What's the #1 thing that the retail industry needs now more than anything else? More towns. That's right, more towns and villages. Look, towns tend to be more residential, even slower and more relaxed.
Even the word conjures up warmth.
And towns, and the people who love towns, are a mecca for the vibrancy of retailing. Think about it: the retail industry needs more towns!
And it's already trending in that direction. Macys, Whole Foods, Nordstrom Rack, and Walmart have announced rolling out small formats, seeking locations closer to residential areas. They recognize that's where their customers are and will prefer to be.
Conversely, there are way too many cities.
Every city is struggling with half-empty medium and tall buildings envisioned back when nobody had heard nor respected the influence that the internet would have.
Now, many cities must reinvent themselves into, perhaps, a cluster of separate "towns." A downsizing, yes, but actually a realization that "Bigger may not be better, but better is better!"
Clearly, "city" has lost much of its appeal, especially with the traditional office workers. To recapture some appeal, cities must focus on their residential and tourist markets, especially with unique destination retailers. But this trend may be slow to materialize.
There's three quarters of this century remaining, The retail industry and all of society would benefit greatly if many more towns flourished, and many out-of-date cities dissolved, or more likely, shrank to a better-is-better size. Customers rule, and they want towns and villages.
Seventy-five years should do it. (That allows time for the vast amount of zoning changes that will be needed in today's cities and towns to allow for the new mix of people and land uses heading their way.) But the opportunities for retailers have never been greater!
That's what we've been thinking about. How about you?
Many Americans who can afford to save money – thanks to reduced spending on eating out, vacations, and consumer goods – are playing it safe and hoarding their cash, according to recent research by Gallup/Franklin Templeton.* And those who currently are saving at least a little money largely plan to keep saving rather than spending in the near term.
A few years ago we were on a PBS news show about retailing's ups and downs. Several months later, one of us ran into a teacher of one of our kids. That person excitedly mentioned having seen us on TV, saying "I didn't know you knew so much about retailing." (Yep, known just as someone's parent, right?) But then this very well-educated person said the key thing: "I never knew there was so much to be known about retailing!" Well, that incident happened a few years ago when retailing was perhaps more understandable, even more predictable. Alas, those days are history! Today, nothing in retailing is quite as understandable or as predictable as before. Or as manageable!
"Retailing dead?" Hardly! “Retailing” is selling to the ultimate consumer. That is not going away, in spite of the current perception. What IS (appropriately!) endangered? Deadly retail real estate! Conventional, impersonal, and boring brick-n-mortar stores are deadly.
Successfully "doing retail" has always been a challenging and fascinating and evolving exercise. As the old Chinese proverb states, “It’s easy to open a store. However, it’s tough to keep it open.” And today, seemingly more than ever, third party organizations, more than individual entrepreneurs, seem to be drawn to retailing. Consider:
These and others fit into our category of “retail-as-added-use.” "It looks easy. Why don't we open stores?" But, retailing is not their core competency; they are manufacturers or direct marketers, or wholesalers, or importers, or whatever.
Think about it. Shoppers, employees, people everywhere today have, in the back of their minds, one defining thought.
No matter where they work, where they shop, where they live, where they travel, where they eat, they always wonder "How safe will I be?"
It's a given that your sales volume is a very big deal. Granted, you are analyzing it every day. But here's a slightly different approach which you may find very revealing. Let's start with a couple truisms. The definition of retailing is “selling to the ultimate consumer.” Retailing also is having "the right product at the right price at the right place at the right time for the right customer." But, as retailers ponder how best to manage sales in the current consumer environment, does it really matter whether their "right customers" buy from them in-store or online? Actually, it might! And here’s a simple, free "pilot project" to find out a little more.
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