Has
there ever been so much change in retailing? It is difficult to try and list
all the changes over the last 12 months, much less the time since the GFC.
Experimentation
for retailers has become the norm and many retailers are urgently chasing new
ideas to see what might stick and give them a leg up on their competitors. This
trend was highlighted by Walmart's announcement this week that it was going to
ask employees to deliver customer orders on their way home from work.
Seriously!!!!!!!
IKEA
are experimenting with a whole range of new concepts to do with things like
store size, and augmented reality and one of their officials admitted - "We're
trying to do as many things as possible to see what works.....it's like, the
more the merrier."
Change
itself may be the only constant as a genuine retail revolution encourages
retailers to experiment with a whole range of options. And, of course, the problem
is which do you tack onto. A smart retailer won't rush into every new trend but
stagnation is probably more damaging (check out the list of retail failures
this year).
The
online/instore transition still has a long way to go but the interesting swing
from bricks'n'mortar to pure online to a combination of both is starting to
become a little clearer. Personal service with the assistance of digital
catalogues in smaller footprint stores with alternative delivery options seems
to be the path at present.
One
big advantage of experimenting is that it usually involves a closer
relationship with your customers and that should be good right? Unless of
course your idea is a disaster and then you have some repair work to do.
Walmart might be having some conversations with their employees right now.