3 minute read
The Business Opportunity: The Second Renaissance
2.
The Business Opportunity: The Second Renaissance
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In a politically turbulent age, silence is no longer an option for activist demographic generation Z. My range and pop-up store will act as a voice of political and social allegiances making a stand against the digital age in which we live and the negative impact of technology not only socially, but economically.
Consider that retailer Uniqlo has recently replaced 90% of its workers with automated machines within its 24-hour factory located in Tokyo. The strategic move aims to ‘minimize storage costs and… deliver products faster around the world’ (Bain, 2018:online). Whilst offering a time effective solution to the growing expectations of fast fashion consumers, moves of this kind signal a growing shift towards replacing human workers with AI robots. Equally, Amazon is in the process of trialling cash and staff-less grocery stores to provide a grab and go digital shopping experience (Mintel, 2017b). Similar stores have also been introduced by organisations such as Alibaba and BingoBox (Lee, 2017). (Vetements, Instagram, 2018)
The ongoing artificial-intelligence revolution is set to create social and economic challenges by pushing humans out of the job market (Hariri, 2017: 324 and Mintel, 2011). Retail is set to be one of the industries most disrupted by technological advancements, with studies predicting that 85% of customer interactions in retail will be Al-managed by 2020 (Widdop, 2018:23). Retailers such as John Lewis have acknowledged the increasing automation of retail, and have trained their staff to ‘become experts in certain categories such as home design consultants and personal fashion stylists’ (Mintel, 2017b:online).
My suggested small-scale solution is to cultivate an environment which values human interaction and offers services which are hard to technically replicate, namely, aesthetic styling. Despite the rise of online personal stylist services offered by brands such as Thread and Trunk, when it comes to style advice, Mintel (2017b) studies suggested that 44% of shoppers show a preference for speaking to in actual person in-store for style advice.
Retail spaces provide an important space for salespeople and consumers to socialise(Hu and Jasper, 2006 cited in Kim and Kim, 2014:133). This is particularly true of luxury retail with research indicating that high levels of customer service give rise to “commercial friendships” (Gwinner et al., 1998, Price and Arnould, 1999 cited by Kim and Kim, 2014:335-336) which can be drivers of brand loyalty, satisfaction and word of mouth marketing. Rider and Elliot (2000: 172) also note that personal selling is an important promotional method for the commercial viability of a product. This is particularly important in considered, luxury purchases, which will often require an additional technical information around the product.
As we make a move towards an increasingly socially isolated society, especially that of social media savvy generation Z, with studies finding that social media use induces sentiments of loneliness in young adults (Primack et al., 2017:7). Mintel (2017b) research indicates that 83% of customers like to be able to browse in store without staff interaction; my store will aim to challenge these statistics by featuring in-store talks and styling workshops in order to cultivate a lively and social shopping experience. Research also suggests that consumers respond well to shopping experiences which blur the lines between retail and leisure as consumers prioritise investing in experiences rather than commodities(Mintel, 2018a and Hardley, 2018). This is particularly true of Gen Zers, who are buying into the “experience economy” (Mintel, 2018c). Another means to attract the online shopper to my bricks and mortar store would be to offer my collection as in-store only, as opposed to traditional online exclusives offered by retailers, in order to create in-store momentum.
Mintel research (2016) indicates that young female consumers, are particularly concerned with queuing and wait times. With time and convenience becoming a primary commodity for young consumers, one means to tackle this would be self-service tills or replicate Amazon Go’s staff-less and checkout-less model. I want to take this as an opportunity to combine technology and human interaction with staff carrying Points of Sale systems via an IPad, making the process quick, efficient and ultimately, human.
(Vetements S/S19, 2018)
