According to Howard Saunders, a retail futurist who has worked in retail design for over twenty five years and was former creative director of Fitch (based in London), retailers in this current era need to think long haul and bespoke around “selfies” in a universe where the extraordinary and community are sought out. “Retail has undergone many shifts in an ever changing world. Think climate change, terrorism, drones, big data, hackers, and Alzheimer’s,” says Saunders at the Westfi
eld breakfast seminar. “In this environment, big data is huge, 3D printing is on the horizon and robotics are featuring. Just look at Henn-na Hotel Hotel in Nagasaki, which has a robot at reception.”
The shifts have resulted in business becoming more complex because retailers are operating in a post-apocalyptic climate, ie post 2008, and their customers are no longer shoppers but rebooted high-minded heroes or selfies, says Saunders.
Saunders explains though that things do not happen gradually in this environment but in swathes. “There are dividing lines; everything is fine and then everything is not fine.
“Herein brands are trying to build a better world and find more meaning out of the cinders.
“And the new customer that brands are addressing is called PAM, which stands for post-apocalyptic millennial, a shopper who demands ‘the’ product as opposed to ‘a’ product.”
For PAM, even having lunch is challenging because the question arises as to whether the right sandwich is being eaten.
Saunders says that PAM will go to a coffee shop in in Detroit because word of mouth says its barista makes “the” coffee. They too will seek out the likes of the extraordinary cronut – a mix of croissant and doughnut – at Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York where customers line up for more than an hour and a half for their fried-pastry experience. This authentic experience is sought over imitator, Crumbs Bake Shop, which tried unsuccessfully to market a near-identical “crumbnut” before going insolvent.
In addition, PAM only trusts experts, which is why expertise and focus are necessary qualities in retail.
“Niche, niche, niche. Manhattan Brooklyn gave birth to the single-item restaurant. The Meatball Shop and Egg Shop are examples of this,” says Saunders.
Other examples include Hunter’s first global flagship store on London’s iconic Regent St, which showcases the iconic Original boot, new footwear styles, outerwear and accessories; Lyle’s, a restaurant in Shoreditch, London, which offers a set menu; Tim Mälzer’s restaurant Bullerei in Hamburg, which offers a limited menu which says “fuck off”; and Tincan, a pop-up restaurant in London that serves gourmet fish from gorgeous tins in designer surroundings. “Are you a fan of the can – and would you pay someone to open it for you?” This points to mecentricity, ie here I am, the centre of the universe.
“In the 1960s only 15 per cent of the population saw themselves as important but now it’s the opposite. A selfies culture permeates retail,” exclaims Saunders.
Selfie shoppers are self-absorbed, he adds.
He believes the increasing popularity of personalised and bespoke items is evidence of this such as H&M giving customers their 15 minutes of fame on the catwalk, Nutella offering its product with the consumer’s name written all over it, and Normal in New York printing out 3D headphones that are customised for the contours of individual selfie ears.
“A difficult question that retailers have to ask themselves is whether they have become boring,” says Saunders. “For too long stores have been a place where things are stored.
“Now customers are not interested in the yellow top but in where it comes from and who designed it. If the story is boring, customers may walk away. Opinions, a narrative and even dialogue with the customer are required to sell.
“Betabrand in San Francisco is a scruffy store from which designs are crowdsourced while Rebecca Minkoff in Soho, New York, has an interactive video wall where customers can ask for different sizes and change lighting.”
Saunders promulgates the idea of personalisation in websites, saying too many websites “throw you the keys to the warehouse” when consumers prefer a curated selection of products that would best interest them. Companies seeking to succeed online need a clear “brand identity” which positions them as experts with defined opinions.
Moreover, community has to be added to the mix because in PAM’s brain retail is community; ie buying friends and family. Retailers which openly seek to create communities around their products or premises such as adding an element of “club culture” are reaping the benefits.
This is evident in the fact that farmers markets in the US have doubled since 2008 because they are community-building.
“These millennials have to be inspired, to the extent that they will buy a toasted sandwich because it comes to them out of the sky via a parachute,” concludes Saunders. “Effectively, nothing need be ordinary.”
Nerine Zoio: nerine@insideretail.co.nz