Insights

In his 1987 book "The Art of the Deal," then developer Donald Trump wrote about the value of starting a negotiation with a dramatic and even unrealistic proposal. That makes one ponder how much of President Trump’s strong language is just bluster and how much might be indicative of a true departure from policy orthodoxy.  

Although Amazon's sales advanced by a respectable 23% over the quarter (do link to our story yesterday), the pace of growth at the online behemoth remains much slower than it was over most of the prior fiscal year. Some of this is the result of a less favorable exchange rate diluting contributions from the international business. However, some is also down to a more challenging demand environment in North America which has limited spending uplifts on products within Amazon's core territory.  

Omnichannel promised to integrate physical and digital channels, allowing retailers to deliver a seamless shopping experience. But in reality, because of stand-alone, legacy systems, many of these channels operate in silos, making it difficult to achieve full transparency and causing missed opportunities.   

As Congress reconvenes after the Easter recess, retail operators have a tremendous amount at stake. The industry is in an unprecedented state of strife with major legacy brands announcing large scale closures.   

Much like 2016, the first quarter of 2017 has seen a slow start to consumer spending. However, just like last year, this is expected to be a temporary setback. Strong consumer confidence and income growth have set the stage for a spending bounce back in the second quarter.   

As recently as the 1990s, the only real form of text-based communication with customers was via email. Today, consumers have a range of social platforms they use to effortlessly communicate — and they expect their shopping experiences to be effortless and, more importantly, seamless across channels as well.    

Mass retail is at a crossroads. Many of the iconic brands that are mainstays for our biggest and best malls are announcing layoffs and closures. The traditional brick-and-mortar store continues to see reduced foot traffic and most can’t seem to find a remedy. Amid this retail doom and gloom, however, there is one retailer that is rising above the rest: Ulta Beauty.  

Store closings are commonplace. Online shopping options grow. From time immemorial, stores were built with brick-and-mortar. Better materials for today would be innovation and experiences.    We in the field of store design are seeing some promising signs that an evolution is underway.