Global Retail Executive Council

The death (and rebirth?) of the mall

It's become a familiar site in virtually every American city. Sprawling shopping complexes with empty buildings adorned with the ghostly echo of removed brand signs. The stores Circuit City and Blockbuster once occupied now sport perpetual "For Lease" signs, in some cases leaving shopping centers without any anchor tenants at all.

Inside the traditional shopping mall, it's not much better. With vacancy rates at a 20-year high, mall managers are trying everything from discounting rates to short term leases to embracing pop-up retail. And though some of these tactics are innovative and are filling in spaces - for now - for the most part, they are band-aid fixes covering up a far greater problem.

The mall, as we know it in the United States, simply isn't relevant to today's shopper. Gone are the days when the convenience of a collection of disparate stores under one roof is essential: we have the Internet, with infinite diversity only a click away. And time-pressed shoppers want the convenience of in-and-out surgical shopping rather than the long walk from the fringe of the parking lot for a day of leisurely browsing.

The one bright spot seems to be that department stores - a retail sector that has been ailing for some time - are capitalizing on the same trends and re-inventing themselves as the mini-malls of the future. JC Penney is leasing space to Mango and Aldo, and one Sears store has leased 45000 square feet to Forever XXI. The raw scale of department stores and their experience with "store-within-a-store" concepts means this trend is one to watch as it may exacerbate the challenges facing traditional mall operators.

In fact, once you strip away the collection of stores, today's mall simply doesn't offer much: a collection of common chain brands, perhaps a few dingy "local" retailers, and a food court brimming with mediocrity. Free WiFi, mall-based "loyalty points," and early-opening days simply won't resurrect the mall to its former glory, so increased vacancy leads to diminished foot traffic leads to lower sales... and repeat until closure.

But the humble mall does have a chance to reinvent itself. At the World Retail Congress, a diverse group of speakers including a retailer, an architect, and a mall operator all discussed the question: what is the future of the mall?

And surprisingly, a strong consensus emerged.

1. A social gathering place that offers more than just shopping. The shopping mall at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin is surrounded by high-end restaurants, movie theaters, a casino, and a performing arts venue. The streets connecting these locations boast a changing variety of festivals, moving the week we were there from the Festival of Lights to an Alpine festival, complete with pop-up taverns and a temporary downhill ski slope. Inside the mall proper, an exhibit on the "shoeshine boy" culture informed and inspired, even featuring a stand selling the traditional favorite cuisine of the shoeshine boys. And all of this in addition to a great collection of stores, anchored by not one but two grocery stores, one upscale and one discount.

 

2. Integration with the virtual world. Eric Kuhne of CivicArts spoke on some of the innovative malls they have designed around the world. While the retail redevelopment of Moscow's Sheremyetvo Airport into a mall instantly captured my imagination (Combining a mall with an aviation museum? Yes, please!), it was the Bluewater mall in Kent, United Kingdom that offered perhaps the best lesson. Aside from the "new basics" for malls (stunning architectural design, community integration, entertainment as a destination), Bluewater features an incredibly innovative solution to two problems that vex most malls. With a two-story limit imposed by local council, Bluewater created a virtual "third floor," an online-only part of the mall that holds virtual stores for retail brands waiting for store space to open up in the mall. With 0% vacancy, the waiting list for the 320 store spaces currently has 189 brands, all of whom can engage mall shoppers "virtually" and test the waters with brand concepts and offers prior to physically moving into the mall.

 

3. Popup retail is a part of the draw of the mall. In many US malls, vacant space is filled twice a year: costume stores before Halloween and Christmas stores right after. But popup retail is now attracting luxury brands to create a time-urgent destination for shoppers such as Dunhill's New York popup and Longchamps' temporary store in Tokyo. This marriage allows the mall to get more affluent and upscale shoppers onto the premises and gives luxury brands a presence in markets that can't support a year-round branded store.

These ideas aren't a prescription for all that ails the American mall, but rather a diagnosis of what needs to improve for long-term sustainable viability for these properties. And despite the rough economy of the last few years, this is the time for malls to draw inspiration from new retail development around the world and create something that isn't there for many malls today: a reason to shop there.

The intersection of technology and store design

I had the opportunity again this year to address the International Retail Design Conference on the subject of technology-enabled design two weeks ago in Toronto. Out of the conversations stemming from this presentation, it quickly became apparent that this is a major area of both interest and concern to retailers, as the opportunities to bring the disciplines together are immense... as are the potential challenges.

