design:retail - March 2018 - 32

perspectives

032

Liquid Retail

ODAY'S RETAIL environment is

ever-changing and more fluid
than it ever has been. How can
retailers keep up and get ready
for what is to come? Alison
Gough, senior U.S. analyst with the New
York office for Stylus, will be presenting
"Liquid Retail" at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday,
March 27, during GlobalShop 2018 in
Chicago. Ahead of her presentation, we
asked her about retail's mercurial nature and
what to look forward to in the next few years.
design:retail: What is "Liquid Retail?"
Alison Gough: Global retail has never been
more shape-shifting, sliding into always-on
social media, service, education and entertainment.
"Liquid Retail" explores how to navigate and exploit
this 24-hour, hyper-connected, "live" world.
Digital innovation is the bedrock of Liquid
Retail. As such, I'll be diving into examples ranging
from advanced chat commerce to "haggle tech,"
and real-time retailing with a personalized spin-
including AI (artificial intelligence) initiatives that
register emotions.
It's also about how this digital landscape in flux
will alter the physical retail space, requiring stores
to be supercharged with agility, and increasingly
service-led.
d:r: How is retail becoming more versatile and
less structured?
Gough: Versatility is increasingly prized by consumers. This is a driven philosophy of the sharing
economy and the increasing unpredictability of
work and family life.
Progressive brands like online fashion retailer
Zalando are persuading commitment-shy shoppers by letting them test or hold onto products for
extended periods before making decisions. While
seemingly counterintuitive, such flexibility is
turning "try-ers" into buyers-leapfrogging hefty
returns and triggering upselling.
Resales are also booming, and we're seeing the

MARCH 2018

DESIGNRETAILONLINE.COM

long-term potential of this thanks to a new generation of teen traders buying specifically to resell,
making "pre-owned" a positive thing. Semi-deluxe
boutique versions of seconds and samples stores
from fashion brands Eileen Fisher and Filippa K are
also fueling this blossoming appetite.
d:r: What methods are stores adopting to get
people in the door?
Gough: We're seeing a new genre of physically
dexterous "chameleon" spaces that are rejecting
cookie-cutter aesthetics and reframing retailing as cultural programming. By introducing
features such as "experience sommeliers," these
environments allow brands to test, learn and react at speed, while creating a unique experience.
As an example, in Japan, beauty brand Shiseido
is working on a Global Innovation Center, due to
open at the end of this year, which will house its
R&D hub and space devoted to staff-consumer
interaction. Consumers will be able to test the
cosmetics and give their feedback to Shiseido
researchers, ultimately becoming co-creators of
products for the brand.

ALISON GOUGH
SENIOR U.S. ANALYST
STYLUS

emotionally read consumers' reactions in
a selling situation will transcend previous
press-worthy gimmicks to mean far more
than anything that's just fun or slightly
emotive-it will evolve to become a powerful commercial tool.
Software such as Chinese-based Emotibot already enables AI to respond to human
signals, like facial expressions, while Bostonbased Affectiva has compiled a database of
6 million face videos from 87 countries,
which can account for cultural differences
in emotional expression.
What this sort of technology enables is
a continuous conversation with customers that can tap into live behaviors-making
them feel like they're less predictable; less like consumers, and more human.
d:r: What is retail doing right?
Gough: A rise in service-only stores is acknowledging a growing economy where knowledgeable
assistance is becoming as lucrative as vending
physical products.
We've seen this with Nordstrom opening a
prototype concept store in Los Angeles that offers
nothing but services, including click-and-collect
and returns. While Zara's concept store in London
is part showroom and part fulfilment store for
online purchases, returns and exchanges. Expo
or incubator stores also speak to this appetite for
service and newness. Two of the best are b8ta in
the United States and Sandbox in London, which
both offer retail tech. The products sit on demo
tables, with showcased brands shipping orders
directly, allowing the space to remain agile and
relatively lightweight.
ALISON GOUGH OVERSEES STYLUS' U.S.-SPECIFIC RESEARCH. SHE
HAS MORE THAN 12 YEARS EXPERIENCE AS AN EDITOR AND ANALYST
SPECIALIZING IN CONSUMER ATTITUDES. GOUGH PREVIOUSLY

d:r: Where do you see retail heading over the
next five years?
Gough: Over the next few years, the ability to

GLOBALSHOP.ORG

WORKED AT FORECASTER WGSN AND AT PECLERS PARIS. AS A
FREELANCE DESIGNER, SHE HAS WORKED FOR CLIENTS SUCH AS
DONNA KARAN, DVF AND VICTORIA'S SECRET.

Photo by SCIENCEPHOTO/SHUTTERSTOCK

http://www.DESIGNRETAILONLINE.COM http://www.GLOBALSHOP.ORG

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