How is your business changing?
At Formglas, we want to help you answer that question. That’s why, in April 2007, we visited a TNS Retail Forward Conference called “Retailing 2015: New Frontiers”. Here, industry luminaries foretold the state of the retail business eight years from now.
What did we find out? Far too much to write down here, but we did pick a few topics that we thought you would want to know about.
Going to the niche
Stack it high and let it fly? Trends will change so fast that high stacks may gather dust, as consumers increasingly break away from the mainstream flock to find the things that suit them best.
Specialty retailers will respond by bringing a narrow focus to the bricks-and-mortar marketplace. The bricks and mortar themselves become ever more important as retailers strive to create experiences that shoppers demand.
Coming up with concepts
Have you heard of rent-a-stalls, pop-up stores and trunk shows? If not, you will soon. They’ll join kiosks, stores-in-stores and other new, more flexible concepts to augment a retailer’s reach into the marketplace.
Greater concept choice will create greater pressure. Retailers who already refresh stores regularly will need to adapt using these and other upcoming “store” concepts as they keep their brands from becoming stale.
And as architects and builders work ever faster to meet the needs of their commercial clients, all parties must work to keep the brand consistent from one type of location to the next. The brand is in the details, from interior fixtures to the façade, from the merest kiosk to the flagship store.
Be a good neighbor
Big box as eyesore? Maybe, but not for much longer. Urban planners and community groups are demanding that the businesses moving in to the neighbourhood also fit in to the neighbourhood.
Fortunately, choices for durable, attractive building exteriors abound. Consider cladding. Or exterior panels. Or maybe moulded shapes. And don’t forget the insides of your store. After all, your overall customer experience starts with an esthetically pleasing environment.
Who’s to say that the corporate image can’t fit the neighbourhood’s taste?
Time is of the essence
Retail shoppers aren’t the only people pressed for time. Architects and builders work under ever-tighter deadlines. And just as consumers flock to big boxes to reduce shopping time, architects and builders seek the equivalent for their exterior and interior architectural product needs.
Deadlines, of course, come from clients. Every moment of retail downtime means lost revenue. Reduce the timeline for a store refresh and the retailer captures potential lost revenues. Consider preformed products, engineered at the factory to be installed efficiently at the job site to reduce both construction and labor costs, and the tills will ring again sooner.
If you want to share your thoughts about future trends or ask us how we can make your next store buildout a better experience, give us a call. We’d be happy to listen.
About Formglas
For over 45 years, Formglas has helped a wide variety of commercial clients, from retail stores to hospitality businesses, create a memorable ambiance they want to deliver to their clientele. Once you decide the look your business should have, Formglas can create an interior and exterior environment that supports your brand and creates your desired customer experience.
We engineer lightweight, non-combustible products that provide an opportunity for a dramatic appearance with a reduction on installation time and cost. Formglas products, offered in a wide array of shapes, textures and finishes, are proven alternatives to traditional building materials and provide enhanced durability.
For more information, please visit our web site: formglas.com.
Formglas. Shaping Possibilities.