design:retail - April/May 2016 - (Page 34)

shopping with paco 034 It's Prom Season PACO UNDERHILL CEO & FOUNDER ENVIROSELL p.underhill@envirosell.com F OR SO MANY American teenage girls, the seminal social event of the year is the prom. The dress, the make-up, the hair and the chance to slip the bonds of jeans and work-out pants. But, the event that many of us remember is now going through a transformation driven by social media and the evolution of sexuality. For those of us that came of age 30 years ago, we remember the agony of exclusion- wondering whom to ask or whether you'd be asked. Somehow the few in the in-crowd had it figured out; the rest suffered. I always associated my prom experiences with acne breakouts. Social historians root the origin of proms in the late-19th century as a form of social training. Even the word, which is a shortened form of "promenade," is the act of parading to be seen. The social elite sent their children to cotillions to learn formal dances. What started with a coat and tie and Sunday School dress somehow morphed into something else. For the guy, it was renting the tux, paying for the corsage, and figuring out how to get there and back with the least amount of embarrassment. How many coming-of-age teenage movies were rooted in prom disasters? Yet hand it to a new generation of teens just as interested in coming of age, but smart enough to cut through the mustard and figure out how to have a guaranteed good time. And, more importantly, recognize a generation of empowered young women ready to change the paradigm. Today's girls are not waiting to be asked; prom participation is not date-dependent anymore. In fact, the girls are realizing they have a better time and potentially make a bigger social splash if they APRIL/MAY 2016 DESIGNRETAILONLINE.COM choose to go with their girlfriends rather than with a date. Thanks to services like Rent the Runway and reality shows like "Say Yes to the Dress," a teenage girl's fashion sophistication has changed dramatically in the 21st century. One interesting result of that growing sophistication is that Internet sales of prom dresses over the past five years have declined as girls realized that going cheap has potential social costs. The purpose is clear: none of the Crêpe de Chine poufy sleeve stuff. We're talking leg slits, cleavage and cutouts; no one wants to blend in with the woodwork. The independent merchants have learned that layaway works. The girl that comes in February finds the dress of her dreams, puts 30 percent down in cash, and then makes weekly deposits until the dress is paid for. The default rate is minimal. For both the girls and often the moms, layaway also works because it is under Daddy's radar screen. Given the average price is around GLOBALSHOP.ORG $400, not counting shoes, bling and everything else, many fathers are deeply skeptical of the whole thing. At Asiye's Boutique in Madison, Conn., men are discouraged from coming up to the floor where promwear is sold. With seven dressing rooms on an early spring Saturday afternoon, it is estrogen central. As happy as the girls are, the closing process has gotten a lot more complicated and considerably longer as social media has entered the dressing room. Each dress gets three selfies-front, back and side-that are posted for peer opinion. Thus, the branding of the dressing room and planning for the selfies is all part of the guerilla marketing effort. A reward of free matching earrings for a five-star posting doesn't hurt either. The integration of social media in prom dress shopping is an accelerant to the industry. Getting free of the need for a date has given even the wallflowers confidence. The prom continues to be dominated by small independent merchants willing to focus on a seasonal business. Some negotiate exclusives with their vendors, giving them the ability to promise their buyers that no one will wear the same dress to the same function. Layaway is about a cash sale that the small merchant loves and the department store can't manage. As the department store industry laments that lack of Millennial business, deciphering the prom might be part of the answer. PACO UNDERHILL IS THE FOUNDER OF ENVIROSELL AND AUTHOR OF THE BOOKS "WHY WE BUY" AND "WHAT WOMEN WANT." HE SHARES HIS RETAIL AND CONSUMER INSIGHTS WITH DESIGN:RETAIL IN THIS BI-ISSUE COLUMN. Photo courtesy of THINKSTOCK/MONKEY BUSINESS IMAGES/STOCKBROKER 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