What Customers Are Thinking About

• 60% feel positive about the future but 55% feel worse off than prior to the recession.
• They are concerned about inflation and the economy. Therefore they are looking for ways to cut back including:
• Buying less impulse items
• Stockpiling
• Paying closer attention to prices driving less
• Making things, such as clothes, last longer
• Taking advantage of sales and coupons
• Shopping at discount stores
• Eating out less or eat at cheaper restaurants

Values
75% of Canadians are buying from brands that have similar values to their own.
Entrepreneurism
57% of Canadians are more opportunities for individual businesses to compete with big businesses.
Betterment
People are looking to improve themselves. 60.5% of Canadians agree that they are interested in learning more skills so they can be more self reliant and independent.
Thrift and Adaptability
72.5% of Canadians say they are happier with a more down to earth lifestyle. They are less materialistic in many ways and feel better for it.
Local and Artisanal
72.3% of Canadians will pay a premium for products and services that come from companies that contribute to the local community.
Cooperative Consumerism
71% of Canadians believe they can change behavior by supporting companies that do the right thing.
(From John Gerzema, author of Spendthrift)

What Retailers Need to Think About

Adopting Technology for the Customer to Interface with.
Mobile Interfaces, QR Codes, Digital Messaging etc. will all contribute to the shopping experience. Smart phones are growing at a phenomenal rate and are replacing the PC as the individual’s technology of choice. Customers want to use these devices in retail settings to source information, pricing and more. In fact 77% of them are already using them in the retail space in some capacity, they just need retailers and vendors to help facilitate.

Shift From Selection to Solution
Where customers wanted lots and lots of selection, they now look to retailers to seek out products that offer the best value and then make their choice.

Embracing social media at a pace consistent with the customer.
Canadian businesses have been slow to embrace social media and they are lagging behind customer behavior. Consider that Facebook claims to have provided more referrals to a retailer than Google and 1 in 3 Canadians access Facebook each day (the avg. Canadian has 190 friends, well above the world avg. of 130)

Consider the Social and Cultural Fit
Retailers must consider values and community in planning their brand activities. They need to consider how they will make things better and tell the story.
They must also develop strategies for being part of a smaller catch basin of customers and the local conditions that are required to succeed.

Creating a great retail experience
In a world of increasing commoditization, the in-store experience is the most critical customer touch point for a retailer and it therefore differentiates a retailer’s brand from competitors.

DMD’s biggest challenge was that Yamaha needed the design in a hurry – so we hurried! Chris Seldon of Yamaha Canada said “Under incredibly tight time lines, DMD supplied us with a creative solution that meets all of our objectives. This includes presenting our great guitars in a compelling manner.”

That’s music to our ears. Thanks Chris, for the opportunity to work on your really cool project!

Over the 2-hour visit, our seven student guests learned how design can impact the shopping experience and were intrigued by the process DMD follows in generating a unique, branded retail environment.

“The group was most impressed with your multi-disciplinary approach to design.  The ways in which the projects paired graphic and structural elements was really interesting.” commented Luther Young.

The students also learned about what designers do on a day-to-day basis and the diversity of design skills required to successfully complete a retail program.

“CMU has a strong focus on using drawing and digital modeling to build upon one another.  It was nice to see this academic approach used in a professional setting.”

We at DMD can only hope that, by sharing some of our thoughts and ideas, some of these fine, young designers will choose retail as the canvas for their talents.

You can learn more about Carnegie Mellon’s School of Design at:

http://design.cmu.edu/

On Friday, April 23, DMD hosted five members of a delegation from South Africa to share their knowledge of “The Art and Science of Retail Design”. The five delegates are participating in the “Demand Stimulation” stream of a program that included a six-week visit to Penn State University, New York City and Toronto. They were immersed in learning about all aspects of North America’s retail industry.

The participants went through an extensive selection process prior to coming to North America and represent the future of retail management in their country. Upon completion of their four-month immersion course in retailing, they will return to South Africa to instill change and innovation within their various retail employers.

Our guests included Ayanda Noganthshi Strategic Process Manager at Builder’s Warehouse, Godfrey Mogoe, General Manager Operations at JDG Trading, Nazeer Jadwat, Head of Department, Human Resources at Ideals, Thami Gumede, Store Manager at Boxer Superstores and Zoey Rylands, General Manager, Franchise RSA at Woolworth. Many of these potential executives have post secondary education and all have extensive experience in their respective positions.

During their visit to DMD, we spoke of the importance of retail design, the effect it can have on the customer and on the business, as well as the tools designers have in hand. The delegates asked many questions and enthusiastically gained insight into the importance of creating a great, branded retail experience.

While we at DMD are often asked to speak on various aspects of retail design at conferences and with our clients, we found this a particularly exciting session. Quite simply the group was as passionate about the power of retail design as we are!

You can learn more about the organizers at:
http://www.wrseta.org.za/
http://www.immersionlab.com

L to R: Zoey Rylands, General Manager, Franchise RSA, Woolworths, David Milne, President DMD Retail Design, Godfrey Mogoe, General Manager Operations, JDG Trading, Thami Gumede, Store Manager, Boxer Superstores, Ayanda Nogantshi, Strategic Process Manager, Builder’s Warehouse, Bruce Smith, Vice President, DMD Retail Design, Nazeer Jadwat, Head of Department, Human Resources, Ideals

L to R: David Milne, President DMD Retail Design,  Nazeer Jadwat, Head of Department, Human Resources, Ideals Ayanda Nogantshi, Strategic Process Manager, Builder’s Warehouse and Zoey Rylands, General Manager, Franchise RSA, Woolworths.

L to R: Thami Gumede, Store Manager, Boxer Superstores & Godfrey Mogoe, General Manager Operations, JDG Trading.

2:27mins