Image: Burberry Regent Street Image provided by Stylus
'Retail‐tainment' is already one familiar to retailers but this year it will gain momentum with the addition of educational objectives. Together these concepts entertain consumers, beguiling them into spending more time and money in stores, whilst providing learning experiences that cement brand loyalty. UK jewellery label Tatty Devine is already testing the theory, running regular workshops from its London store, where brand fans can spend an evening drinking wine and learning how to make jewellery. The appeal for consumers lies in associating with like‐minded people, whilst the brand benefits from raising a positive public profile. Another approach to edu‐tainment is being taken by luxury British label Burberry. The brand’s London flagship store, launched in September 2012, features products embedded with RFID (radio‐frequency identification) tags. Once activated, the RFID chips trigger video content on nearby screens, revealing the making of the product. This initiative uses edu‐tainment to capitalise on consumer fascination with the brand’s heritage. Retail‐tainment and edu‐tainment increase brand accessibility, but there is another growing trend that takes this one step further. Over the past year the demand for personalisation and customisation has risen as consumers seek a more personal brand experience. In 2013, customisation and personalisation will provide crucial points of differentiation across all product categories, from mass‐
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market brands to the luxury players. Liquor brand, 94Wines, invites consumers to answer an online questionnaire before offering them three wines best suited to their tastes. Their bottle selection can then be personalised with digital messages recorded via the website and stored as a QR code on the label. The service makes the traditionally exclusive activity of wine selection inclusive‐ allowing the consumer to influence the taste, appearance and even sound of their purchase from the comfort of their living room. 94Wines employs digital methods of customisation but digital products are also being personalised. Last Christmas, Online retailer Amazon added a whimsical touch to digital gift cards by partnering with e‐card company Jib Jab. Together they offered shoppers the opportunity to send customised animated videos featuring their faces alongside the digital card.
Conversely, high‐end retailers are using customisation to elevate products to new heights of exclusivity. Luxury French label Louis Vuitton has built a workshop over its first fine jewellery boutique in Paris, launched in July 2012. Here clients choose gems with a gemmologist and discuss designs with Louis Vuitton’s artistic director of fine jewellery. As seen by these two examples, the multiple, often contradictory, effects of personalisation and customisation will contribute to the trends ubiquity across all retail sectors in 2013.
Consumers and retailers alike may be familiar with the social sell but this is a strategy evolving and improving all the time. Social selling no longer stops at Facebook; instead retailers are looking to sell via individual influencers and tastemakers and getting involved in communities, both on and offline. In many ways the beauty sector is leading the way in terms of social sales, creating communities that tap into user desire for social validation. US‐based social platform Bloom is a library of trends information, runway images and beauty inspiration shots, similar in functionality to Pinterest. Here users are able to create virtual pinboards, tagging individual products to create a look. To purchase items, consumers are redirected to third‐ party retail partners whilst Bloom takes a percentage of click‐through sales. Whether retailers wish it or not, customer expectations of the retail experience will continue to evolve in 2013. In order to survive, retailers must offer engaging experiences that reflect contemporary consumer lifestyle whilst retaining a strong sense of brand identity.
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