In that presentation, I explored 5 "Do's and Don'ts" of technology-enabled design:


1. Don't let your competition design your shopping experience.

Designers are used to thinking of the in-store experience as self-contained and in their control. No matter what influences a 21st century shopper may have been under OUTSIDE the store (marketing/advertising, ecommmerce, social media, etc.), once they step into the store, they're free of those influences. That's simply no longer the case, as competitors can (and do) connect with shoppers at the store shelf using tools like Amazon's mobile app. With two touches on their phone, a shopper can go from considering a product in your store... to purchasing it from Amazon, at a lower price and without the overhead of bringing the product to the shelf. This leaves retailers with a simple choice: step up and create a better mobile enabled shopping experience that keeps the shopper engaged with the brand both physically and electronically... or cede half the shopping experience to competitors.


2. Do start thinking of yourself as an experience designer.

The discipline of store design is changed by the addition of the new tools next-generation technology brings to the table. Technology has in the past been relegated to the IT department and design constrained to the in-store experience... and never the twain shall meet. The future of "store design" is taking the shopping experience and expanding the touchpoints beyond the physical elements of the store. Store designers must embrace a future where their "designs" are experience that touch the shopper at home, on the go, and in the store... not just physical elements within the store itself.


3. Don't think technology use is (too) generational.

It's far to easy to dismiss technology as something that only the youngest generation of shoppers embraces, and therefore not relevant to "our target shoppers." The truth is that shoppers of virtually all demographics are rapidly adopting new technologies into their lives, and retailers that dismiss incorporating technology into their store experiences run the risk of being perceived as increasingly irrelevant by ALL their shoppers, not just the young ones. The fastest growing segment of Facebook users, for example, isn't college students: it's women 45-54, and these tech-enabled mid-life women represent a powerful buying segment who are already FAR ahead of most retailers in their use of technology.


4. Remember that 50% of shoppers will be carrying smartphones in 2012.

The window of opportunity for retailers to take a "leading edge" or even "fast follower" role in embracing mobile technology is closing rapidly. Ecommerce players like Amazon and Zappos already have strong mobile strategies in place, and retailers deploying mobile solutions will quickly see the perception of their innovation shift from thought-leader to also-ran. Analyst estimates vary somewhat, but all project a tipping point within two years where the majority of shoppers are carrying and using smartphones. And retailers should keep in mind that on average, the demographics of their shoppers will skew slightly higher than the "average" American... so the percentage of smartphone users amongst their most important shopping segments will likely be even higher.


5. Consider a trip to Japan for inspiration.

While examples abound all over the world of retailers who are "doing it right" with store design, Japan alone has the unique advantage of a very well evolved mobile infrastructure. Near ubiquity (and universal compatibility) of smartphones that can read a single barcode standard, display information, and even allow payment means that shoppers in Japan are simply more used to using their phones in the shopping process than any other single market. From Japanese gardens to convenience stores to public transportation, Japan abounds with cutting edge examples of mobile shopping. The JAPANSHOP expo in March 2011 offers a unique opportunity to see the intersection of technology and design both from the retail industry perspective and examples scattered around in stores.


6. Don't be afraid to take risks; this is the time to experiment.

There is no right or wrong answer to technology-enabled store design, and what will benefit retailers the most right now is the willingness and ability to experiment and make (controlled) mistakes. The bottom line is that there are many new shopping patterns and dynamics emerging, and taking advantage of these new shopping ideas requires trying new things, measuring the results, and deploying those that work. Without both a willingness and ability to learn from those trials, retailers will relegate technology into old paradigms in the store... a fatal mistake that will let their competition leapfrog ahead.

Obviously, this isn't a complete list, but starting here will give retailers - and in particular store designers - a good foundation for begining to bring technology into the store.

The entire presentation, including slides and video, is hosted on our Vimeo channel, and you can view both parts - or an eight-minute shortened version - below.

IRDC 2010: The Do's and Don'ts of Tech Enabled Store Design - Part One

 

IRDC 2010: The Do's and Don'ts of Tech Enabled Store Design - Part Two

 

IRDC 2010: The Do's and Don'ts of Tech Enabled Store Design - 8-minute Short Version

 

The iPad in Retail: All Bark and No Bite?

A few weeks ago, I explained some ways in which the iPad could be used to revolutionize the retail industry, specifically in the way it can be used to boost sales associates' knowledge and overall usefulness. However, as we've seen in recent weeks with the iPhone 4, Apple is not infallible, and its products do contain their faults, which could prevent it from becoming a player in the retail business space. So this post will be somewhere between a reality check for Apple fanboys (yes, we know a few work in retail) and the right side of a SWOT chart.

