design:retail - April/May 2016 - (Page 32)

shopper insights 032 Humanizing Retail LUCIE GREENE WORLDWIDE DIRECTOR OF THE INNOVATION GROUP J. WALTER THOMPSON INTELLIGENCE jwtintelligence.com I N A FOLLOW UP TO her February column, "The Curious Consumer," Lucie Greene of J. Walter Thompson Intelligence looks at additional key emerging retail themes on the horizon for 2016. So, what's next? THE HUMAN ADDRESS For years, online retailers have lamented the state of shipping. Jennifer Hyman, CEO of Rent the Runway, believes a disruptive approach is the answer. "The delivery network needs to be completely ripped up and recreated," she said at this year's South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive. "We need to put UPS and FedEx out of business." Startups are ditching aspects of shipping long taken for granted. Shyp recently announced "address-free shipping"-customers have usernames synced to physical addresses and delivery preferences. People sending packages now only need to remember whom they are sending an item to. Why it's interesting: Even un-sexy industries like logistics are now getting the slick Silicon Valley treatment, with huge implications for delivery. SATELLITE RETAIL Retailers may soon be making important decisions based on images from outer space. "The plummeting price-performance curve in satellite technology means that entrepreneurs are launching cubesats into orbit to beam images back in very high resolution," says Sophie Hackford, director of Wired Consulting in London. The Orbital Insight startup combines photos of retailers' parking lots with deep-learning image analysis to track traffic to stores in real time. Working in partnership with big data platform DigitalGlobe, the company converted data on 700 million cars collected over APRIL/MAY 2016 DESIGNRETAILONLINE.COM 48 hours into insights on national shopping behavior for its Wall Street clients. Why it's interesting: Unable to shield their business data from the eyes in the sky, retailers will have to adapt to a more transparent reality. NEXT-LEVEL GEO-TARGETING At the technology conference WSJDLive, Google revealed a new service that expands access to its search data for retailers, allowing them to build geographic heat maps based on product searches. The initial version of this tool includes data about more than 5,000 products available through Google Shopping, targeted to 16,000 U.S. cities and towns, updated monthly. Google also continues to develop its Local Inventory Ads program, which allows mobile advertising to be targeted to consumers based on whether a given product is in stock at nearby retail outlets. Why it's interesting: The increased desire for real-time, location-sensitive information speaks to the growing importance of mobile in driving retail. VIRTUAL REALITY RETAIL Retailers already are flirting with virtual GLOBALSHOP.ORG reality (VR) experiences. The North Face has experimented with Google Cardboard, and Tommy Hilfiger's Fifth Avenue store installed Samsung Gear VR headsets, immersing shoppers in a virtual journey to view and shop the label's fall fashion show. "Retailers won't be the only ones retailing," Hackford says. "We will not be looking at our screens any more, rather through them, and the world will be tagged with opportunities to buy and click direct from the environment." Why it's interesting: The number of active VR users is forecasted to reach 171 million by 2018, according to a 2015 Statista survey. Retailers are seeking direct sales opportunities, as well as enriching the consumer's experience of the brand, using VR. COMMUNITY STORES More global brands are opening physical stores that aim not only to drive sales, but also to provide a social benefit to the surrounding community. Nike continues to expand its Community Store program, with locations in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Los Angeles. On a smaller scale, H&M's offshoot brand & Other Stories is also integrating a social mission into its storefronts. Its second U.S. store on New York's Fifth Avenue offers a "free library" with books about plants and flowers, a core part of the brand's identity. Why it's interesting: Although e-commerce has supplanted many functions of the traditional bricks-and-mortar store, physical retail offers a better opportunity to demonstrate a brand's social mission in an authentic way. LUCIE GREENE IS THE WORLDWIDE DIRECTOR OF THE INNOVATION GROUP FOR J. WALTER THOMPSON INTELLIGENCE, A GLOBAL PRACTICE FOR DATA, RESEARCH, INSIGHT, TRENDS AND INNOVATION. JWTINTELLIGENCE.COM Illustration by AURIELAKI/ISTOCK/THINKSTOCK http://www.jwtintelligence.com http://www.JWTINTELLIGENCE.COM http://www.DESIGNRETAILONLINE.COM http://www.GLOBALSHOP.ORG

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of design:retail - April/May 2016

design:retail - April/May 2016
Table of Contents
Editor’s Note
On Trend
On Trend
We Love This!
Designer Picks
Clicks & Mortar
Inspirations
Postcard
Mingle
Have You Heard?
Perspectives
Shopper Insights
Shopping with Paco
20th Annual Markopoulos Award
The Markopoulos Circle Past
Heritage
Oiselle
40 Under 40
GlobalShop Roundup
Products
Backstory

design:retail - April/May 2016