SPECS Spring Social: Four key takeaways

Gone are the days when retailers could rely solely on cookie-cutter store designs and conventional business operations to expand their store portfolios. 

“Consumer shopping [habits] have been changing for some time, the pandemic just accelerated them,” Lee Peterson, executive VP, thought leadership and marketing, WD Partners, said at Chain Store Age’s SPECS Spring Social, a virtual event held March 24-25. To succeed going forward, “retailers need to focus on what is most important for customers, and bring more relevant services and concepts to shoppers.”

Here are four key takeaways from the event that will keep retailers on point:

• Partner with Local Governments. As retailers step up expansion plans in a post-pandemic landscape, collaboration and open dialogue with local government officials is a must. 

“It is a new administration and a very different day for employers on the local side,” Joe Kefauver, managing partner, Align Public Strategies said at the SPECS Spring Social. “To be considered a community partner, companies must forge a relationship among lawmakers in the regions they operate in.”

This effort requires retailers to “come to the table ready share best practices and solutions,” he advised. 

“Employers need to establish their position with policy makers and explain why your business is not only important to local consumers, but also how it will be part of the regional fabric,” Kefauver said.

• Take a Stance on Climate Control. The new administration is giving new attention to land use standards, such as reducing air emissions, advancing alternative fuels and electric vehicles, and pursuing clean energy initiatives, among other efforts. As state and local lawmakers sharpen their land use initiatives, retailers need to find a way to be part of the solution. 

“From alleviating traffic congestion and reducing carbon footprints to suggesting innovative land-use ideas, retailers need to share sustainability goals that will enable them to successfully develop and operate their business,” Kefauver said.

• Reimagine your Store Portfolio. The pandemic has conditioned shoppers to procure their merchandise the fastest and most efficient ways possible. A year later, this demand hasn’t waned.  To meet customer expectations, retailers are diversifying store portfolios with concepts that promote convenience. 

From operating smaller box stores in urban or rural communities to opening “showrooms” and temporary pop-up concepts that enable shoppers to “test” merchandise and have it shipped to their homes, “retailers have more opportunities to get closer to their customers on their terms,” Peterson explained. 

“The key to success is to figure out what shopper wants,” he added. “Consumers don’t have to shop at stores, but retailers have find ways to make them want to visit — and there are plenty of opportunities.”

• Trade Dark Stores for “Cloud Locations.” Retailers continue to find new ways to reimagine stores temporarily shuttered during the pandemic. One concept is the evolution of “cloud stores,” or multi-use locations designed to feature a high-touch shopping experience in the front of the store, while the back-end is utilized as a micro-fulfillment center. 

“Retailers can explore new, efficient customer experiences with self-checkout and scan-and-go apps in a showroom setting, and use the back-end for fulfillment and delivery services,” Peterson said. 

“E-commerce and channel blurring will only get stronger moving forward, and retailers need a new way to manage this operation,” he added. “These locations may fulfill orders via BOPIS, or make deliveries using drones or electric cars. They will require lots of coordination across IT, operations and store design, however, the functionality is an ideal way to reduce costs and shorten the last mile of delivery.”