We find ourselves on a precipice, gazing into a period that looks gloomy and uncertain. That’s how many of us probably feel, contemplating the future for retail along with the brands and agencies that depend upon it. Is the outlook as bleak as we are led to believe and what can we do within the sector to give ourselves the resilience we need to get through the months ahead?  As an agency that operates largely within the world of consumer electronics, we’ve seen plenty of positivity over the last couple of years. This sector has enjoyed a period of strong growth, up by 6.9% in 2021 (Globa ..read more

Rumours of the death of physical retail may have been somewhat exaggerated over recent years. However, a walk along your local high street or around your nearest shopping centre quickly suggests an ailing patient at the very least. Empty shops are plentiful and unless you have a particular liking for American sweets, not even London’s premium shopping street is immune. Whilst it’s been reassuring to hear that closure rates have been falling it seems certain that the physical retail landscape has changed forever. We all know that consumers have adapted to changes taking place around them. The ..read more

More and more brands are taking the plunge and opting to find a way of transacting directly with their customers. What’s behind this increase in the number of Direct to consumer (DTC) operations, what are the pitfalls to be aware of and what should any brand considering entering this world do to give themselves the very best chance of success? Brands have become increasingly conscious of the cost of customer acquisition and the benefits of retention. With the consumer today appearing ever more fickle, seemingly at ease with hopping from one brand and one channel to the next, providing the bes ..read more

It’s time to accept that there won’t be a normal anymore, not in retail at least. No kidding. The idea that change is a constant, possibly the only true constant, is hardly new. I’m no history scholar but even I have a feeling one or two erudite people have beaten me to that statement. So, when considering where this leaves retail and where it could go, there could be an easy out for me, “who knows, whatever I say here will be outdated by the time you’ve read to the end”. That’s tempting but would make for one of the shorter blogs I’ve written and certainly wouldn’t give me the chance to name ..read more

Omnichannel is one of those divisive words. It’s been circulating in retail for a while now and as much as many of us keep thinking and hoping we’ve seen the last of it, back it comes. A bit like a lengthy game of whack-a-mole. For me there are parallels with the story of the QR code. Both “omnichannel” and the humble QR code were revived by Covid in different, but similar, ways. Changes in consumer behaviour underpinned both revivals. Forced by lockdowns into adapting to closed stores and into adopting new digital ways of doing things, consumers made brands and retailers realise that seamles ..read more

Customer retention and loyalty driven by personalisation Personalisation. It’s a buzzword that’s being doing the rounds in retail marketing circles for a while. Personally, I’m never sure whether it needs an “s” or a “z”, but I guess that comes down to personal choice. Now that’s ironic. As I’m a Brit I’m going to persevere with an “s”. I’m going to pass on the opportunity to go right round the consumer behavioural changes roundabout again. If you haven’t worked out that a few things have changed, some of them probably for good, then you’ve likely been asleep at the wheel for the last 20 mo ..read more

This September, Retail Marketing Group and Situ Live, the shopping experience platform, unveiled a real-life retail playground in Westfield London, bringing products to life through immersive showrooms, live theatrics and expert storytelling. Designed as a new way to reach and engage customers at a time where retail has radically evolved due to the pandemic, Situ Live allows passionate, expert demonstrators to turn shoppers into brand loyalists. Situ Live is the ultimate destination for people who want to discover and experience products in real life and then speak to knowledge ..read more

There’s a strong argument that you should calculate time lived in a global pandemic the way you calculate dog years. So, while it’s been about eight months since I last wrote about brand experience, in Covid time that’s over four hundred years ago. What, as news websites say when they’re trying to be trendy, have we learned? Well, if you plotted a line detailing the ups, downs, retreats, returns, pivots and pirouettes of an industry dedicated to bringing people together in the “real world”, you’d probably be looking at a literal definition of a rollercoaster, let alone a metaphorical emotiona ..read more

This time last year I’d have been sat at my desk in our lovely, converted barn of an office, probably having just raided the snack cupboard and lost my latest battle with our new bean to cup machine. After a chat with the nice people around me about last night’s TV, possibly even a conversation that was work related, I’d have popped over to the real-life water-cooler. Who knew they actually exist outside marketing cliches and sitcoms. Fast forward a year and here I am at home. But also, in the office with my colleagues. How can that be? Yep, I cloned myself and can now actually be in two place ..read more

Another day, another set of brands going online only. We’ve all seen the stats and research that tells us just how quickly this latest digital shift has taken place. For so many impacted by these developments there is clearly very little to feel positive about and my heart goes out to them. As someone who worked for Debenhams and Arcadia I feel a deep personal sense of regret. Aside from this latest news, for the first time in months, I actually find myself in a more optimistic mood. Whilst I’ve probably never been the most glass half full person out there I’ll admit that recently the cloud ab ..read more