6 Themes in Retail Wellness, from WSL’s WELL Symposium

6 Themes in Retail Wellness, from WSL’s WELL Symposium blog banner featuring WELL Symposium logo and collage of photos from event
The wellness culture is taking over consumerism, but how well is it established in your company culture? At WSL’s WELL Symposium, executives from Nordstrom, CVS, Walmart, Walgreens, Zappos and others shared their firsthand experiences of integrating WELL into retail. In Retail, Wellness Must Carry from Cart to Culture There’s little wonder retailers see the Big ... Read more

Apple, Google, are the New Authorities in Healthcare. Is Retail Ready?

Apple, Google, are the New Authorities in Healthcare blog banner featuring colorful collage of tech and retail companies
If one device can pinpoint the moment in which wellness transitioned from a preference to a retail necessity, it would be the Apple Watch. We look into what Apple, along with tech companies like Google and Microsoft, have in store for consumer healthcare, and how it is changing the retail landscape for health and wellness. The ... Read more

3 Ways to Get Voice-Activated Devices to Pay Off (Hint: You Need a Screen)

Blog banner featuring family at home with voice activated device on kitchen counter
Can we talk about voice technology in retail? If retailers are investing in VA technology, they need to be doing so in areas beyond saving time and easy refills. These qualities are building blocks, but growth follows sales, and sales follow browsing. And that browsing must be displayed as well as heard, hands-free. Based on ... Read more

5 Service Lessons from Ikea’s Manhattan Planning Studio

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Ikea’s “planning studio,” to open in April, is bringing the suburbs to the city, which apparently is just where new urban dwellers want it. Here are five ways Ikea is going to redesign the shopping trip. Today’s city-dwellers don’t merely want suburban comforts and amenities, they want to live a suburban, urban life – and ... Read more

The Store Shelf is a Huge Underused Media Center

Blog banner featuring blurred store aisle with speech bubbles overlaid on top asking shopper questions
Retailers are over investing in stores of the future and digital technologies while the shelf, where 91% of consumer packaged goods sales happen, remains an emotional wasteland. Shoppers have emotional connections to the categories they buy, triggered by the benefits they expect from using a product, so why do retailers keep delivering transactional experiences? Engage ... Read more

Robomart May Resurrect the Strip Mall: Future Shopping Life

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If self-driving stores and same-day delivery are the future of Shopping Life®, encouraging shoppers to stay at home, then what will become of traditional (and outmoded) centers? We have a few ideas… but what are yours? We thought Shopping Life® had changed in the last five years, but the next five (or two) will make ... Read more

Big Brands Still Matter – Stop Being So Defensive

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Small brands are gaining trust and influence on the store shelf, but can retailers just walk away from big heritage labels? Not likely. Shoppers want access to both small and big names, our research shows, but for different reasons. Here’s how adventure, and even self-expression, factor in, and how some merchants are responding. Bigger Brands ... Read more

Gen Z Is More Important Today Than Ever, 5 Reasons Why

Blog banner featuring woman with sunglasses holding her phone while rolling inside a shopping cart
Generation Z, now one-quarter of the US population, is growing up and providing a fresh glimpse into retail’s future. Here are five factors you need to know about how this generation shops and differs from Millennials. Generation Z, those born between 1996 and 2011, represents 26% of the total population, according to Nielsen, and its roughly 72 ... Read more

Are You Getting In The Shopper’s Way? If Not, It’s Time

Blog banner featuring two women shopping in a store with a clerk behind the counter
Shoppers demand to make purchases in different ways, and those different ways are changing. To cross their paths, a merchant needs to connect with shoppers in the fleeting moments when they may be considering a purchase. Here are three ways to do so. The shopper left for the store as focused as a missile, but something en ... Read more

Shoppers Have Ditched Routines: Here’s How to Reach Them

Blog banner featuring photo of busy street of people with motion blur and dotted line paths overlaid on top
When it comes to shopping, the routine has all but disappeared for a significant portion of shoppers. Fortunately, a wealth of digital technology can help brands and retailers intercept shoppers – if they prioritize. We’ve got three disarmingly easy ways to do so. Want to sum up the shopper’s path to purchase in 10 words? Try ... Read more

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