, retail environment, marketing, customer service, etc. Some think that changing this focus is necessary to respond to what is believed to be a fundamental shift in consumer motivation. The idea that many consumers, particularly active social media participants, are driven to retail more for the experience and less to buy “stuff” is very significant.

I can’t say that I have fully digested this concept and what it might mean to retail. However, it does raise some interesting ideas, some of which were mentioned at the show:

• Localization – Stores that are merchandised (product, price, signage) uniquely to reflect local consumer tastes and interests
• Pop-up retail – Portable “stores” that can be moved by truck throughout the day
• Temporary stores – Stores set up for short periods (days or weeks) in response to local market events
• Theatric spaces – Stores that have been designed as “must see” destinations with extreme art and architecture
• Dynamic environments – Retail spaces that change frequently (weekly, daily or even throughout the day) through the use of lighting and changeable graphics to create a dynamic customer experience.
• Fast fashion – New fashion delivered to stores within two weeks of concept

These trends point to a need for agility and speed in your marketing processes; I think these topics are worthy of future blogs posts. Let me know if you agree; send me your comments to blog@synqsolutions.com, and I’ll post them.