VMSD - April 2017 - 13

THE GOODS

VOIC E S
Each week, we offer new perspectives from industry insiders to
complement our coverage and add a behind-the-scenes peek into retail
design. Go to vmsd.com/blog for more.

ERIC FEIGENBAUM, Embrace Design, on Euroshop 2017: This year, EuroShop exhibitors
found a comfortable, if not effective, position smack in the middle of
digital and brick-and-mortar, reflecting the need for the two to coalesce.
The debate is over; stores are not going away. However, retailers must
find a compelling reason to bring customers back into the fold ... To
stay on the front lines of retail engagement, retailers must focus on the
beauty of the store while curating the strategic deployment of technology throughout their brands' cultures as well as throughout the store environment. They
must bring the best of online into the store. The line between digital and physical is diminishing; they both are portals to a company's DNA and stepping stones on the path to purchase.

KATHLEEN JORDAN, Gensler, on making big data useful in retail: The future of retail
may be more like a category-centric library than a store or a showroom.
Rather than having product suggestions pushed to me based on previous searches, purchases or "likes" on sites, I would prefer a clearinghouse to push the information to me based on exactly what I'm looking
for. I envision a large, nave-like space (picture the Reading Room at the
Fifth Avenue New York Public Library) with large screens for accessing categorized information and resource options, with research cubicles off to the sides
where one can utilize VR or AR to see and play with product, possibly even side by side.
Once the perfect product is found, it can be ordered and purchased on a shopper's mobile
device, then shipped to their home. Hell, it may even get to your house before you do.

MYRA VAUGHN, MG2, on gifting for the generation that already knows what it wants:
As tech natives, Gen Z has pondered their wish list far in advance
of birthdays and holidays, and have probably communicated their
requests via email, text or social media, all equipped with links and
images. I was delighted when my 9-year-old son texted me in early
November with images and links to the items on his wish list, making
holiday shopping for him a cinch! But how can Gen Z be delightfully
surprised when they have thoughtfully crafted the items on their list in advance and with
purposeful intentions? Make it more exciting by adding in the experiential. This generation
has some amazing characteristics, which provide clues on how to take the items on their
wish list and turn them into meaningful, experiential gifts.

DAVID KEPRON, Marriott Intl., on the perception of value in a digital economy: Pablo
Picasso put the value equation this way: "Value is not intrinsic; it is not
in things. It is within us; it is the way which man reacts to the conditions
of his environment." Perceptions of value are often not a dollars-andcents thing, but very much part of our non-tangible emotions and a
set of beliefs we have about what the product will do for us. When we
consider that customers' perceptions of value often do not reside in the
thing they buy, but instead, in their feelings, we begin to shift our thinking to better address
customers' needs and wants.

VMSD.COM

APRIL 2017

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of VMSD - April 2017