by Mimi Nicklin (@MimiNicklin) If I were going to write my three top ‘trends’, it would be, however, in favour of avoiding the ‘T’ word altogether. I shall instead pick out three provocative suggestions for retail that are worthy of thought in 2014.
Tag archives: by Mimi Nicklin
The Sell: Why retailers should care about their shoppers’ homes
by Mimi Nicklin (@miminicklin) Just as homes are the physical and emotional centres of our lives, so too are they the focal point of our consumption and spending. Yet, when you walk around the store, how often do you see products and offers tailored to this powerful emotional context for our shoppers?
The Sell: 50 Shades of Same
by Mimi Nicklin (@miminicklin) It seems to me that in general people like to talk ‘shopper’, and agencies like to claim ‘shopper’, but that often underlying this trendy new money maker is a disinterest from the industry that is so powerful that the discipline is not only an afterthought, but avoided all together.
The perception is that the ‘in-store bit’ is the less interesting, less exciting sister of the rest of the communications mix.Whilst we know this is the final and critical point of actually selling the product, it gets dismissed, forgotten or left to the last minute. The shopper conceptgets left with no time to research, to create or to innovate, with a belief that an on-pack sticker or a busy wobbler will be enough to convert the habitual shopper mom as she flies down the aisle.
In a previous life I may also have fallen into this group of people so I am not totally naïve. I know that producing a TV ad is more glamorous than designing a gondola end, and I know that the photography behind a print adcan, literally, stop one in their tracks. However, I have spent thelast few days wondering why it is that ‘shopper’ in the USA, Europe and even Asia is a discipline full of change and innovation and excitement, yet in SAwe are so often stuck with‘matching luggage’ linked to the consumer campaign that fades into the clutter of retail messaging. Why can’t we see what the rest of the world is seeing so clearly?
The Sell: Is a Cannes (Lion) on the shelf worth two cans in the basket?
by Mimi Nicklin (@miminicklin) I find myself asking how we balance the recognition for creativity, with our constant fight for value adding work that sells to shoppers as well as consumers.
The Sell: Shopper data — a ‘blockbuster’ debate between Minority Report and Zero Dark Thirty
by Mimi Nicklin (@miminicklin) I don’t know about you but I find it very irritating every time I read a newspaper article or report that quotes the Tom Cruise film, Minority Report, as a reference to how ‘psychic’ we are becoming when it comes to shopper data analysis.
The Sell: Driving bigger baskets. Learnings from Mickey Mouse
by Mimi Nicklin. Walt Disney once said “People spend money where and when they feel good.” This understanding led Disney to found one of experiential retail’s biggest-ever successes.
The Sell: Giant Footsteps, Local Shoes.
by Mimi Nicklin (@miminicklin) I recently presented on this topic at the Shopper Indaba and enjoyed it so much I can’t help but write further on it. The premise here is that while the globe looks onto the emerging markets with interest, and deep pockets, it is questionable as to what we are really doing to ensure that our retail environment is learning from the giants out there (Tesco, Walmart) whilst effectively tailoring our stores and brands to local demands.
The Sell: Is ‘pretty’ enough?
by Mimi Nicklin (@miminicklin) I strongly believe in the power of brands and of the emotional connection we have with them. When you look into the psychology of buying you notice it is often based on those emotional connections that we have made as consumers of these brands.