BW Confidential - Issue #16 - November/December 2013 - (Page 64)

Retail The store of the future credit: istock Through the looking glass How beauty retailing is set to evolve in the years to come by Alissa Demorest S tep into a perfumery or a department store’s beauty area today and it is not that different from 20 years ago. Will this still be the case 20 years from now? Or will new technologies, which critics say beauty retailers are slow to embrace, and the rise of e-commerce—the most pressing issue forcing brick-and-mortar retailers to up their game— encourage a more interactive and dynamic retail environment? Retailers are looking for the online and brick64 and-mortar shopping experience to feed into one another. The goal is to encourage traffic and sales across both channels, from web to store, and store to web. “Everyone is surfing on the wave of the ‘seamless experience’, but it has not yet become a reality. Of course it’s easier if you are a brand with your own store, but for a brand in multi-brand retail, it’s simply not possible today,” comments France-based digital agency Equinoa founder Timothée Raymond. Discounting campaigns, for example, should happen at the same time instore and online, but that kind of integration is not yet commonplace. Just a showroom? Beauty retailers’ fear when it comes to the web is that the physical store will become merely a showroom, which the consumer will visit, but not buy in and that she will instead purchase at a cheaper outlet. “What bothers me about the concept of ‘showrooming’ November-December 2013 - N°16 - BW Confidential

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of BW Confidential - Issue #16 - November/December 2013

Cover
Comment
Contents
Update
Brand & retail news recap
Companies on the move
Take note Market facts, figures & trends
Best of BW Highlights from our e-publication
Launches The latest in fragrance, skincare & make-up
Interview Coty ceo Michele Scannavini
Insight: Fragrance
Category overview
Regional breakdown
Launch strategies
The niche market
Retailer initiatives
Launch roundup
Strategy M&A analysis
Retail
The store of the future
Creative strategies
Store concepts
Digital Innovation strategies
Market watch: Brazil
Country overview
Natura & Grupo Boticário
International brand strategies
Prestige retailing
Trendwatch Upcoming innovation
Travel retail
Channel analysis
The CIVETs
Digital strategies
Interview: L’Oréal Luxe md travel retail worldwide Barbara Lavernos
Interview: WDFG global head of beauty Antonin Carreau
Radar Up-and-coming brands
Emerging markets Company profile: Shanghai Jahwa
Packaging
Luxury packs in the BRICs
Luxury innovations
Industry viewpoint
Last word Euromonitor International senior analyst beauty and personal care Oru Mohiuddin

BW Confidential - Issue #16 - November/December 2013