First of all, a major problem is simply a security matter: Having a $700 piece of technology laying around your store with access to much of your business intelligence isn't a very safe system. After all, it's much easier to slip an iPad in your shirt than trying to, for example, fit a kiosk in your purse. Plus, as a hot consumer device (with waitlists to even get one), they're more likely to walk out the door than, say, an IBM 4690 would be.

But beyond the logistics of keeping track of loose iPads, the devices still have many problems that brings their usefulness in retail into question. A major barrier is Apple's app store, which doesn't allow third-party applications. Retailers could "jailbreak" the device (or some less criminally named process since it's now an "enterprise activity") to allow them to deploy in-house developed "apps," but this would likely void the warranty and render the device bricked with the slightest code errors.

There are also a slew of hardware problems that make the iPad hard to use.

• reports of WiFi connectivity issues
• no multitasking, which means 100% application integration on the back end 
• no camera, which means it can't be used to scan barcodes (unless you want to buy an external camera or barcode scanner, which pretty much defeats the purpose of such a sleek and sexy device). This is a huge disadvantage for the iPad, since many customers will be walking into stores with barcode-scanning abilities in their own pockets via smartphone.

Similarly, the iPad very publicly and explicitly does not support Flash. Many retailers such as Nike, Converse, Arctic Cat, and IKEA use Flash elements on their websites, which would make accessing those sites impossible via the iPad. The iPad also doesn't support GPS, and with geolocation becoming a hot new thing in retail, not having GPS ability will greatly impair the iPad's retail impact. For example, it makes it much harder for the sales associate to help a customer find a nearby location where they can find the item they're looking for if the store they're currently in doesn't have it in stock.

Another problem with the iPad is that you need adaptors like CRAZY to hook anything up to the tablet. You even need an adaptor for a USB plug! This would make it very inconvenient to attach the iPad to any of your in-store devices. One last problem is simply a matter of typing ability: The touch-screen keyboard makes it rather inconvenient to type with one hand while holding the iPad with your other hand, which would be the typical position sales associates would be in when using the tablet to help customers.

With all these downfalls, it seems unlikely that the iPad will catch on as a major tool for retailers to employ. Like so many "next great things" at the consumer level, the enterprise implications are just a little too challenging to make adoption easy.

However, this isn't to suggest that tablets aren't useful in retail; in fact, their potential is enormous. Cisco's recently released Cius tablet is specifically aimed at businesses, and it explicitly fixes many of the aforementioned problems with the iPad: It is compatible with a company's current Cisco business applications, it has a camera and can be integrated with existing Cisco telephone and conferencing products, it offers both USB and bluetooth connectivity, and it even will support 4G. Plus, to Steve Job's chagrin, it runs on the Android platform which offers far greater adaptability and configuration options.

It remains to be seen who what tablet maker will come out on top in the retail space, but with Cisco specifically targeting businesses rather than consumers, the battle has already begun.

Li-Ning brings new Chinese brand to the United States

For all the commentary on China's manufacturing prowess, one fact that is often overlooked is that Chinese consumer brands are beginning to become mainstream as brands in the United States and Europe. While many people know that their Apple iPhones and Nike shoes are manufactured in China, far fewer are aware of the origins of the Haier refrigerator or the Lenovo laptop they purchase at Best Buy.

Chinese consumer brands are on the rise, and this shift in power was evidenced today by the grand opening of Chinese footwear and apparel company Li-Ning's first US store in Portland, Oregon. Li-Ning may be new to the United States, but the company distributes through 7000 stores in China, and with revenues in 2008 of $983 million... it's bigger than the H&M operation in the United States. Never heard of Li-Ning in the US? You wouldn't be alone, but keep in mind... the founder (Li Ning) is the man who lit the torch at the Beijing Olympic games in 2008. So thinking of him as the Wayne Gretzky of China wouldn't at all be off the mark. 

Li-Ning's entry into the US portends bigger things: the placement of their first retail store in Portland (equidistant between Nike's and the now defunct adidas store, smack dab in the heart of athletic shoe central) heralds a new competitive threat to dominant athletic shoe brands in the United States, but also a potential learning lab for how to expand their retail and brand presence in Europe, which is currently only served by franchise stores.

