It’s fairly bold to dub yourself the most interesting anything, so if nothing else, Showfields, and their “most interesting store in the world” gets points for audacity. But dig a little deeper into the mysterious retail experiment, House of SHOWFIELDS, and it’s hard to deny that there is something interesting indeed about the concept. Showfields is […]
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In a previous article, we discussed some retail trends related to packaging, including e-commerce optimization and plastic-free packaging. The commitment to reduce the use of plastic in packaging has now become simply a matter of “when,” not “if.” CPG giants, including The Coca-Cola Company, MARS, PepsiCo, and Unilever have pledged to use 100 percent reusable, recyclable or compostable
Sustainable Packaging That You Can Plant, Eat and Re-Use Read More »
Customer Segmentation is the division of a specific market into buckets of customers who share similar characteristics. However, gone are the days that big financial institutions can afford to segment their customers by merely using demographic criteria, including age and income, or firmographic attributes such as industry or company size. With fierce competition from fintechs and
Useful Customer Segmentation Methods for Banks Read More »
Do you understand your customer? It’s no longer enough to just know their age bracket, gender, and general interests. Do you know what emotions they’re feeling while looking to satisfy their needs? What thoughts go through their head when walking through a retail store? What online platforms they browse and what time of day they
How to Develop a Customer Journey Map Read More »
Since the breakthrough of technology, Millennials have changed the way retailers must accommodate shopping patterns. However, as “digital natives” Gen Z shoppers are creating an even bigger impact and challenge for retailers to provide the desired retail experience. Although Gen Z’s are typically thought of to be heavily reliant on technology, their shopping habits are
Gen Z’s Perspective on Retail Experience Read More »
Imagine the day a car can become an extension of your living room, where you can continue your leisurely activity of choice while being transported to your final destination. Well, it could be coming as soon as 2030! Self-driving cars are all over the news, with much publicity and anticipation as this futuristic marvel is quickly
How Self-Driving Cars Will Impact Retailers Read More »
Not only does a successful brand clearly define a unique and ownable position in the market, they also deliver on their promise and make an emotional connection with their customers. Brand assets such as tradition and performance are still relevant to consumers; however, these are ceasing to determine solely whether a person buys from one
The Evolution of Brand Activism Read More »
Marie Kondo has made the old adage “less is more” feel fresh again. In her popular Netflix show she helps people de-clutter homes by asking them to decide if the items they own spark joy. Anything that doesn’t meet this standard simply shouldn’t be in your home, she posits. The idea, one that resonates with many, is
What the End of Mass Consumption Means for Retailers Read More »
96 percent of unhappy customers will not tell the business they are upset with – but will share their dissatisfaction with 15 friends. With the prevalence of how quickly negative feedback spreads on social media, it’s more important than ever to keep up with customer sentiments before it damages a brand’s hard-earned credibility. Simply put, it
Unique Ways to Gain Customer Feedback Read More »
The facts are sobering: according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, by 2050 the ocean could contain more plastic than fish, and plastics could be consuming 20 percent of oil production and 15 percent of the carbon budget. Only 14 percent of plastic is recycled across the planet – the rest is tossed out, filling landfills, rivers
What Retailers Need to Know About the Circular Economy Read More »
Smart Banking promised to herald in the convenience of digital technology and more personalized customer service. Today most would agree what was imagined as utopia has yet to materialize for banks pioneering this new branch format. Early attempts have demonstrated that consumers remain attached to in-branch human interaction and are skeptical of the merits of
Five Strategies for Implementing a Smart Bank Read More »
Things used to be so simple. We bought nails at the hardware store, books at the bookstore, coffee from a coffee shop. We lived in communities made up primarily of dwellings, and commuted to work away from our homes. It was an easy time to be a retailer: put up a sign, stock your shelves
The Impact Mixed-Use Spaces Can Have on Retail Read More »
Seamlessness is now an expectation in our service-oriented society. Customers have little patience for services that are inconvenient, frustrating, and inefficient. We don’t want to wait in line, have to repeat ourselves, or deal with mistakes. Many major companies are selling services instead of physical products and are differentiating themselves based on customer experience. Brands
Service Design and the Banking Experience Read More »
With an ever-growing need for things that are faster, smarter and better, customers expect a lot from the brands that they support. Despite this, there are still dreaded friction points along the customer journey that hinder them from buying products and services, making them privy to abandoning their carts and falling right into a competitor’s
How to Avoid Customer Friction Points Read More »
You’re damned if you do, and you’re damned if you don’t. That’s the overwhelming response when you ask foodservice operators about third-party food delivery apps like UberEats, Skip the Dishes and Foodora. Such services say they are opening the door to new customers – but this isn’t what restauranteurs are seeing on the ground. The increase in ordering through
Should Foodservice Embrace Third-Party Delivery? Read More »
The majority of financial institutions are focused on ensuring their strongest asset for driving growth, namely their retail banking network, remains relevant with the rise of Fintech start-ups and new types of banking competitors. This need is most prevalent in Asia, and more specifically China, where there is an enormous and underserved appetite for smart
The Three Phases of Smart Banking Read More »
E-commerce is becoming more robust with each passing year, and there is no turning back. According to Statista, online sales corresponded for almost 12 percent of all retail sales worldwide in 2017, and close to 22 percent of the world population currently buys on the internet. These numbers are only increasing. Here are some driving
The Future of E-Commerce is Now Read More »
Personalization is at the top of every retailer’s list of goals. Win in personalization, and you win loyal customers who spend more. As technology improves, it will become possible to go even deeper and provide customers with highly specific service. In this blog we will explore the top experiences in personalization that are currently available,
Innovative Trends in Retail Personalization Read More »
In our previous blog we discussed the four tiers of immersive experience with the pinnacle representing the “Bionic Human,” a fully symbiotic technology enabled human delivering superior customer engagement. We often wonder how far into the future it will be that we witness the convergence of technology and human beings, such as The Six Million Dollar
New Technologies that Will Change the Banking Industry Read More »
Over five years ago, SLD introduced the word “immersive” into our company vision, and identified the term as the new definition of customer engagement. At the time, the idea of creating immersive experiences focused on how technology such as Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) would shift the way consumers engage with brands and
The Four Levels of Immersive Experiences Read More »
