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Historically, global recessions have led to what experts call the “lipstick effect” – when consumers continue purchasing small luxury items, even during an economic downturn. In a world where masks and social distancing are the new normal – will this still reign true in the COVID-19 pandemic? And what can beauty brands and retailers do to remain competitive? Join us alongside very special guest Andrea Dorigo, Senior VP + General Manager of Global Retail at Estée Lauder to understand how the pandemic is affecting customer attitudes towards beauty and what companies in the industry are prepared to do about it. from Retail Prophet https://ift.tt/2IIxO4Q via IFTTT

By Reilly Stephens It’s estimated that 100,000 stores in the U.S could close by 2025 . Yet, even with these grim projections, the tone in the media and amongst retailers and brands over the last week has appeared to shift slightly from dire to determined. Companies that have struggled to innovate in the past are witnessing their teams develop and go to market with completely new strategies, campaigns, processes and systems. In some cases, this has actually invigorated teams. For example, in a recent webinar hosted by Brainstation “The Future of Retail: Succeeding In An Online Only World”, senior executives from NIKE, Chipotle and Shopify spoke about their learnings in pivoting to digital-only business during the pandemic. All panelists unanimously agree that the most surprising learning is the sheer pace with which they are able to innovate under the immense pressure the pandemic has placed on them. And while of course, the pandemic and its fallout still does not bode well for all r...

By Reilly Stephens COVID-19 has presented unique challenges and unprecedented circumstances for brands, but if we look carefully at the trajectory of the industry prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, it appears that the outcome, save for the tragic cost in human lives, is not that dissimilar from the retail future we would have eventually found ourselves in. In 2017, Retail Prophet projected that by 2033 the majority of all daily routine consumer purchases would take place online and at the time, those figures were met with scepticism. Today, we not only continue to stand by the projection, we believe that COVID-19 will accelerate online’s crossing of the 50% threshold by up to as much as 3 years. For example, order volume for online grocery retailers surged 210% from March 12 to 15, compared to the same period in 2019, according to  Rakuten Intelligence . And while it would be easy to explain away these numbers as nothing more than a temporary blip, it may be wrong to do so. Accord...

  By Reilly Stephens There simply is no sugar-coating it – the last 5 weeks have been absolutely devastating for businesses, with many furloughing and laying off their workforce in an attempt to keep themselves afloat amidst looming uncertainty over when this will end.  While the initial shock of the pandemic has begun to wear off, retailers and brands are now hard at work to determine the best way forward. That said, there seems to be a clear divide amongst companies. There are those putting the wellbeing of their people first and those prioritizing the health of their bottom line. What we know from objective research is that the decisions that are made in this critical time are arguably the most crucial branding exercise that a company will ever undertake. Last week, in article for Business of Fashion, “Why branding matters more now than ever” , our Founder, Doug Stephens outlined the importance of using crisis management as a branding opportunity and how this could ha...

  By Reilly Stephens In January 2020 we learned that sales at clothing retailers suffered their steepest decline since 2009.  Some might chalk this up to being nothing more than an extended holiday hangover, but whatever it is – it doesn’t bode well for retail. While automobiles, gasoline and food services were unchanged, retail sales across other categories continue to slow.  Now, in February with factors such as fears surrounding the Coronavirus there is uncertainty about if, when and how retail will bounce back. More retailers are looking to understand what changes they must make to their businesses in order not just achieve marginal year over year growth but to innovate their way to the top of their categories, and secure a special place in the hearts and minds of their customers. Here are our top articles for the month of February and some of the content we read and loved. Luxury Retail Hit By Coronavirus Speaking with CTV’s Your Morning, Doug lays out the tri...

By Reilly Stephens At Retail Prophet we had an incredible year traveling across the globe and speaking to the brilliant and inspiring retail leaders changing the industry.  Reengineering Retail , written by Doug Stephens became an international best-seller and is now translated in 4 languages. Thank you to everyone that took the time to comment and share our articles, podcast, videos and read the book. It is your curiosity and continuous quest for greatness that makes this industry so exciting to work in. If 2019 taught the retail industry anything it is not to accept that anything, or any company is as it seems on the surface. Amazon proved that they are not just a platform for brands to sell goods but a consumer packaged goods company, retailer, grocer, technology developer and media and entertainment enterprise. Apple proved that they are not just a retailer, but now, a financial technology company with the announcement of the new Apple credit card. Brands like Nike that co...