At the store opening, LA Clippers star Baron Davis talked about his involvement in the design of his signature shoes, now available through Li-Ning. One of the most interesting comments he made was that most shoe companies just show up with the shoe and expect the athlete to wear them, endorse them, and like them... whereas Li-Ning designers worked hand in hand with him to make sure the shoe reflected high functionality and a unique style. 

Perhaps the most interesting "news" from the launch event was that Li-Ning had signed an agreement with Champs Sports (the 600 store banner of Footlocker) to exclusively sell Li-Ning footwear and apparel in mall-based stores for 2010. Though details were understandably somewhat sparse, the existence of both a wholesale and retail strategy for the brand bodes well for their success. It will be very interesting to see how Champs Sports positions the new brand amidst a crowded field of competitive brands (see the graphic at right for the logolist that appears on the Champs web site... Li-Ning faces an uphill battle for positioning against entrenched rivals for the shopper's mindshare: traditional athletic shoe giants like Nike and adidas... as well as "emerging athletic lifestyle" brands like Ed Hardy slapping tired designs on technical fabric to appeal to fashion conscious "athletes").

It is precisely that overlap that causes the most excitement and consternation about the Li-Ning brand position in the US marketplace. The truth is that a very stylish technical shirt that would absolutely appeal to cool-weather acclimated Portland runners... is being marketed as a tai chi competition women's top (though in truth, the elegance of the design and the price point should be giving competitors like Lululemon and Lucy sleepless nights). The market for "competitive tai chi clothing" in the US is miniscule, but technical running gear? Massive. So Li-Ning faces the challenge of how to get US shoppers to understand how and why to buy their clothes, as the sports which have given rise to Li-Ning's incredible popularity in China (table tennis, badminton, tai chi and kung fu) are not entry points for fashion sales in the US the way that basketball, football, and baseball are.

GREC will be bringing more coverage of Li-Ning's US entry over the next few weeks, including observations on the merchandising strategy, store design, and global retail execution model. But for tonight, we close with a video clip from the press conference:

The Retail Experience: The Future of Fitting Rooms, Part Two

In Part One, I discussed the setbacks retailers face in the fitting room department. The overall message is that the fitting room could and should be a central part of the shopping experience, where the customer is guided (but gently!) towards purchasing options. Ideally, the fitting room should be a destination in itself, so the customer is more likely to bring clothes into a fitting room, even if the goal is to see the actual room! There are many ways retailers can achieve this objective, from simple techniques to more sophisticated options, and many retailers provide strong examples of what the future of the fitting room will look like.

My favorite example of a simple technique to improve the fitting room is from a blog post by Sarah Freedman, in which she describes the treatment she received at Ted Baker in Glasgow. With her brother tagging along (and not happy about spending the day shopping), she promised she would be quickly in and out of the store. However, when her brother sat to wait for her, he was greeted by an associate offering him a beer! Obviously, this immediately changed his opinion of shopping with his sister, and he was no longer urging her to leave the store (in fact, he may have even urged her to spend more time in the store!). This simple focus on not only the customer, but also their shopping companion is a brilliant method of making the fitting room experience much more beneficial for both retailer and consumer. Not only did Ted Baker get Sarah to spend more time trying on outfits in their store, but everyone involved had an extremely positive experience that inspired her to tell everyone about. And I’m willing to bet the next time you’re in Glasgow, you’ll check out their Ted Baker store. I know I will!

Even more appealing is the Dressing Room Bar and Boutique in New York City, which acquired a liquor license and has a FULL BAR inside their store. Let me repeat - a clothing store with a FULL BAR INSIDE. They even offer entertaining drinks, such as the “Dressing Room Special,” or - my favorite - the “Waiting Boyfriend,” which is a shot of whiskey and a Miller High Life for $5. (To the owner of the Dressing Room: If you want GREC to visit and review your store, I’d be more than happy to be flown out to New York to do so!)

There are tons of examples of retailers like Ted Baker or the Dressing Room who focus not only on making the fitting room a fun experience for the shopper, but also the shopper’s companions. One of the most appealing techniques is used in places like Lyell in New York, where shoppers and their companions are given their own secluded room to have mini-fashion shows in, separated from the rest of the store by a curtain. This way, the shopper doesn’t have to parade in front of the whole store if they don’t want to, and it creates a more intimate and fun shopping experience for everyone involved. Even simple comforts like including a television for the waiting friends, or comfortable couches to sit on can do wonders for making the experience a memorable one for everyone involved.

