DMM Retail Industry e-News Issue #216

Pandemic Accelerates “Work-Home-Life” Themes at Nation’s Malls

One of the last of the largest malls to open before the pandemic was American Dream, which is just about as much carnival and amusement park as it is retail and eateries. But in the post-pandemic world, more shopping centers are looking to focus on the comforts of home. That’s according to beauty and fashion website Glossy.co. New malls, Editor-in-Chief Jill Manoff points out, are more likely to include healthcare centers, workplaces and residences, along with grocery and drugstores. “To seamlessly fit into consumers’ new, ultra-convenient lifestyles…malls’ transformation into one-and-done destinations is being re-visioned and accelerated,” she notes. Office space company, Industrious, brought it concepts to malls three years ago, and people have embraced their workplace that comes with lots of amenities that many traditional offices just don’t have. “We were a little skittish, not knowing whether a Fortune 500 company would feel comfortable holding meetings in a mall. But our [mall locations] have exceeded our expectations in every area, including customer satisfaction and retention,” said Industrious co-founder and CEO Jamie Hodari.

From “Office Space” to “Blend Space” (In Bezos’ Dreams, Next Stop: “Outer Space”)

Blend Space: illustrating how experiential flow and physical-digital touch points can meet a range of needs and shopping “modes.” That’s a concept developed by EPAM Continuum, a global innovation design firm that specializes in customer experience design. EPAM Continuum’s Megan Welker, Associate Director of Innovation Consulting, spoke recently with Retail TouchPoints. “As the world continues to open up, you’re going to see the retail space transition more into an event space. During the pandemic, retail was one of the few avenues for people to go out and experience novelty and feel connection to other humans in their lives, and that really is blooming as the world reopens. Retail is still one of the only places you can go for connection and entertainment,” Welker said. Click here to read the whole Q&A, which also included Jessica Maniatis, EPAM Continuum’s Director of Innovation Consulting.

Amazon Looks Toward Larger Department Stores as Brick-and-Mortar Predicted to Dominate Black Friday

Amazon appears to be interested in other real-world retail locations. Hilding Anderson, Publicis Sapient’s Head of Retail Strategy, wrote recently on MyTotalRetail.com that Amazon not only has been experimenting with physical stores for the last few years, the company is also leaning toward department store space. “Within these physical locations, Amazon will have the ability to see a fuller breadth of physical goods personalized and merchandised to that geographic market,” Anderson said. Check out the article for more on that and ways that retailers can transform their stores for the future. Anderson also cited a new Publicis Sapient study that found that a majority of Americans will do their Black Friday shopping in-store, or at least pick-up online orders there. “[S]tores…must be adapted to fit the needs and expectations of today’s consumers through the integration of both physical and digital elements,” Anderson said. Another study found similar results. The 2021 Retail Trends Report from Conductor found that “even as consumers continue to turn to e-commerce, traditional brick-and-mortar retailers are expected to dominate online Black Friday shopping. Walmart, Target and Kohl’s all beat out Amazon as the top three most searched brands in relation to this year’s Black Friday deals.”