The concept of the Unique Sales Proposition (USP) has been enshrined in marketing and sales circles for decades. Advanced by advertising executive Rosser Reeves in the late 1940s and 50s and then introduced into the lexicon in his 1961 book […]
How to Differentiate a Brand Read More »
I recently returned from NRF’s 2023 “Big Show” in New York, along with nearly 40,000 of my new best friends. There were plenty of shiny new objects such as holograms, smart mirrors, the metaverse, and the like. These innovations certainly
Driving Meaningful and Enduring Retail Change Read More »
Walmart versus Target? Check. Kroger and Albertsons versus the FTC and Congress? Check. Aldi versus Lidl? Check. Dollar stores versus…well, versus all of the above? Check. If you’re keeping score, 2023 promises to be one of the most turbulent years
Amazon has wasted the past several years and billions of dollars fiddling around with testing physical stores of all types and failing (a couple of Amazon Style stores are still breathing). It also over-predicted growth following the pandemic and retreated
Walmart Checks Another Box that Amazon Can’t Read More »
Oxford Languages (the dictionary people) defines nostalgia as “a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.” But nostalgia isn’t relegated to time periods that we’ve personally experienced. Remember the late 60s resurgence in the early
Gen Z Nostalgia is Accelerating: Categories to Watch Read More »
Speculation surrounding the future of retail continues unabated. But a stroll through the Innovation Lab 2023 at the NRF Big Show revealed the bets that startups have placed on retail’s future priorities and pain points, offering tech-based systems and services
Take Notice: Smart Systems Are Accelerating Read More »
Looking back on NRF 2023, many of us were relieved that it didn’t focus on the Metaverse and NFTs this year. CEOs on the keynote stage talked about getting the stores right with better locations and optimal formats. Exhibitors and
Stores Are Back. Now What? Read More »
Even before the November 2022 class action lawsuit against Sephora, filed by a customer who evidently felt bamboozled by its “Clean at Sephora” seal, I could sense the once-hot category of “clean” beauty was sputtering. Utterly ill-defined, even more so
Clean Is Under Siege Read More »
The spatial footprint of companies touting computer vision and just-walk-out-the-door technology on the Expo floor at the NRF Big Show 2023 was large. AI is the talk of the show as retail’s latest technology trend. It dominates the conversation, even
Uniqlo and Avery Dennison Innovate with RFID Read More »
Express lines. Self-checkout. Online virtual orders. Contactless checkout. But slow-moving, chit-chat checkout lines? Yes, bucking the trend of shorter, faster, and more efficient shopping – the descriptive terms that have been the hallmarks of the modern consumer retail experience over
Slow Checkout Is a Competitive Advantage Read More »