Another simple way to make the fitting room a more enjoyable experience for the shopper is to focus on three main aspects: the lighting, the mirrors, and the hooks. According to USA Today, the “old” way of lighting in fitting rooms was using simple overhead fluorescent light. However, this often leaves clothes looking much different than they would in the outside world under real light, so "new" fitting rooms are tending to provide a more natural light to cut down on the amount of outfits returned after the customer decides they don’t like the way it looks in the real world. Similarly, “old” mirrors often were distorted, making the shopper appear skinnier. However, “new” mirrors in dressed-up fitting rooms do what mirrors should do: accurately reflect the consumer’s appearance. And as far as hooks go, USA Today found a near-ubiquitous complaint from shoppers is that there are either not enough hooks to hang their belongings, or there aren’t enough. This is solved easily enough - give the shopper more hooks and places to put their belongings when they’re trying on outfits!

Of course, there are also more complicated challenges retailers face, such as the challenge of making sure the customer can be constantly attended to by associates. If you’ve ever needed to call an associate while trying on items at Victoria’s Secret, you may not know the name but you’re probably familiar with Alert Technologies: their system lets shoppers call for assistance at the touch of a button, as well as giving staff an overview of which fitting rooms are available, full, or in need of service. Tech services in the dressing room such as this create a much more seamless, ordered experience for the customer and makes the entire process of trying on and purchasing items much less stressful for everyone involved.

Taking that idea even further is the fairly recent addition of “smart mirrors” in dressing rooms, which open up the possibilities to a near-endless amount. Smart mirrors can do just about anything: In addition to calling the associate for assistance, the customer could even select on a touch screen an item they would like delivered to their fitting room, to save themselves the embarrassment, for example, of having to ask for or hunt down an item in a larger size. Internet-enabled smart mirrors can also be used to send pictures of the customer in an outfit to their friends’ mobile devices for immediate “yes/no” reactions on outfits, to help the customer make up their mind. And with RFID tags, smart mirrors can immediately recognize any items brought into the fitting room and provide on the screen a slew of information - from care instructions to what country the cotton in the product came from, even to suggesting matching shoes or accessories in stock! The possibilities really are endless, and stores such as Prada in New York are just beginning to experiment with these new devices.

However, it remains up to each individual retailer to decide what fits best within its budget and customer demographics. Obviously, if you deal primarily in clothes for the elderly, installing the most advanced smart mirror system in your dressing rooms probably won’t go over so well with the clientele as it would in, say, a store aimed at teenagers and young adults. But every retailer should look at their own fitting rooms and figure out a way to make it more appealing. It’s really up to you; would installing an advanced technological system help your customers, or would simply providing more hooks, better lighting, and the occasional beer do the trick? (My two cents: Beer, please! Lots of beer.) 

The Retail Experience: The Future of Fitting Rooms, Part One

It goes without saying that there are many factors retailers must consider to ensure their customers have a pleasant experience in which they not only spend money in the store, but want to come back again. Everything from the way a customer is greeted to the manner in which they are sent on their way should be carefully tailored to ensure a successful shopping visit. However, while retailers spend intense efforts on revamping and planning their stores, one major component has been overlooked by many for far too long, and it’s time retailers make a change. I’m talking, of course, about the fitting room.

 Many retailers fail to understand the importance of the fitting room, instead opting to give their customers a glorified closet - a small, five-by-five room with roughly two hooks, and a few mirrors at the end of the hall. The incredible potential for the fitting room is overlooked by many, to the detriment of their own profits.

Imagine this scenario: You’re browsing through a rack of shirts and a store associate approaches you and suggests a shirt. Do you buy it? Or say you’re purchasing a dress and as the cashier is ringing up your sale, they point you to accessories and suggest a pair of earrings. Do you walk over and grab the earring? Most shoppers wouldn't, and this behavior is only amplified by the economy: Retail Forward reports that the recession is causing 34% of female shoppers to spend less on impulse purchases, so gently nudging shoppers towards additional purchases has become even more vital.

Think of it this way: During the three main segments of a typical apparel shopping experience, when is a customer most likely to choose what they're going to buy? - when they're browsing the racks, actively trying on clothes in the fitting room, or at the point-of-sale? Given that shoppers in the fitting rooms are examining the way they look and feel in the clothes they are potentially going to purchase, doesn't it seem natural that they are far more likely to be in "purchasing mode" in that environment, and therefore more open to trying on suggested additional items?
Dressing room feeling blah and familiar?
Don't worry, there's "room" for a new "model"...

