12 days of Christmas countdown of shopping trends and why I love retail!
Well it’s the final blog of the year and I thought what better way to finish my first full year of running a retail consultancy business than talking about what I love – shopping trends and why I love retail! Here’s my 12 days of Christmas countdown to what I love about retail!
- Family time
For as long as I can remember my mum and I used to go ‘into town’ shopping at the weekend. We very rarely bought anything as we didn’t have much money, we just used to look around. Throughout my childhood even when things got really tough our shopping trip was the one consistent thing. Shopping trends now all point to the fact that increasingly families are including shopping as part of their leisure activities. This is shown by the growth of out of town retail parks and garden centres, where you can shop, eat and have a family day out.
- A pick me up
I love the fact that however difficult life gets a visit to your favourite shop usually acts as a pick me up. Increasingly more up market retailers and brands are trying to create meaningful brands, with stores that are seen as safe havens and holistic experiences by people with busy lives.
- A mirror of society
Shopping habits are changing and retail really holds a mirror up to society and then society reflects back. Trends are now often started online and social media stars and YouTubers such as Zoella have now become celebrities with their own ranges of merchandise. Licensing has become big business and is given lots of space in stores with Disney for example endorsing merchandise, to be sold alongside their films. Sometimes as consumers this can seem overwhelming, we are constantly bombarded by brands and advertising messages aren’t we? Are we being sucked in or are they actually delivering what we want?
- Omnichannel retailing
Trends such as mobile commerce and digitalisation are impacting the gifts and stationery industries in terms of what they sell and how they sell it. The speed of change is rapid and exciting. I love the fact that I can shop online or in store according to my personal preference. Or I can research products online or in store and then buy where I want according to how much I want to pay.
- New and shiny things
I love the last week of July when retailers start to display all their new Back to School stationery and new designs. I also love looking at Christmas gifting in October and all the new products coming to market. Changing and refreshing products regularly is essential to keep customers interested and stay ahead of product lifecycles.
- Innovation
I would love to see even more of this in the UK market! Manufacturers really taking risks to develop new products and UK retailers really giving new suppliers and manufacturers opportunities to showcase their goods rather than cutting back supply bases.
With the popularity of social media everything is becoming about visual stimulation. We see this with Facebook live launching their new service and the fact that video is going to be one of the most popular methods of communication by 2020. We have to continue to innovate and develop new products to feed the hunger generations Y and Z have for new things.
- The importance of colour
I love having colour in my life and love watching how colours change according to trends in the fashion industry. For example in 2015 it was bright and neon colours and in 2016 it has all been about metallic and iridescent colours. One of the first products that people went crazy for in Eastern Europe after the fall of communism was coloured stationery. In their last annual report WHSmith talked about the success of their Bright’s stationery range.
In 2016 the colourful brands, Tiger and Smiggle (pictured left) have been two of the fastest growing brands on the British high street.
- Cornucopia and the power of visual merchandising
The pure pleasure of seeing something in abundance. Who would have thought green vegetables pictured (from Windsor Farms Market in New York) could look so amazing?
This really shows the power and importance of visual merchandising in selling even the most every day of products well.
- Consumer choice
I love the fact we have so much choice in the UK as to where to shop and what to buy. I’ve written a lot about how shopping habits have changed in recent years and consumers now shop around a lot more. It’s not even always about finding a bargain, it’s more about paying a fair price for an item. The market has changed and retailers – particularly High Street retailers must adapt their business models to offer point of difference and more service/ experience based offers. Supermarkets have had to wake up to the fact that they can no longer mislead consumers with confusing price promotions. Consumers have voted with their feet when it comes to grocery shopping with the simple business models offered by Aldi and Lidl having become increasingly popular.
- Keeping up with the competition
This is one of the most fascinating parts of my job, looking at what retailers and manufacturers are doing in response to their competition. Sometimes it is like the blind leading the blind. However, at other times things can get really interesting. How for example are retailers going to deal with price increases in 2017? Who will lead and who will follow? Will there be price wars? Will there be casualties?
- Foreign supermarkets
I love the fact that in the UK we have a highly developed retail market. However, I also love the fact that you never know what you are going to find in a foreign supermarket! And yes being the shopping geek that I am I have found myself this year looking at stationery in supermarkets in Antigua, New York, and even Patagonia! Yes I know I’m sad but I have a secret suspicion it’s not just me that does this?! And there’s always something to learn from seeing how different cultures do things.
- Retail theatre
According to the BRC we are apparently all now craving theatre and excitement when we shop. I find it fascinating how stores try to create retail theatre, whether it be huge pallets of stock, piped music around seasonal events or oversized balloons and plush, which small children run up to and throw their arms around shouting, ‘mummy, mummy can I have this?’ My personal favourites at the moment are the wall mounted motion activated plush animal heads and singing life size reindeers available in Wilkos. Who doesn’t need one of these in their life?….
No seriously what would Christmas be without a bit of retail fun?
Merry Christmas Everybody from Bright Disposition.
