VMSD - August 2012 - (Page 4)

FE FROM THE EDITOR Get to Know Tom, Dick ... and Henry Are you covering the needs of all your shoppers? 11262 Cornell Park Drive Cincinnati, OH 45242 P: 513.421.2050 | F: 513.421.5144 vmsd@stmediagroup.com | VMSD.com During VMSD’s inaugural IRDC Roadshow in June, keynote speaker Marian Salzman told the audience of retailers and designers, “Millennials are probably not the sort of consumers you would have wished for, but they’ve arrived. So what will you do to reach them?” Salzman was referring to millennials’ finicky reputations, their sense of immediacy and their desire to have social shopping be a natural part of their buying experiences, among other characteristics used to define this generation. Retailers and brands desperately need to get to know them – they’re poised to be the largest and most influential consumer group by 2015. The discussion got me thinking about all the generations and types of shoppers and who retailers would pick if given the chance. Do you prefer the toddler-toting mom over a DINK? Male shoppers or female? Baby boomers versus gen-Y consumers? And what about Henry, the “High Earner Not Rich Yet” shopper earning between $100,000 and $250,000 a year? These customers represent 40 percent of consumer spending, according to a recent Bloomberg article. “They’re the heavy-lifters of the consumer economy,” Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing (Stevens, Pa.), tells Bloomberg. If they become more cautious, she warns, bad things may happen to our economy. But sales reports from April, May and June show signs that consumers – including Henrys – are already curbing their spending over concerns about the global economy, stock market performance and home values. Which leads me back to the idea of different consumer types: How well do you know the people entering your stores? Are you adapting to their changing needs and habits? One way to get to know your shoppers better is using shopper insights tools. In our special report this month, VMSD discusses a host of new technologies to help retailers track shoppers’ habits within the store environment. (Learn more on page 18.) Another way to gather consumer data is to spend three days with VMSD during our annual International Retail Design Conference, held in Chicago, September 5-7. (Check out irdconline.com.) Here, you’ll also have the chance to glean insight from such top brands as Starbucks, Gap, Hershey, Target, H2O+, Liverpool and McDonald’s. With mounting pressure to please shareholders and deliver positive sales reports, you have to be prepared to meet the needs of all shoppers. What are you doing to reach millennials, boomers, Xers, Henrys and everyone else who walks through your doors? EDITORIAL Editor Anne DiNardo anne.dinardo@stmediagroup.com Senior Art Director Kimberly Pegram kim.pegram@stmediagroup.com Associate Editor Robin Donovan robin.donovan@stmediagroup.com Editor at Large Steve Kaufman steve.kaufman@stmediagroup.com New York Editor Eric Feigenbaum European Editor John Ryan, London SALES Publisher U.S. / Canada Murray Kasmenn murray.kasmenn@stmediagroup.com P: 770.578.2577 Business Development Manager International Patricia Iannelli patricia.iannelli@stmediagroup.com Via G. Rossini 16, 21100 Varese, Italy P: +39.0332.240285 C O R P O R AT E President Tedd Swormstedt Design Group Editorial Director Kristin D. Zeit Audience Development Director Christine Baloga Production Coordinator Keri Harper Book Division Director Mark Kissling Reprint Information 800-925-1110, ext. 399 4 AUGUST 2012 | vmsd.com WHITN EY HARROD, CIN CIN NATI SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES P.O. Box 1060 / Skokie, IL 60076 P: (847) 763-4938 / F: (847) 763-9030 VMSD@halldata.com http://www.VMSD.com http://www.irdconline.com http://www.vmsd.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of VMSD - August 2012

VMSD - August 2012
Contents
From the Editor
VMSD Editorial Advisory Board
The Goods
Next Store
Dress Up With a Twist
Through the Eyes of the Consumer
The Year of the Unexpected
Play Time
Task Masters
Showroom
Ad Index
Checking Out

VMSD - August 2012