What's Changed and What Does the Future Hold for Retail with Rich Kizer and Georganne Bender

Consumer anthropologists, Rich Kizer and Georganne Bender, discuss their watershed moments and how the pandemic has changed the retail landscape for the better. Despite the rise of eCommerce, Brick & Mortar is here to stay.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• We are at a fork in the road moment for many businesses right now.
  
  
• Another fork in the road in retail was when Big Box retail entered the US retail landscape, especially for small town retailers. It required a shift in thinking.
  
  
• Stores are living organisms — constantly changing.
  
  
• You think you're in control of your business and of your life — you're not!
  
  
• The pandemic has forced all of us to rethink who we are, what we do, and how we do it. It will make all of us better in many ways.
  
  
• This is not the "new normal." It's the "now normal."
  
  
• Future of retail:

• • Once an online retailer hit's a certain plateau, it is too expensive for them to grow sales online without a brick and mortar platform.
  • Visiting a store is the "icing on the cake" for customers.
    
    
  • Buy Online Pickup In Store will be a large driver for brick and mortar.
    
    
  • Shopping is social - that will never go away.
    
    
  • People are looking for experience, and for many products they want to touch and feel things.
    
    
• How is the consumer changing?

• • Customers have always held the cards, but since COVID they hold every single card.
    
    
  • Retailers have to figure out how to engage them and keep them loyal.
    
    
  • Where consumers go will depend on what the retailer does to attract them - BOPIS, curbside pickup, and other conveniences, as well as how the store keeps them safe.

To contact Rich and Georganne, you can reach them at info@kizerandbender.com. Or find them on LinkedIn at Rich Kizer and Georganne Bender.

If you'd like to be a guest on the podcast, reach out to Clint O'Rear at Clint@CreativeRetailTalks.com.

Learn how Clint and his team at Creative Sales Consulting connect suppliers & retailers in the creative arts industries to build stronger relationships and strategic sales growth, in order to bring joy to consumers through artistic creative and decorative products.

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Music:

"Carpe Diem" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/