One of the major challenges retailers face is how to better connect customers to the sales associates in the dressing room. How many times have you found yourself needing assistance when trying on clothes, only to have to hunt down someone to help you? The problem is even worse when shopping for (ahem) "intimates", where you don’t want to chase down an associate in your underwear, so you have to put your clothes back on in order to go search out help. It’s no surprise that, according to Marge Laney of Alert Technology, "97% of customers that we surveyed have left a fitting room and just walked out of the store at one time or another ... They just say, 'Screw it, I don’t need it that bad.' and leave."

On the other end of the spectrum is the associate who is too involved in the shopping process. Many people think of clothes shopping as a social experience, bringing along friends or family to offer opinion. But even if a shopper is alone, it doesn't mean the associate has to become the consumer's new BFF. As my mom so eloquently put it about a recent trip to a local clothes store in which the clerks paid her a little TOO much attention: “The salespeople are freaky -- they’re what Scientologists must be like. ... I go in to try on pants, and before I know it they’ve brought me 14 shirts and 5 pairs of shoes.” This shouldn't ever be the case, because it threatens to overwhelm the consumer and potentially drive them out of the store.

So it’s up to each individual retailer to figure out how to balance providing too much assistance to the customer and not providing enough. You obviously want your customer to end up spending more at your store than they intended, but you also don’t want them leaving feeling as if they were pressured into trying on clothes they didn't want or donating their life savings to a cult. There idea is for retailers to transform their fitting rooms from what is essentially a broom closet with a hook on the wall into an essential part of the shopping experience, and create an experience so exciting people tell their friends about it.

Now that we've given you the bad news about the state of the dressing room, stay tuned for part two where we discuss how to change things: from new innovations in lighting to new technologies that make mirrors seem magic. Stay tuned!

The convergence of humanity, retail technology, and your mobile phone

Normally, the biggest story I would write on coming out of NRF would be technology related: evolution of a new platform approach to mobile retailing... next-generation digital signage... new retail analytics... that sort of thing. But this year is quite different.

 

It's not that there wasn't fascinating new technologies and developments on the show floor and in the conference sessions, but rather that, for me personally and professionally, all of that was eclipsed at 4:53PM on the 12th of January when a 7.0 magnitude quake tore through Haiti.

 

It truly took time for the news to filter through our consciousnesses... NRF is like that, one 96-hour flurry of meetings and events, heads down, maybe Tweeting out occassionally but on the whole utterly and totally focused. It's like the world consists of the Javits Center and a few blissful hours of sleep in the hotel room, and that's it for both New York City and our awareness of the world.

 

So, as the true magnitude of the tragedy in Haiti began to burn its way into our psyches, most of us were wrapping up our business at NRF. The mobile retail panel, last minute meetings, store visits...

 

 Last year, when US Airways Flight 1549 went down in the Hudson River on 15 January, most of us held our breaths as we waited to find out which (not if any) of our retail friends and colleagues were on that flight, and by the grace of God the one good friend I had on that plane survived body and soul intact. So this is the second NRF marked with a tragedy, and I hope 2011 proves kinder to the world than the start of this year has.

 

On Thursday night, I had the opportunity to see a Broadway musical in New York... a new experience for me. We ended up being able to see Fela!, which chronicles the latter years of Fela Kuti, a Nigerian musician active in the anti-colonial politics of the late 1960s and 1970s in that country. I was, shall we say, skeptical... "Musical" to me conjures up images of Cats and "jazz hands," so I was honestly expecting to sit through it cheerfully, but walk away with my mind unchallenged and my own soul intact and unaffected.

 

Nothing could have been further from the experience.

 

This blog post is half theater review, half technology "wow" story, and half an impassioned plea to all to remember the lessons that the first couple weeks of this year have brought home in a very personal way to many of us.

 

Fela! is an amazing musical, and perhaps on its own one of the best-written theater pieces I've ever seen. I'll leave the glowing reviews of the musical itself to professionals, but what was TRULY amazing (and relevant to the retail audience) is the seamless integration of digital projection and incredible set design. Any retail designer who witnesses what was accomplished in the musical would be utterly transfixed and absolutely inspired by what the designers of Fela! have pulled off.

 

 For starters, the "screens" on which elements are projected are completely integrated into the set design, so there's no "look up here" but rather "look here, no here, no HERE!" as the projected videos subtly reinforce what's happening on the stage.

