Records became cassettes, cassettes became CDs, CDs became mp3…. Evolution.
What has changed in retail? We can talk e-commerce, omni-channel, endless aisle, b-b, b-c all day, and believe me we have. But over 90% of transactions are still in a physical store.
The Greeks had Agora marketplaces dating back over 500 BC, 2500 years ago. Merchants sold their wares. People came and congregated. Food was eaten.
Isn’t that a open air mall? The Grove in LA, Horton Plaza San Diego?
So what has really changed and evolved that much in retail? SPEED.
Today’s shoppers want it now, better, faster, cheaper, but NOW. The merchants also have to be faster. The quick or the Dead is really a fair assessment of today’s retail landscape.
We in analytics need to provide amazing details, Great info, great insights, but we need to provide it NOW. Yesterday would have been even better. We need goods in the stores now. Vendors need to ship now. Now. So how do we keep up?
We need faster systems, more powerful engines, stronger algorithms, and a leaner supply chain. But we have all that now. What’s the next progression? What comes after the Mp3? (or any digital format, semantics)
What will the future mall look like? The Millennials of are course accustomed to buying online, ship to store, or next day shipping. What will the next group expect? And how do we not only get ahead of that, but actually LEAD the charge?
He who answers this question wins retail in the 2020’s
-That Planning Guy
(yes, was listening to MARRS, Pump up the Volume, at the gym. I had the album, the tape, the cd, and now on Google play. )
More merchandise on demand. Starbucks new order ahead and have your drink waiting could just be the beginning. Will it lead to Target shop ahead and have your cart already filled, hotel have your souvenirs already picked out, packed up and in your room? Obviously you lose the ability to grab impulse sales but do you offset that with sales to people that wouldn’t come by normally…?
Like Amazon Now.. Taking the next day delivery to same day. Great concept of shop ahead. Sams club has offered that for years, I wonder how effective?