Retail

The Best of Insider Trends September 2018

 

Pinch, punch, it’s the first of the month and we’re rounding up the best of Insider Trends for September. Which post did you enjoy the most? What would you like to see from us? Let us know in the comments.

 

Amazon Echo voice commerce

Image credit: Amazon

 

Retail Concepts & Innovation

We’re starting off this month’s highlights by talking about Walmart. The world’s biggest retailer recently reported its strongest quarterly growth in 10 years with same-store sales in the US up by 4.5%. Online sales also grew by 40% for the same period. Why? Well, the brands is investing in many innovative retail techniques from VR to robotics to video streaming and it’s not afraid to diversify. Read all about these ventures and more to discover how Walmart’s strategy is evolving.

Moving away from the retail giants, we love an original concept, and this month we certainly had one with new initiative ShopShops. ShopShops takes the idea of presenter-led shopping, much like TV shopping channels, and puts into stores via live events with presenters who present the products. Eliminating the disconnect between online and in-store shopping, this new concept immerses customers in the products. Read more about the concept and learn how you might just be able to get a quick-win.

 

Immedia - Bruno quote

 

Interviews

What better way is there to learn about retail than from experts in the industry? Every month at Insider Trends, we sit down with some of the biggest names in the retail world and ask them about what they think of the industry. Check out this month’s interviewees below:

– Immedia is a company which is all about connecting brands and audiences via music. We sat down with CEO Bruno Brookes to discuss why effective content is the lifeblood of brand communications, why you can’t ‘sell’ but you can give a reason to buy, and why in-store musical ‘ambience’ is a powerful media opportunity. Communication is key here.

– We always love a chat with creative agency Dalziel & Pow and this month we spoke to them about one of their latest creations The Shop at Bluebird. Conceptualised already as the ‘Playground of Wonders’, Dalziel & Pow talked us through how they approached a brief to ‘design the best store in London’, designing in a listed building and creating a world within a store.

–  UK director of 3D platform Marxent Leigh Davidson spoke to us about where 3D is already changing the way we buy, and why it’s going to become a necessity in the near future.

– We spoke to FASHWELL’s head of business development Caitlin Crawford about the company’s deep learning image recognition tech. Read on to hear about applications for visual search, the challenge of accuracy and dealing with ‘in the wild’ images.

 

growth in retail

 

Top Tips

Our top tips section highlights the posts that we think you should be reading to provide some inspiration for your own business. The comparison is always a huge issue when working in retail, so why not take snippets of insight instead? We’ve listed 15 UK-based brands and retailers from the Sunday Times’ Fast Track 100 table to see what makes them tick. All of them have seen their sales increase on average between 50 and 80% in the last three years. Some have even seen more than 100% improvement. How did they do it? What’s the magic trick? Find out how these companies have taken off so quickly here.

As well as our own posts, we also invite other experts to create guest posts for the blog. Susannah Magers, Content Writer at Beekeeper, looked at how retailers can use tech advancements to their advantage. Find out how digital tools can help streamline store operations and improve overall customer service and experience – you don’t always need to colour within the lines!

 

 

Retail Openings

This month we got to grips with some extremely innovative retail concepts from the YSL Beauty Hotel to Amazon’s latest opening containing only products rated four-stars or more. Read the latest in retail openings in New York as well as worldwide concept openings.

For more of our expert knowledge and to find out about the latest trends in retail, take part in one of our London retail safaris or register for one of our New York retail trend tours.