 

The effect is used very powerfully to illustrate when Fela's mother, Finmilayo Ransome-Kuti, is influencing his words and actions: in an effect so eerily similar to the "moving" pictures in Harry Potter, the painted portrait of her facing toward the audience appears to turn its head to look down at Fela on the stage. This perfect integration of physical art and digital projection simply must be seen to be believed and should inspire anyone designing physical spaces like stores.

 

And finally, beyond the incredibly inspiring retail technology experience of watching the musical, the content itself left me grieving and aching all the more for what has befallen my beloved Haiti. It was almost impossible to watch any part of Fela! with dry eyes, and at the end, when the entire cast slowly walks through the audience and up onto the stage carrying coffins marked with the things that we all mourn, from Fela's mother to concepts like "hope" and "integrity," it brought home to me a very personal lesson that sometimes those of us who are privileged to live in an affluent country and live relatively fear-free sometimes forget.

 

We are all children of Africa, from Fela Kuti in Nigeria to the survivors of Flight 1549 to the victims of the Mumbai massacre in 2008 to the millions hovering between life and death in Haiti today. The color of our skin may differ, and the languages and cultures we embrace may not be the same, but in the end we are first and foremost human beings, and now those of us with the most have a sacred obligation to those of us who have just had the fragile, tiny least they used to possess be ripped away beneath tumbling walls and newly erased roads.

 

The need is great for urgent relief in Haiti, and we have seen truly a modern miracle of technology in the incredible outpouring of support via text message: as of Tuesday 19 January, $24 million had been raised for the Red Cross via text donations. The total for all charities in 2009: $4 million. This outpouring of support and embracing of the mobile phone as a vehicle for paying for things has brought millions of Americans into a new realm of technology usage. I was at Forrester Research when 9/11 hit, and there were over 2 million Americans who made their very first ecommerce transaction online to make a donation after that event. Haitian relief is a similar watershed moment in mobile payment, and one that on both a personal and a professional level, I am deeply grateful for.

 

But, getting food, water, medical help and shelter into Haiti is only the beginning. The entire country will need rebuilding help. The infrastructure needs to be brought into the 20th century, then into the 21st. There were 50,000 plus orphans waiting for adoption before the quake, and doubtless tens of thousands more after. In short, there's a lot to do.

 

So, we'd like to do two things as the Global Retail Executive Council. The first is to strongly urge each and every human being with a pulse who reads this to help; do something, whether it's texting HAITI to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross, or getting involved personally or financially to help the millions of orphans around the globe through the Retail Orphan Initiative (RetailROI). The people who have started and run that organization represent some of the best of us, and as they dedicate a large part of their lives to helping orphans, we are asking all of you to join us in supporting that work. They're good people; it's our industry, and it IS making a difference.

 

And second, and in honor of the only American to have a holiday solely dedicated to him, we were further inspired this week by the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King. I don't think this holiday has ever fallen at a time worthy of more introspection, thought, and inspiration, and one of Dr. King's quotes seems particularly apropos this year:

 

When evil men plot, good men must plan. When evil men burn and bomb, good men must build and bind. When evil men shout ugly words of hatred, good men must commit themselves to the glories of love.

 

Now is the time for all good people to plan... to build and bind... and to commit themselves to the glories of love. Solving the problems created by the earthquake in Haiti needs more than donations, it requires good kind smart people putting all their talents together to solve the unsolvable and fix the shattered. No one quite yet knows what form this will take, but as we march into 2010, GREC invites... well, actually, we expect... all of you to participate in the conversation and use your talents and ideas and thoughts to help in ways that money simply can't. Be good, be smart, and speak up. Your voice will join the others who are dedicating some part of their life to making a difference, and it is through the harmony and dissonance of those voices that we in retail can make a difference, not only in our industry, but in the world.

 

Thank you.

Back from the dead: Innovative approaches from around the world to the battery life dilemma

Last month, as part of our continuing exploration of mobile retailing, we posted on the increasing problem facing heavy mobile phone users: short battery life. While many of us in the United States are simply told "use your phone less or differently," around the world there are a number of innovative solutions being employed to bring power to mobile users in less developed infrastructures that offer some key ideas for retailers looking to solve the paradox of asking power-pressed shoppers to use a phone with a low battery to shop in the store.

1. In Kenya, two entrepreneurs have come up with a mechanism to turn one hour on a bicycle into a full charge on a cell phone. While pushing a similarly equipped shopping cart around the store wouldn't generate quite as much energy and speed as bicycling (unless, of course, you're bobshopping), it should provide plenty to give shoppers enough power to stay connected and use their phones while in the store.
   

 



2. Urban malls which attract shoppers from potentially "unpowered" neighborhoods (Mumbai, Johannesburg, etc.) are using phone charging machines to quickly power up their shoppers' phones. Though the same concept has played out in US airports as well, the relatively low cost of the mall-based machines (in Abu Dhabi, machines use one dirham coins - about US$.27) and paucity of power alternatives make the mall-based charges more attractive. Retailers considering this approach to stretch power in their stores, however, need to remember: if the phone is locked in a charger, it can't be scanning 2d barcodes or displaying coupons.

 



3. Consider offering a "phonesitting" service for free. Retailers in South Africa have long offered free phone charging for shoppers coming in from villages without power. Why not consider offering phone charging as a free service during long mall trips? Though many shoppers would be loathe to give up even a moment of texts, tweets, and Facebook updates... if the alternative is a black screen from a dead battery, 10 minutes of charging while they browse your store is a cheap way to make yourself their hero.

 



4. In Uganda, charging a mobile phone battery at one of the ubiquitous kiosks on the street costs 500 Ugandan Shillings (US$.26)... but fully charging a car battery only costs 1000 Shillings (US$.52) and can provide power for radios, CD players, television, domestic lighting, and mobile phones... for a month. The same "power logic" would apply to a shopping cart-mounted battery that charged a customer's phone as they cruised the store while still leaving the phone in their hands and usable for shopping activities. 

 



5.  Just enough phone rather than just enough battery life. Nokia, focusing on emerging markets and launching first in Indonesia, recently debuted phones with up to 22 days of standby time. The phone has yet to experience the "netbook" phenomena where the average price point of a laptop plummeted rather than seeing exponential new features added to it. Manufacturers will increasingly view the "battery life versus performance" tradeoff as tilting toward more battery life and less performance, particularly as the power of smartphones increasingly eclipses the "average user's" needs.

 



6. Solar power cells are declining in cost every year, and while there simply isn't enough ambient light inside the store to power a phone, there is definitely enough space on the sides of shopping carts to provide substantial power to an onboard battery. Particularly in high-sun parts of the world where shopping carts in the parking lot sit in bright sunlight for hours of the day, this approach could both take advantage of government programs to boost solar usage and drive down the cost of offering on-cart power to shoppers in the store. It's not a complete solution (yet) but as Tesco says... "Every little helps..."

Target's pop-up stores: gallery of photos now on GREC Flickr site

Target has been a pioneer in pop-up retail in the United States, leveraging a strong brand - but a somewhat "suburban" one due to the store format and its real estate needs - into urban areas using everything from a ship moored in New York City to Bullseye Bodegas scattered around Manhattan.

As we watch the concept evolve around the US and the world, GREC will be bringing our readers ongoing coverage of some of the best practices in pop-up retailing, and we start with a gallery of images from Target's pop-up stores, both this holiday season's and from years past.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/globalretailexec/galleries/72157622982524076/

Point of sale on a mobile phone? There's an app for that...

The mobile wars just got a little hotter as point-of-sale has become the latest crossover from specialized retail equipment to commonly available consumer mobile handset.

That's right... you can now do point-of-sale transactions, including processing credit cards, on the iPhone. While there have been several "point-of-sale" applications available on the iPhone (and other platforms) the new offering from Twitter co-creator Jack Dorsey has taken a very innovative approach to transaction processing on the iPhone with the recent public announcement of Square:

• A mag-stripe reader plugs into the headphone jack makes the "hardware" compatible with anything with an audio input, not just the iPhone.


• New security features leverage the form factor of a connected smartphone rather than fighting against it. For example, the iPhone can display a picture of the cardholder and ask "does this look like who is using the card?"


• Signature capture is via the multitouch screen... Very slick.


• Receipts are digital, removing the need for a mobile printer, and the service allows easy retrieval of receipts online as well as email to the purchaser.
• Integrated "loyalty card" functionality rewards repeat purchasers.

In short, this is - for what it is trying to do - a perfect POS app. Yes, there are new features that could be incorporate and yes, there is the need for back end accounting integration... but this looks simple, elegant, easy to use... and most importantly, allows both large and small retailers the ability to take advantage of the low cost of consumer hardware. Given the success Twitter has had with a simple, easy to use, and elegant application - with intentional limitations in pursuit of those goals - Square looks like another winner.

TechCrunch posted a video of the app in action: