NWA Search blog which covers latest news and trends from the retail and POS and fit-out sectors

Why In-Office Working Isn’t As Obsolete As You Might Think

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 18:33:02 GMT

Industry Insights:

Why In-Office Working Isn’t As Obsolete As You Might Think

Over the past few years, we've heard it all – the office is obsolete, remote is the future, and in-person work is a relic of the past. But while hybrid and remote working certainly have their place, many of our clients are finding it increasingly difficult to attract talent back into the office.

And yet, we’d argue the office still has a vital role to play in building culture, boosting creativity, and growing careers. Here’s why coming into the office – even just a few days a week – can be a game-changer for teams and individuals.

1. Real Collaboration Happens Face-to-Face

There’s something about bouncing ideas around a table that simply can’t be replicated on Zoom. Whether it’s spontaneous brainstorming, quick creative feedback, or just reading someone’s body language – the energy of in-person collaboration often leads to faster decisions and more innovative ideas.

A 2024 Stanford study highlighted that hybrid teams who worked in-office regularly experienced higher levels of collaboration and problem-solving than those who stayed remote full-time – and employers reported stronger team cohesion and output.

2. Stronger Culture, Naturally

Culture isn’t just what’s on your website – it’s how a team feels. Offices give people a shared rhythm, casual chats, birthday cakes, Friday laughs… those small, human moments that remote setups struggle to replace. Over time, these create loyalty, belonging, and a real sense of purpose.

Employees who feel connected to their company culture are more likely to stay long-term and perform at their best – something that’s harder to foster in a fully remote setting.

3. Better Mentoring & Learning

For junior staff especially, being in the office is a masterclass in real-time learning. It’s easier to shadow, ask quick questions, and absorb how more experienced team members handle challenges. It’s career development, just by showing up.

A 2024 Robert Half survey found that 75% of employers believe in-person attendance directly improves an employee’s chances of promotion – something to seriously consider for early-career professionals.

4. Productivity and Focus in a Structured Environment

While working from home has its perks, it also comes with distractions – especially for those without a dedicated workspace. For many professionals, the office offers a more focused environment, where the boundaries between “work mode” and “home mode” are much clearer.

A recent survey by Robin (2024) found that 39% of workers say they’re most productive in the office, particularly when it comes to tasks requiring collaboration, focus, or creativity. The structure of a workday – the commute, the routine, the team energy – can really help with motivation.

5. Mental Health and Social Connection

Remote working can be isolating, particularly for people living alone or new to a team. The office creates opportunities for meaningful human interaction, whether that’s grabbing lunch with colleagues, celebrating small wins, or just having a chat over a cuppa.

In a 2024 CIPD report, many HR leaders noted that in-person work supports employee wellbeing, especially for those who struggle with the lack of routine or miss social interaction. While remote work suits some, others genuinely feel happier and more connected when part of a physical team.

6. On-the-Spot Problem Solving

Ever waited hours for an email reply that could’ve been a 30-second conversation? Being in the office reduces friction. You can get instant answers, clarify confusion in real-time, and resolve issues without the lag of digital back-and-forth.

This speed of resolution not only improves workflow – it also reduces stress. When your team is around you, it’s easier to get unstuck and move forward quickly.

Moving Forward, Not Backwards

This isn’t about dragging people back to the 9-to-5 for the sake of it. It’s about being smart and intentional. Offices work best when they’re used for what they do well – high-impact meetings, creative sessions, team building, and mentorship. That doesn’t mean we lose flexibility. It just means we use the office strategically.

For businesses trying to hire for office-based roles, it’s time to reframe the conversation. The office isn’t the enemy – in fact, it might be one of your strongest tools for team success, professional development, and long-term growth.

At NWA Search, we understand the challenges businesses face when it comes to attracting top talent back into the office. Whether you’re looking to fill permanent roles or build out a hybrid team with strong in-person presence, we know how to position your opportunity in a way that appeals to today’s candidates.

We work closely with employers across marketing, design, and fit-out industries to find people who don’t just tick boxes on paper – they thrive in collaborative, office-based environments.

If you're hiring for in-office roles and need help finding the right people, get in touch. We’d love to talk through your needs and help you build a team that grows with you.

Skills-Based Hiring: Moving Away from Traditional Qualifications

Mon, 17 Mar 2025 11:18:28 GMT

Industry Insights:

Skills-Based Hiring: Moving Away from Traditional Qualifications

For years, job descriptions have been packed with degree requirements and long lists of qualifications, but more and more companies are realising that formal education doesn’t always equal the best person for the job. Skills-based hiring is shifting the focus from what’s on paper to what candidates can actually do, and it’s proving to be a much smarter approach.

Instead of limiting the talent pool to people with specific degrees or set years of experience, skills-based hiring looks at real ability. Whether someone has gained their expertise through hands-on work, online courses, bootcamps, or even self-taught skills, what really matters is whether they can do the job effectively.

One of the biggest benefits is improved job performance. When employees are hired based on their actual skills rather than credentials, they’re more capable from day one. That means less time spent on training and onboarding, and more time seeing real results. It also makes for happier employees—when people feel their abilities match their role, they’re more engaged, productive, and likely to stick around.

Then there’s the advantage of opening up the talent pool. Removing unnecessary degree requirements means businesses can reach a much more diverse range of candidates, including those who may have been overlooked in traditional hiring. It creates a fairer, more inclusive workplace where talent is recognised for what it is, not just how it was gained.

It’s also a faster way to hire. Traditional recruitment can be slow, with long CV screenings that don’t always reflect real capability. By focusing on skills, businesses can cut through the noise and make better hiring decisions, faster.

Some of the world’s biggest brands are proving that this approach works.

IBM has removed degree requirements for half of its job openings, making room for a wider talent pool.
Google has been using skills-based assessments for years, focusing on practical ability rather than just education.
Steelcase redesigned its hiring process to prioritise skills, leading to an increase in both diversity and job performance.

If companies of this scale are shifting away from traditional qualifications, it’s clear that skills-based hiring isn’t just a passing trend, it’s the future of recruitment.

Making the Move to Skills-Based Hiring

W For businesses looking to implement a skills-first approach, it starts with redefining job descriptions. Instead of focusing on years of experience or degree requirements, highlight the actual competencies needed for success.

Bringing in skills assessments—whether through practical tests, real-world simulations, or structured interview questions—helps ensure the best candidate is chosen based on ability, not background. Training hiring managers is also key. Many are still used to seeing degrees as the main indicator of suitability, so shifting mindsets is just as important as changing processes.

Finally, investing in continuous learning helps businesses stay ahead. Encouraging employees to upskill through in-house training, online courses, or mentorship programmes ensures teams remain adaptable in an ever-changing job market.

Skills-based hiring isn’t just a smarter way to recruit—it’s a fairer and more effective one. By focusing on what people can actually do, rather than where they studied or how long they’ve been in a role, businesses can build stronger, more capable teams.

If your business hasn’t yet started embracing skills-based hiring, now is the time to rethink how you approach recruitment. The best person for the job might not have the traditional credentials, but they’ll have exactly what you need to succeed.

Navigating the Shift: From Remote Work to Hybrid Models

Sun, 02 Mar 2025 14:09:51 GMT

Career Insights:

Navigating the Shift: From Remote Work to Hybrid Models

The transition from fully remote working to hybrid models is at the forefront for many businesses. After years of remote work becoming the norm, companies are now trying to strike a balance—giving employees the flexibility they want while still benefiting from in-person collaboration.

But as with any shift in working patterns, this transition comes with its own set of challenges. Let’s dive into why hybrid work is becoming the standard, the roadblocks companies are facing, and how businesses can make it work for both their teams and their bottom line.

Why Hybrid Work? The Evolution from Remote to Flexible Models

When remote working became the default during the pandemic, it felt like a massive step forward for work-life balance. No commuting, flexible hours, and the ability to work in your pyjamas (at least from the waist down) became the new reality. But as time went on, cracks started to show—lack of connection, weaker team culture, and Zoom fatigue made some businesses rethink things.

Fast forward to today, and hybrid work models —where employees split their time between home and the office—are emerging as the preferred option. Companies want to keep the best bits of remote work while regaining the in-office collaboration they feel was lost.

Here are some key trends shaping hybrid work right now:

Hybrid is now the majority – More than 66% of employees are now in hybrid roles, typically spending three days in the office and two working from home.
Flexible policies rule – Over 50% of businesses have scrapped rigid attendance policies, allowing teams to decide their own hybrid setup.
Employees still want choice – While businesses are nudging people back to the office, many workers are still prioritising flexibility over full-time office work.

The Challenges of Hybrid Work

While hybrid working sounds like the perfect middle ground, it’s not all plain sailing. Companies that rush into enforcing in-office days without listening to employees risk disengagement and even losing talent.

1. Office Mandates Aren’t Always Popular

Forcing people to come in on set days can lead to resentment— civil servants in the UK have already pushed back against mandatory three-day office attendance , claiming it has made them less productive rather than more.

2. Retention Issues & The War for Talent

Some companies are taking a hardline stance, but it’s backfiring. Some company's decision to enforce strict in-office policies led to some top performing employees considering leaving . In today’s market, where skilled workers are in demand, businesses that don’t offer flexibility could struggle to keep their best people.

3. The Logistics of Hybrid Work

It’s not just about letting people work from home part-time—it’s about making sure hybrid actually works. Companies need to rethink:

How office space is used – No one wants a half-empty office on a Monday and then chaos on a Wednesday.
Tech that connects teams – A hybrid model only works if remote employees aren’t left out of important conversations.
Culture & Inclusion – Companies need to ensure remote workers still feel valued and aren’t overlooked for promotions or key projects.

Making Hybrid Work: Strategies for Success

If businesses want hybrid working to be a long-term success, they need a proper strategy. Here’s what’s working in 2025:

1. Ditch the One-Size-Fits-All Approach

Every team works differently, so instead of company-wide mandates, organisations are letting individual teams set their own hybrid policies based on what works best for them.

2. Invest in the Right Tech

From AI-powered meeting assistants to VR-powered collaboration tools, tech is evolving fast to support hybrid teams . Businesses that invest in the right tools will have an easier time keeping remote and office-based workers on the same page.

3. Redesign Office Spaces for Hybrid Work

The traditional office setup doesn’t work for hybrid teams. Instead, companies are creating more flexible workspaces that encourage collaboration on office days while still giving people the space to focus when needed.

4. Prioritise Employee Wellbeing

Businesses that genuinely care about work-life balance, mental health support, and avoiding burnout will attract and keep top talent. Hybrid work should be about flexibility, not just a halfway step back to old-school office culture.

The move to hybrid work isn’t just a trend—it’s a fundamental shift in how businesses operate. Companies that get it right will create a more engaged, productive, and happier workforce . But those that impose rigid rules and ignore employee needs? They might find themselves struggling to retain talent in an increasingly competitive hiring landscape.

By focusing on flexibility, smart policies, and the right technology , businesses can make hybrid working a win-win for both employees and employers.

Follow NWA Search for more insights on recruitment, workplace trends, and the future of work.

Why the Right Design and Team Can Make or Break Your Event, Exhibition, or Retail Activation

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 11:20:33 GMT

Industry Insights:

Why the Right Design and Team Can Make or Break Your Event, Exhibition, or Retail Activation

Events, exhibitions, and retail spaces aren’t just about showing up—they’re about standing out. In 2025, the brands that dominate these spaces won’t be the ones with the biggest budgets or flashiest gimmicks, but those that create immersive, engaging experiences that make a lasting impact.

The shift towards experiential marketing is changing the game. It’s no longer enough to set up a stand, display a few products, and hope visitors stop by. Events, exhibitions, and retail activations are now about storytelling, brand immersion, and creating memorable moments that spark conversations long after the experience is over.

Let’s get one thing straight—the design of your event space isn’t just an afterthought. It’s the key to drawing people in, keeping them engaged, and ensuring your brand is remembered. In a crowded exhibition hall, retail pop-up, or brand activation, first impressions are everything. Your space should reflect your brand identity, communicate your values, and most importantly, provide an experience that visitors can’t get anywhere else.

A well-designed space isn’t just aesthetically pleasing—it’s strategic. The use of space, lighting, materials, and interactive elements all play a role in guiding visitor flow and engagement. Digital tools like touchscreen displays, interactive walls, and augmented reality can transform a passive viewing experience into an active and engaging one.

Experiential Marketing – The Ultimate Trend for Events, Exhibitions, and Retail

The days of static displays are over. Now, the most successful brands are the ones who go beyond traditional setups and create immersive experiences that draw visitors in. Whether it’s live demonstrations, hands-on experiences, gamification, or interactive storytelling , it’s all about making your space a destination rather than just another stop on the event floor.

We’ve seen brands bring their products to life with everything from tasting stations, pop-up activations, and virtual reality showcases to clever hospitality experiences like branded coffee bars and cocktail lounges.

The key? Engagement. If you can get visitors involved, you’ve already won half the battle. People don’t just want to see what you do—they want to experience it.

Lighting, Materials, and Atmosphere – Creating a Space That Feels Right

One of the biggest design trends we’re seeing is using lighting and materials to set the right mood . The right lighting can completely transform a space, drawing people in and making your environment feel vibrant and alive.

We’re also seeing a shift away from artificial, plastic-heavy designs towards more natural and sustainable materials like raw timber, recycled acrylic, and soft textiles that create a more organic, welcoming feel. Spaces that feel inviting, authentic, and comfortable will always outperform those that feel cold and impersonal.

Hybrid and Modular Setups – The Smart Approach for 2025

With brands attending multiple events throughout the year, there’s a growing demand for modular, adaptable designs that can be reconfigured for different spaces and audiences.

Hybrid setups that combine rental elements with custom-built features offer flexibility, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness—making them a smart choice for brands that want to maximise their impact across multiple activations.

The Right Team Makes All the Difference

Here’s the thing—great experiences don’t happen by accident. They’re the result of expert design, strategic thinking, and the right team bringing it all to life.

That’s where we come in. At NWA Search, we specialise in helping brands connect with the right designers, marketers, and event specialists to make their activation a success. Whether you need creative talent to bring your vision to life or an experienced team to handle every aspect of your presence, we’ve got you covered.

Because at the end of the day, design isn’t just about making things look good—it’s about making things work . And when it comes to events, exhibitions, and retail spaces, the brands that invest in the right talent and expertise are the ones that stand out, engage their audience, and walk away with real results.

If you’re planning an event, exhibition, or retail activation and want to ensure your space is designed to impress, built to engage, and optimised for success , we can help.

Get in touch with NWA Search today, and let’s connect you with the talent that will bring your vision to life. Because when it comes to events and exhibitions, design isn’t just important—it’s everything.

The Hiring Manager’s Guide to Interviewing for Culture Fit (and Why It Matters)

Mon, 03 Feb 2025 16:43:49 GMT

Industry Insights:

The Hiring Manager’s Guide to Interviewing for Culture Fit (and Why It Matters)

Building a successful team isn’t just about hiring people with the right skills—it’s about bringing together individuals who align with your company’s values and contribute positively to its culture. Finding candidates who not only excel in their roles but also integrate well into your team can lead to stronger collaboration, higher engagement, and greater long-term success.

Why focus on culture fit? Employees who feel connected to their workplace culture are four times more likely to be engaged and 62% less likely to experience burnout. A thoughtful approach to assessing culture fit can also enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) by ensuring hiring decisions are based on shared values rather than unconscious biases.

This post will walk you through the key elements of assessing culture fit during interviews, including:

What culture fit really means
Why it’s crucial for hiring success
How to fairly and effectively evaluate candidates
A list of insightful interview questions to use

Understanding Culture Fit

Culture fit refers to how well a candidate’s values, work style, and behaviours align with your organisation’s ethos. It can also be assessed at the team level, ensuring that new hires contribute to a cohesive and productive working environment.

What Culture Fit Is Not

While culture fit is an important consideration, it should never be used to justify biased hiring decisions. It is not about finding candidates who are identical to existing team members or hiring based on personal characteristics unrelated to work performance.

To prevent bias, many organisations adopt a ‘culture add’ mindset—focusing on what a candidate can bring to the team that enhances, rather than mirrors, the current workforce. This approach helps avoid homogeneity and encourages fresh perspectives, innovation, and inclusive decision-making.

Why Assessing Culture Fit Matters

Evaluating culture fit during the hiring process can have a lasting impact on your company’s success. Here’s why it should be a priority:

Higher Employee Retention: Nearly 41% of workers who left their jobs cited poor engagement and culture as the main reason—far more than those who left for better pay or benefits (16%).
Stronger Employer Brand: Employees who resonate with their company’s culture are more likely to advocate for the business, leading to better referrals and reputation.
Greater Team Adaptability: A workforce built with diversity and culture add in mind is better equipped to handle change, solve problems, and navigate disruptions.

Five Strategies for Assessing Culture Fit

Since culture fit isn’t easily measured, hiring managers need a structured approach to ensure fair and objective evaluations. Here’s how:

1. Define Key Cultural Attributes

Start by identifying the specific values and traits that align with your company’s mission and team dynamic. Document these criteria and incorporate them into your hiring process.

2. Ask Open-Ended Questions

Rather than relying on yes/no questions, encourage candidates to share real-life examples that showcase their alignment with your company’s culture. Pay attention to both verbal and non-verbal cues.

3. Use a Structured Interview Format

A structured interview process ensures consistency by asking all candidates the same questions in the same order. This minimises bias and provides a clear basis for comparison.

4. Address Biases Proactively

Everyone has biases, but acknowledging and mitigating them is essential in fair hiring. Take advantage of DEI training, self-reflection exercises, and techniques like the ‘flip it test’—asking whether you’d evaluate a candidate differently if they came from a different background.

5. Implement Interview Scorecards

Using a standardised scorecard allows hiring teams to rate candidates based on predefined criteria. This ensures hiring decisions are backed by objective data rather than gut feelings.

10 Key Interview Questions to Assess Culture Fit

To gain deeper insights into a candidate’s potential fit, consider using these open-ended interview questions:

Work Style & Values

How do you prefer to receive feedback, and how do you typically act on it?
What kind of work environment helps you perform at your best?
What motivates you to do your best work?

Adaptability & Collaboration

Tell me about a time you had to adjust to a major change at work. How did you handle it?
Describe an experience when you worked with a team that had different perspectives. How did you navigate those differences?
Share an example of how you’ve contributed to a positive team dynamic.

Problem-Solving & Growth

What’s a challenge you faced at work, and how did you overcome it?
Tell me about a time you had to challenge the status quo—what was the outcome?

Culture Add & Inclusion

How would you contribute to making our workplace more inclusive?
What skills or perspectives do you bring that would add something unique to our team?

Hiring for culture fit is about finding people who will enrich your team, not just blend in. By using structured assessments, reducing bias, and focusing on a ‘culture add’ approach, you can build a more engaged, adaptable, and successful workforce.

Ready to enhance your hiring strategy? Let’s start the conversation—contact us at NWA Search to find top-tier talent that aligns with your company’s vision and values.

Hiring Trends 2025: Future-Proofing Your Workforce with Key Insights

Mon, 20 Jan 2025 10:34:17 GMT

Industry Insights:

Hiring Trends 2025: Future-Proofing Your Workforce with Key Insights

Wondering how to stay ahead of the curve in a rapidly changing market? Look no further than the top hiring trends for 2025 . This coming year brings a mix of new challenges and opportunities, and it’s all about being proactive in your recruitment approach. Below, we’ve highlighted four key trends and shared practical tips to help you future-proof your hiring strategy. And if you’d like an expert guide along the way, NWA Search stands ready to help you navigate these changes.

1. Passive Candidates: Your Hidden Goldmine

The best talent isn’t always looking for a new job. Many people are quite content where they are—but could be persuaded by the right opportunity. Enter the world of passive candidates. These individuals aren’t actively on the hunt but may well respond to a compelling offer. In fact, surveys suggest that more than half of non-jobseekers would be open to a recruiter’s outreach.

How Can You Tap Into This Pool?

Employee Referrals – Your current team knows your culture best and often has connections who’d be an ideal fit.
Strong Employer Branding – Passive candidates will do their research. Ensure your website, social channels, and company reviews reflect a fantastic work environment.
Learning and Development Opportunities – Upskilling existing staff keeps them engaged and makes them prime contenders for higher-level, in-house roles.

How Can NWA Search Help?

Our recruiters excel at spotting and engaging passive can ensure you impress top talent (even if they’re not actively looking for a job).

2. Talent Over Titles: Skills-First Hiring Is Here to Stay

Among the key hiring trends 2025 , skills-first or skills-based recruitment continues to gain momentum. Why? Because focusing on genuine capabilities instead of fancy job titles or elite academic credentials lets you access a broader, more diverse pool of candidates.

Which Skills Are on the Rise?

Technical Aptitude – As AI and automation ramp up, digital and data-literacy skills will be hot commodities.
Soft Skills – Communication, leadership, and problem-solving are more crucial than ever for building cohesive teams.
Adaptability – In a fast-evolving world, employees who learn quickly and pivot effectively bring huge value.

NWA Search’s Approach

We’re big believers in skills-based hiring. Our screening tools and assessment processes home in on real-world capabilities rather than superficial resume polish. By focusing on what truly matters—potential, problem-solving, and attitude—we help you build a high-performing, future-ready workforce.

3. AI Continues Its Rise (But Don’t Ditch the Human Touch)

No discussion of hiring trends for 2025 would be complete without mentioning Artificial Intelligence (AI) . It’s already helping organisations streamline recruitment—especially with large candidate pools. AI-driven tools can handle repetitive tasks like parsing CVs, so your team can spend more time on candidate engagement and cultural fit.

However, it’s not all smooth sailing. Some jobseekers dislike the idea of AI making final hiring decisions, and there are genuine concerns about potential biases in AI algorithms.

Our Advice?

Use AI Strategically – Deploy it for screening, scheduling, or analytics, but keep human oversight for interviews and final decisions.
Train Your HR Team – Make sure they understand how to spot any AI-driven bias or system quirks.
Stay Transparent – If you rely on AI in your process, tell candidates how and why. Clarity builds trust.

At NWA Search , we’ll guide you on how to integrate AI without losing your personal touch. By striking the right balance, you’ll gain efficiency without alienating top candidates.

4. New Priorities on the Candidate Checklist: Salary, Flexibility, and Growth

Last but certainly not least, candidate priorities are shifting. Competitive pay is still vital—especially with the rising cost of living in many areas. Yet many employees also crave flexibility (remote or hybrid options) and want to see a clear path for professional growth.

What Can Employers Do?

Transparent Salaries – Posting salary ranges helps build trust and often increases the quality of applicants.
Flexible Work Arrangements – Where roles allow, offering hybrid or remote setups can make you far more appealing.
Development Opportunities – Show employees how they can upskill, gain new responsibilities, and progress within your organisation.

How NWA Search Can Help

We’ll help you position your roles so they tick these crucial boxes. From crafting compelling job ads to highlighting opportunities for growth, NWA Search ensures your vacancies stand out and attract high-calibre candidates.

Future-Proof Your Business with NWA Search

These hiring trends for 2025 might bring challenges, but they also present enormous opportunities for forward-thinking employers. By:

Adopting AI responsibly,
Engaging passive candidates ,
Emphasising skills-based hiring ,
And providing competitive salaries with flexible and growth-oriented perks, you’ll remain competitive in a recruitment landscape that’s evolving at breakneck speed.

And you don’t have to face it alone. Whether you’re revamping your processes or just need a strategic nudge, NWA Search can help you:

Develop strategic hiring plans that blend smart tech with human insight,
Uncover passive talent who aren’t actively applying but are open to the right offer,
Implement skills-based assessments for better-quality hires,
And position your employer brand to resonate with top-tier candidates.

Ready to make 2025 your best hiring year yet?
Get in touch with NWA Search today, and let’s build your dream team for the future.

Embracing Career Change in 2025: How Recruitment Supports Bold New Beginnings

Mon, 06 Jan 2025 11:01:44 GMT

Career Insights:

Embracing Career Change in 2025: How Recruitment Supports Bold New Beginnings

Following on from challenges in 2024, the job market is witnessing a significant shift which sets to define 2025, with a notable increase in individuals embracing career pivots. This trend is driven by technological advancements, evolving personal values, and a desire for greater work-life balance. Recruitment companies play a pivotal role in facilitating these transitions, offering tailored strategies to support bold new beginnings.

The Rise of Career Pivots

Recent data indicates that nearly one-third of UK workers plan to change jobs or careers in 2025. This growing inclination towards career change reflects shifting priorities across the workforce. A recent survey found that over 50% of employees, regardless of age, are open to switching roles or industries in pursuit of better work-life balance, higher salaries, and more fulfilling opportunities. These motivations are not limited to younger professionals but represent a widespread re-evaluation of career paths in the 35+ workers.

Recruitment companies are instrumental in this evolving job market, providing resources and guidance to individuals seeking new career paths. By leveraging industry insights and extensive networks, recruitment companies like NWA Search connect candidates with opportunities in new roles but, importantly, still align with their skills and aspirations.

Advice for Aspiring Career Changers

For those contemplating a career change, consider the following steps:

Assess Transferable Skills : Identify skills from previous roles that are applicable to new industries. NWA Search can assist in mapping these skills to current market demands.
Upskill and Reskill : Engage in continuous learning to acquire competencies relevant to desired fields. Online courses and certifications can enhance employability.
Leverage Professional Networks : Connect with industry professionals and attend networking events to gain insights and opportunities in new sectors.
Consult Recruitment Experts : Partner with recruitment companies like NWA Search to receive personalised guidance and access to a broad spectrum of job opportunities.

How NWA Search Can Support Your Career Transition

At NWA Search, we understand the complexities of changing careers and are dedicated to supporting candidates through:

Personalised Consultations : We take the time to understand your unique skills, experiences, and career aspirations.
Extensive Industry Connections : Our broad network across various sectors enables us to identify opportunities that align with your goals.
Ongoing Support and Guidance : From resume optimisation to interview preparation, we provide comprehensive assistance throughout your job search journey.

The year 2025 marks a transformative period in the professional realm, with career pivots becoming increasingly common. Recruitment companies like NWA Search are at the forefront of this movement, empowering individuals to embark on new professional journeys with confidence. By leveraging tailored recruitment strategies and personalised support, career changers can navigate the evolving job market and achieve fulfilling, successful transitions.

If you're ready to take the next step in your career journey or want to discuss how NWA Search can support you, get in touch with us today.

The Magic of Christmas Windows: How Retail Store Design Shapes the Festive Season

Tue, 03 Dec 2024 10:11:58 GMT

Industry Insights:

The Magic of Christmas Windows: How Retail Store Design Shapes the Festive Season

Christmas windows have long been a beloved part of the festive season, transforming retail stores into magical showcases. These displays do more than promote products—they capture the essence of the festive season, blending nostalgia, joy, and creativity. For retailers, Christmas windows are not only a celebration of the season but also a strategic opportunity to enhance foot traffic, build emotional connections, and influence purchase decisions.

The Evolution of Christmas Window Displays

Retail window displays have come a long way since their 19th-century beginnings, when shopkeepers used handwritten signs to draw in customers. The advent of glass windows allowed for more intricate displays, and over the decades, Christmas windows evolved into immersive works of art. Today, they combine traditional craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology, creating experiences that linger in the minds of shoppers.

Why Christmas Windows Matter

Enhancing the Festive Atmosphere
Christmas windows bring streets and shopping districts to life with twinkling lights, themed decorations, and captivating narratives. They help shape the collective festive spirit, making shopping a communal celebration rather than a mere transaction.
Building Emotional Connections
More than a marketing tactic, Christmas windows create lasting memories. By connecting emotionally with viewers, they leave a positive imprint that builds brand loyalty. Shoppers recall the feelings of wonder and joy tied to the experience, fostering long-term affinity with the brand.
Influencing Purchase Decisions
Strategically placed products in festive settings subtly guide consumer behavior. The magical ambiance encourages impulse buys and helps position items as must-have gifts, boosting sales and engagement.

The Investment Behind the Magic

Creating memorable Christmas windows requires significant investment, both financially and creatively. Retailers allocate substantial budgets to ensure their displays are showstoppers, employing artists, designers, and even technologists to craft visually stunning scenes. Cutting-edge tools like augmented reality (AR) and interactive elements add depth, turning static windows into dynamic experiences.

The Business Impact of Christmas Windows

Driving Foot Traffic : Eye-catching displays draw crowds, turning casual pedestrians into potential customers.
Increasing Sales : The festive ambiance encourages purchases, making these windows a direct contributor to revenue.
Strengthening Brand Image : Well-designed Christmas windows reinforce a store’s identity, setting it apart in a crowded market.

Global Inspirations: Christmas Windows Around the World

From the intricate, animated displays of Parisian department stores like Galeries Lafayette to London’s iconic Selfridges and Harrods, Christmas windows captivate audiences worldwide. In New York, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale’s push boundaries with technology and storytelling, offering inspiration to retailers everywhere.

The Rise of Christmas Pop-Up Shops and Displays

Beyond window displays, Christmas pop-up shops and displays have become a dynamic retail trend, offering unique, limited-time experiences that attract shoppers seeking exclusive products and festive engagement.

Benefits of Christmas Pop-Up Shops

Creating Urgency: The temporary nature of pop-ups encourages immediate purchases, leveraging the fear of missing out.

Testing Markets: Brands can experiment with new products or locations without long-term commitments.

Enhancing Brand Visibility: Pop-ups generate buzz and media attention, boosting brand awareness during the competitive holiday season.

The 'Wicked' Christmas Tree at St. Pancras International

In 2024, St. Pancras International in London unveiled a spectacular 'Wicked'-themed Christmas tree in partnership with Universal Pictures. Standing 11 meters tall, the tree features over 100 illuminated towers with miniature scenes from the 'Wicked' universe. It took 20 craftspeople more than 4,000 hours to create this masterpiece, which has become a central attraction for commuters and tourists alike. This installation, is a fantastic piece of promotion for the movie as well as creating a buzz on social media. To find out more info about the piece click here

Other Notable Examples

Choose Love Store : Opening on Black Friday at 245 Regent Street, this pop-up combines creativity and compassion, offering products that support refugees and displaced people worldwide.
Beyond Retro's Christmas Jumper Pop-Up : Supporting Save the Children's Christmas Jumper Day, this Spitalfields Market shop offers vintage holiday sweaters, with 10% of proceeds donated to the charity.

Challenges in Creating Christmas Windows and Pop-Ups

Designing impactful displays requires balancing creativity with brand identity. Sustainability is increasingly crucial, with retailers adopting eco-friendly materials and energy-efficient lighting to align with consumer values. Keeping up with trends in AR and personalisation ensures displays remain relevant and engaging.

The Future of Christmas Retail Experiences

As technology advances, Christmas windows and pop-ups will become even more interactive and immersive. Augmented and virtual reality experiences, along with AI-driven personalization, promise to redefine how retailers connect with their audiences. Sustainability will remain a priority, ensuring that the magic of these displays aligns with the values of a socially conscious consumer base.

Christmas windows and pop-up shops are more than festive traditions—they are celebrations of creativity, opportunities to forge emotional connections, and powerful retail tools. For retailers, they represent investments in both the spirit of the season and the future of their brand, ensuring that the joy of the holidays translates into lasting memories and meaningful customer relationships.

How Retailers Can Better Leverage Customer Data for Growth

Mon, 18 Nov 2024 13:41:43 GMT

Industry Insights:

How Retailers Can Better Leverage Customer Data for Growth

Bridging the gap between collecting customer data and using it effectively to enhance the shopping journey is a persistent challenge. Many retailers are turning to personalisation as a solution, but without a clear strategy, it can feel like a guessing game. Here’s how retailers can use their customer data to drive growth while creating a truly human-centred shopping experience.

The Common Struggles with Customer Data

Retailers often find themselves sitting on a mountain of customer data but lack clarity on how to use it. For some, it’s about not knowing where to start; for others, it’s about understanding the effectiveness of their current personalisation efforts. Many worry about the accuracy of their data models, fearing that customers are being misidentified and given irrelevant experiences.

This lack of confidence can create hesitation in investing in data-driven strategies, even though personalisation holds great potential to improve the customer experience and increase conversion rates.

Why Measuring ROI on Personalisation is Tricky

Personalisation is widely regarded as essential, but its impact can be difficult to quantify. Many retailers focus on surface-level personalisation, such as product recommendations. While these can be effective, they often miss the mark if they don’t align with the customer’s shopping intent. For example, a customer casually browsing may be shown products they aren’t ready to purchase, leading to a disconnect.

To truly measure ROI, retailers need to look beyond basic metrics and focus on progress through the shopping journey. Metrics like increased product page views, reduced drop-off rates, and higher basket values provide clearer indicators of personalisation success.

Making Personalisation Work

Personalisation isn’t just about tweaking isolated parts of the shopping journey. Retailers need to step back and analyse the entire customer journey—from first interaction to post-purchase engagement. This involves empathising with real customers, identifying pain points, and understanding what drives their behaviour.

Key strategies include:

Mapping the customer journey : Follow customers across channels and touchpoints to identify friction and opportunities for improvement.
Segmenting meaningfully : Group customers based on what truly differentiates their needs, such as their stage in the shopping journey, shopping context, or primary values.
Designing end-to-end experiences : Move beyond isolated personalisation efforts and create cohesive journeys that reflect customers’ unique needs at every touchpoint.

By understanding the nuances of customer behaviour, retailers can create experiences that feel personalised and relevant without being intrusive.

Building a Customer-Centred Data Strategy

A successful data strategy starts with asking the right questions. Retailers should identify the key differences between their customers that matter most to their business goals. For instance:

Who are your most valuable customers?
Are they browsing or ready to buy?
What drives their purchase decisions (e.g., savings, convenience, or discovery)?

Once these differentiators are identified, retailers can evaluate the data they currently have and identify gaps. This backward approach—starting with customer needs and working towards data collection—ensures that the strategy remains customer-centred.

Collecting the Right Data

To segment customers in meaningful ways and address their unique needs, retailers should focus on collecting:

Stage in the shopping journey : Knowing whether customers are in the inspiration, discovery, evaluation, or purchase phase helps tailor the next steps to keep them engaged.
Attitudinal segments : Understanding what matters most to customers—like savings, convenience, or product quality—can guide the overall experience.
Contextual shopping needs : Asking customers how they intend to use a product can open up opportunities for cross-category recommendations and value-added suggestions.

While historical and behavioural data are helpful, asking customers directly can often yield the most valuable insights. Involving customers in their journey—whether through quizzes, surveys, or guided shopping tools—makes them feel valued and builds emotional loyalty.

Beyond Ecommerce: Personalising the In-Store Experience

Many retailers still treat the in-store experience as a blind spot, relying solely on transactional data. However, stores are a goldmine for understanding customer preferences in real-time. By integrating in-store data with online insights, retailers can offer seamless omnichannel experiences, ensuring that customers feel known and valued no matter where they shop.

To leverage customer data effectively, retailers need to shift their focus from collecting more data to using it more meaningfully. By putting the customer at the centre of their strategy, retailers can create personalised experiences that drive loyalty and growth. Whether it’s through understanding shopping journeys, differentiating key customer segments, or refining metrics, the goal is the same: creating experiences that connect with customers on a human level.

Mastering the STAR Method: A Guide to Acing Your Next Interview

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 12:02:50 GMT

Career Insights:

Mastering the STAR Method: A Guide to Acing Your Next Interview

Most interviews feature behavioural questions that prompt you to share real-life examples of your skills and experience. These questions often start with “Tell me about a time when…” and can be challenging to answer without preparation.

The good news is, there’s a tried-and-tested technique that can help you navigate these questions confidently. Known as the STAR method, this approach allows you to structure your responses concisely and compellingly. Let’s dive into what the STAR method is, how to use it to tackle behavioural questions, and practical tips for preparing memorable answers.

What is the STAR Method?

The STAR method is a structured approach to answering behavioural interview questions, which ask you to provide examples of how you’ve handled certain situations in past roles. STAR is an acronym that stands for:

Situation: Set the stage by describing the context or background of the situation.
Task: Explain your specific responsibility or objective within that situation.
Action: Describe the steps you took to address the task or resolve the issue.
Result: Share the outcome, ideally with measurable results.

With this four-step format, you can give interviewers clear, relevant answers that showcase your skills in real-world scenarios.

Why Use the STAR Method?

Behavioural questions are designed to reveal how you approach challenges, make decisions, and collaborate with others. Using the STAR method helps you answer with structure and specificity, avoiding vague responses and highlighting your direct impact. For example, instead of saying “I handled customer complaints,” you can use STAR to explain exactly how you resolved a difficult situation and the positive results you achieved.

How to Structure a STAR Response

To get started, let’s break down each part of the STAR method to ensure your answers are polished and impactful:

Situation: Briefly describe the setting or context of your example. Keep this part concise, providing just enough detail to set the stage for your story. For example, “I was working as a customer service manager during a peak sales season when we faced a major shipment delay.”
Task: Explain what you were responsible for in that situation. Clarify your role and the objective you needed to achieve. In the example above, your task might be, “I needed to ensure customer satisfaction despite the delay and prevent cancellations.”
Action: This is the most crucial part of your response. Describe the specific steps you took to tackle the challenge, focusing on your contributions. Avoid vague statements and focus on actions that demonstrate your skills. For instance, “I coordinated with other store locations to transfer available stock, communicated proactively with customers, and offered incentives for delayed deliveries.”
Result: Conclude with the outcome of your actions. Ideally, you should provide a positive result backed by measurable data, such as, “As a result, customer satisfaction ratings improved by 20% during the holiday season, and our store’s sales exceeded projections by 10%.”

Example STAR Response

To illustrate, here’s a sample STAR answer to a common interview question: “Describe a time when you overcame a difficult challenge at work.”

Situation : “In my role as a project coordinator, I was assigned a high-stakes project with a tight deadline that required collaboration across multiple departments.”
Task: “My goal was to meet the project’s timeline without sacrificing quality or causing delays to other team members’ workloads.”
Action: “I created a shared project timeline, organised regular check-ins, and coordinated each team member’s contributions. I also implemented a feedback loop to quickly address any issues that arose.”
Result: “Thanks to this strategy, we completed the project ahead of schedule and received positive feedback from stakeholders, who noted the efficiency and quality of our teamwork.”

Common STAR Interview Questions

Behavioural questions often focus on areas like problem-solving, teamwork, adaptability, and leadership. Here are a few examples of questions where the STAR method can be helpful:

Problem-solving: “Tell me about a time when you faced an unexpected challenge at work. How did you handle it?”
Teamwork: “Can you describe a time when you worked well with others to achieve a goal?”
Adaptability: “Have you ever had to adjust your plans due to changing circumstances? What did you do?”
Leadership: “Share an example of a time when you motivated your team to achieve a difficult objective.”

These questions allow you to demonstrate your critical thinking, interpersonal skills, and work ethic—all of which are qualities that hiring managers value.

Tips for Preparing Your STAR Responses

Success in using the STAR method depends on thoughtful preparation. Follow these steps to craft powerful responses that resonate with interviewers:

1. Identify Relevant Skills

Start by reviewing the job description to identify the key skills and qualities required. If a job listing emphasises teamwork and problem-solving, for instance, think about experiences where you excelled in these areas. Tailoring your answers to the specific role helps you highlight why you’re a great fit.

2. Reflect on Past Experiences

Think about previous roles, internships, volunteer work, or other experiences where you demonstrated valuable skills. Choose examples that are as relevant as possible to the position. If you’re interviewing for a customer-facing role, prioritise stories that show your communication and problem-solving skills.

3. Practise Telling Your Stories

Practise your STAR answers out loud to become comfortable with the structure and flow. If possible, rehearse with a friend or mentor who can give you feedback. Practising aloud helps you refine your responses, making them sound more natural and less rehearsed.

4. Quantify Your Results

Whenever possible, quantify the results of your actions. Data-driven results, such as “increased sales by 15%” or “reduced project completion time by 20%,” make your contributions more compelling and demonstrate your impact.

5. Be Ready for Follow-up Questions

After you share a STAR response, the interviewer may ask follow-up questions to learn more about your decision-making or communication style. Prepare to expand on your answers by thinking through each step and the reasons behind your actions.

The Power of the STAR Method in Interviews

The STAR method is an invaluable tool for job seekers. Not only does it help you answer questions clearly and concisely, but it also enables you to tell a story that showcases your unique strengths. When used well, STAR responses can leave a lasting impression on interviewers, making it easier for them to see how your skills align with the company’s needs.

While it might feel intimidating at first, mastering the STAR technique can make a significant difference in how you present yourself during interviews. By preparing examples in advance, reflecting on past achievements, and practising aloud, you’ll be able to answer even the toughest questions with confidence.

Using STAR , you’ll not only improve your interview performance but also become better at articulating your career story. Whether you’re interviewing for your first role or aiming for a promotion, the STAR method provides a strong foundation for telling your story—and landing your next job.

Why a Well-Written Job Description is Key to Hiring Success

Wed, 16 Oct 2024 11:25:39 GMT

Industry Insights:

Why a Well-Written Job Description is Key to Recruitment Success

Hiring the right candidate doesn’t start with the interview; it begins with a clear and compelling job description. Yet, many companies underestimate just how crucial it is to put effort into crafting the perfect listing. Vague or poorly written job descriptions can sabotage your talent search long before you even start reviewing applications.

Common Pitfalls of Poor Job Descriptions

Confusion for Candidates : A job description that lacks clarity will result in a flood of mismatched CVs. This not only wastes your time but also the candidate’s time, as they may apply without fully understanding the role.

Missed Opportunities: Top-tier candidates, the ones you really want, often skip over listings that don’t clearly define salary expectations or responsibilities. If they can’t immediately tell if they’re a good fit, they’ll move on to a better-communicated opportunity.

Frustration in the Hiring Process: A vague job description makes it hard to assess whether applicants are genuinely qualified. This slows down your hiring process and increases the risk of bringing in someone who might not be the right fit.

Crafting Job Descriptions That Attract the Right Candidates

A good job description does more than list qualifications—it paints a clear picture of what it’s like to work for your company. It should highlight your culture, your expectations, and the value of the role within the organisation. This helps candidates self-select, ensuring that the applications you receive are from people who align with your needs.

How NWA Search Can Help

At NWA Search, we don’t just find you candidates—we help you define what you need from the start. We can work with you to craft clear, specific job descriptions that truly reflect your company's values, culture, and expectations. We understand how important it is to get the right person for the job and offer a tailored approach to your recruitment process to make sure you’re attracting the best talent.

From the initial job listing to screening applicants, our experienced team supports you throughout the recruitment journey. We’ll ensure you’re well-equipped to not only attract but also hire candidates who are a perfect match for your team, saving you time and resources in the long run.

Partner With Us

If you’re staring at a blank page, unsure of where to start, or if your recruitment process could use a refresh, let us help. At NWA Search, we offer a personalised approach to hiring, ensuring you have the right tools and strategies in place to find top-quality candidates.

Get in touch to see how we can support your business.

How NWA Search Helps You Find Top Talent in the Retail, POS and Fit-Out Sectors

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 13:38:53 GMT

Why Choose a Specialist Recruitment Agency :

How NWA Search Helps You Find Top Talent in the Retail, POS and Fit-Out Sectors

When it comes to finding top talent in the retail, POS and fit-out sectors, the competition can be intense. That’s where working with a specialist recruitment agency, such as NWA Search, can make all the difference. Our deep industry knowledge, fantastic team and tailored approach ensure you find the perfect hire, whether you’re a national or international business.

Expertise in a Niche Market

At NWA Search, we don’t just recruit talent – we specialise in the unique needs of the retail, POS and fit-out sectors. With years of experience working in these industries, we understand the nuances that set top candidates apart. Whether you’re searching for experts in store design, retail fit-outs, marketing, or point-of-sale (POS) projects, we have the insider knowledge to connect you with the very best talent.

Our specialisation allows us to stay on top of the latest industry trends and innovations, ensuring that our candidates are not only qualified but also aligned with the direction your business is heading. This level of sector insight is something you can only expect from a specialist recruitment agency.

A Broader Talent Pool

When it comes to recruitment, it’s not just about filling vacancies – it’s about finding the perfect match. Our network is built from years of industry relationships and partnerships, giving us access to a vast talent pool that extends both nationally and internationally. We know where to look and who to reach out to when you’re searching for that key individual to complete your team.

Specialist recruitment firms like NWA Search have access to passive candidates – professionals who may not be actively seeking a new role but are open to the right opportunity. This access gives you a competitive edge, helping you find hidden gems that general recruitment agencies might overlook.

Industry-Specific Recruitment Process

Recruiting for niche sectors like design, marketing, and retail fit-outs is different from other industries. The recruitment process needs to be tailored to ensure the right skill sets and cultural fit are identified. At NWA Search, we fine-tune every step of the recruitment process to match your specific requirements.

From understanding technical specifications to assessing cultural compatibility, our team goes beyond standard recruitment practices. We know what makes a great marketing director, a standout designer, or a skilled retail fit-out specialist, and we ensure candidates have the exact expertise you need to drive your business forward.

Time-Efficient and Cost-Effective

Hiring the wrong person can be costly – both in terms of time and resources. Our role at NWA Search is to streamline the recruitment process, delivering candidates who are ready to hit the ground running. With our deep understanding of your industry, we shorten the hiring cycle, providing you with pre-screened, highly qualified candidates who meet your exact specifications.

This means less time spent sifting through irrelevant CVs and more time focusing on growing your business. Our industry-specific knowledge helps us to pre-empt your challenges, ensuring a smooth recruitment process and minimising the risk of poor hires.

Long-Lasting Partnerships

At NWA Search, we believe in building lasting partnerships. Our clients know they can rely on us to understand their unique business needs and provide ongoing support as they scale. We keep a pulse on industry developments and trends, which allows us to offer strategic insights that benefit your recruitment efforts in the long term.

When you work with a specialist recruitment company like NWA Search, you’re not just getting a recruiter – you’re getting a partner who is invested in the success of your business.

5 Key Trends Shaping the Hospitality and Conference Workforce from 2024 to 2026

Mon, 16 Sep 2024 13:47:36 GMT

5 Key Trends :

The Hospitality and Conference Workforce from 2024 to 2026

As we move forward, the hospitality and conference planning industries are undergoing some exciting shifts—not just in the experiences we provide for guests, but in how we work behind the scenes. Whether you're organising events, managing hotels, or overseeing teams, staying on top of these workforce trends will help you recruit the right people and design more efficient, cutting-edge operations.

Here are five key trends shaping the hospitality workforce from 2024 to 2026:

1. Flexible Work Models: The New Normal

For years, hospitality roles were synonymous with long hours and rigid schedules. That’s changing fast. Conference planners and hospitality workers now expect more flexibility—whether that’s hybrid roles for administrative staff or more control over shift patterns. Offering part-time or remote options can help attract the best talent. A recent survey found that 68% of workers prioritise jobs that offer flexibility, and this is becoming a critical factor for businesses looking to stay competitive in hiring.

2. Tech Integration: Enhancing Efficiency

Technology isn't just improving guest experiences—it’s making conference and hospitality work smoother, too. From AI-powered booking systems to project management software that helps event planners stay on track, tech is revolutionising how we operate. For workers, this means that tech-savvy candidates are increasingly in demand. Whether you're recruiting event staff who can use virtual platforms or hospitality teams comfortable with automated systems, digital skills will be a top priority. A study shows that 60% of hospitality employers are focusing on hiring staff with digital expertise.

3. Sustainability: A Value for Employees, Not Just Guests

Sustainability isn’t just for show—it’s becoming a core value for both companies and employees. Workers want to feel they’re part of businesses that care about the environment, which is especially important for event organisers and hospitality workers. Whether it’s reducing waste, sourcing eco-friendly materials for conferences, or creating sustainable supply chains, companies that take green initiatives seriously will have a recruitment advantage. In fact, 75% of job seekers prefer to work for businesses committed to sustainability.

4. Upskilling and Professional Development: A Talent Magnet

The rapid advancements in technology and customer expectations mean that continuous learning is essential. Workers in hospitality and conference planning are drawn to businesses that invest in their growth—whether through leadership training, event design workshops, or learning how to implement sustainable practices. Offering upskilling and development opportunities not only improves service quality but also helps attract and retain ambitious professionals. In fact, 80% of employees are more likely to stay with companies that support their career growth.

5. Diversity and Inclusion: A Non-Negotiable

Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) are no longer just buzzwords—they’re business essentials. For conference planners and hospitality professionals, creating diverse and inclusive teams helps reflect the broad range of clients and guests served in the industry. Whether it’s hiring for more inclusive event planning roles or diversifying recruitment processes in hotels, embracing D&I leads to better decision-making and higher performance. Research shows that companies with diverse teams see higher levels of innovation and engagement, making D&I a critical focus in recruitment going forward.

By understanding these trends, businesses and conference designers can not only recruit better but also create work environments where employees thrive. Offering flexible schedules, tech-driven roles, sustainability initiatives, and upskilling opportunities will be crucial in attracting the next generation of workers.

The Critical Role of Professional Development in Today’s Workplace

Mon, 02 Sep 2024 08:53:02 GMT

Career Insights:

The Critical Role of Professional Development

As industries continue to shift and adapt to new technologies, methodologies, and market demands, the responsibility falls on individuals to ensure they remain relevant and competitive. The need for continuous learning and skill enhancement is a necessity.

The Need for Proactive Personal Development

Gone are the days when simply performing well in your role was enough to ensure career longevity. In the modern workplace, professional development has emerged as a crucial factor in not just surviving but thriving. Personal development, which encompasses a broad range of activities from formal education to on-the-job training, equips individuals with the tools needed to adapt to changes and seize new opportunities.

For example, the rise of digital technologies has reshaped industries across the board. In response, professionals who proactively upskill—whether by mastering new software, learning data analysis, or adopting new communication tools—position themselves as valuable assets to their organisations. This adaptability is not just about keeping up; it’s about staying ahead and ensuring that you are always in demand.

Enhancing Job Satisfaction and Confidence

Engaging in continuous professional development leads to a more rewarding work experience. As you acquire new skills and tackle fresh challenges, you naturally become more confident in your abilities. This confidence doesn’t just benefit your own sense of job satisfaction; it also enhances your value to employers. Confidence breeds competence, and competence is what employers seek in a highly competitive job market.

Moreover, professional development cultivates critical skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, and effective communication. These are not just technical abilities, but soft skills that enable you to navigate complex workplace challenges with ease. Employers value these qualities highly, and they often become the distinguishing factor between candidates for promotions or new roles.

Demonstrating Commitment and Leadership

Employers increasingly look for evidence of continuous growth and self-improvement when evaluating employees for advancement. Demonstrating a commitment to personal development is a clear indicator of your dedication to your career and your willingness to invest in your future. It signals to employers that you are serious about your role and have the potential for leadership.

Effective communication, often a focus of professional development, is a skill that transcends industries. Whether you’re in finance, healthcare, technology, or any other sector, the ability to communicate persuasively and influence others is invaluable.

Employees who excel in this area are not only more effective in their roles but are also more likely to be considered for leadership positions.

The Networking Advantage

Another often overlooked aspect of professional development is the opportunity for networking. Engaging in workshops, seminars, and industry conferences not only provides learning opportunities but also allows you to build connections with other professionals. These connections can be instrumental in career advancement, leading to opportunities that might not be available through traditional channels.

Networking also exposes you to new ideas and perspectives, further enriching your professional growth. In the UK, where industries are interconnected and the business community is tight-knit, building a robust professional network can be a significant advantage.

Beyond Career Advancement: Personal Growth and Well-being

While career advancement is a key motivator for professional development, the benefits extend far beyond the workplace. Investing in your personal growth contributes to overall well-being, confidence, and life satisfaction. When you continually strive to improve yourself, you not only enhance your professional capabilities but also enrich your personal life.

The UK, like many other countries, places a growing emphasis on work-life balance and employee well-being. Professional development plays a crucial role in this by helping individuals achieve a sense of fulfilment and purpose. A well-rounded professional development plan includes not just career-focused learning but also activities that promote mental and emotional health.

The Necessity of Professional Development

In conclusion, professional development is not an option; it is a necessity. For those looking to advance their careers, achieve personal fulfilment, and maintain a competitive edge in the ever-changing UK job market, investing in professional development is essential. The benefits are manifold, from improved job satisfaction and confidence to enhanced leadership abilities and networking opportunities. Ultimately, the best advice for anyone seeking to build a prosperous career is to embrace every opportunity for learning and development and to actively seek out ways to grow both personally and professionally.

By prioritising professional development, you are not just investing in your career; you are investing in your future, your well-being, and your ability to lead and inspire others.

Embracing Innovation in Event Marketing: A 2024 Perspective

Wed, 14 Aug 2024 06:13:00 GMT

Industry Insights:

Embracing Innovation in Event Marketing: A 2024 Perspective

The event and exhibition marketing landscape is rapidly evolving, driven by technological advancements and changing consumer demands.

As we look towards the second half of 2024, there’s a significant increase in event marketers really starting to harness disruptive technologies to enhance engagement, increase brand visibility, and boost return on investment for events and exhibitions moving forward.

Key Innovations Shaping the Future

AI Integration & Data-Driven Decisions: AI-driven tools are now crucial for personalising event and exhibition experiences. These technologies enable real-time data analysis, optimising everything from venue selection to targeted communication strategies, ensuring that events are more impactful and tailored to the audience's needs.
Immersive Technologies: Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR) are transforming the way events and exhibitions are experienced. AR allows for the integration of digital elements into real-world environments, making interactions with potential clients and customers more dynamic and informative. VR, offering fully immersive experiences, can "transport" attendees to new locations, enhancing engagement and reducing the fatigue often associated with more traditional events.
Smart Venues & Blockchain: Smart event spaces connected via mobile apps provide valuable insights into attendee behaviour, allowing for real-time adjustments to improve the event experience. Blockchain technology, with its secure and transparent record-keeping, is increasingly being used to combat issues like ticket fraud, ensuring a safer, more reliable event process. The entire attendee journey can be tracked and data can be used to understand how visitors are chossing to navigate the event space, providing powerful feedback for organisers and designers.

Overcoming Challenges and Looking Ahead

Implementing these technologies isn’t without its challenges, including cost, infrastructure needs, and adoption hurdles. However, the potential benefits, such as enhanced attendee engagement and more efficient event operations, far outweigh the initial investment.

As we move further into the second half of the year, it's clear that staying ahead in event and exhibition marketing will require embracing these innovations. From AI and VR to smart venues and blockchain, the technologies shaping the industry will not only meet but exceed the evolving expectations of audiences, making events more memorable, secure, and effective.

In this era of rapid change, event marketers who prioritise innovation will be best positioned to thrive, delivering experiences that resonate deeply with attendees and set new standards for success.

AI Revolutionising Retail: From Cutting-Edge Technology to Everyday Shopping

Tue, 30 Jul 2024 11:00:00 GMT

AI Revolutionising Retail:

From Cutting-Edge Technology to Everyday Shopping

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic concept; it's a driving force reshaping industries across the globe, and retail is no exception. Recent developments highlight how AI is filtering down into everyday shopping experiences, bringing significant changes to how stores operate and how customers shop. One notable example is the recent partnership between Sainsbury’s and Microsoft, showcasing how AI and machine learning are being integrated into retail operations.

AI in Retail: The Big Picture

AI in retail is not just about high-tech gadgets; it's about transforming the entire shopping ecosystem. From improving supply chain logistics to enhancing customer service, AI is enabling retailers to operate more efficiently and provide better experiences for customers. Here’s a look at some of the key areas where AI is making a significant impact:

Enhanced Online Shopping: Generative AI is revolutionising the online shopping experience. By improving search algorithms and personalising recommendations, AI makes it easier for customers to find what they need quickly and efficiently. This technology is making online shopping more interactive and engaging, helping retailers attract and retain customers in a competitive digital marketplace.
Empowering Employees with Real-Time Data: AI provides retail staff with real-time data and insights, streamlining various in-store processes. For example, smarter shelf replenishment systems guided by AI can analyse data from shelf edge cameras to alert staff when items need restocking. This ensures shelves are always stocked, reducing missed sales opportunities and improving the overall shopping experience.
Optimising Operations: AI and machine learning are helping retailers optimise their operations. By integrating AI with collaboration tools and cloud platforms, retailers can manage their inventory more effectively, reduce waste, and speed up the introduction of new services. This operational efficiency translates to cost savings and better resource management.

The Sainsbury’s and Microsoft Partnership: A Case Study

Sainsbury’s recent five-year partnership with Microsoft is a prime example of how AI is being adopted in retail. This collaboration aims to enhance store operations, drive efficiency, and provide a better shopping experience. Here’s how they plan to achieve this:

Interactive Online Shopping: Using generative AI, Sainsbury’s aims to create a more engaging online shopping experience, improving search functionalities and making it easier for customers to find products.
Real-Time Data for Staff: AI will provide Sainsbury’s employees with real-time insights for key processes like shelf replenishment, ensuring shelves are always stocked and reducing the time spent on manual checks.
Streamlined Operations: By combining their data assets with Microsoft’s AI capabilities and cloud services, Sainsbury’s aims to enhance operational efficiency, speeding up the introduction of new services and innovations.

Clodagh Moriarty, Sainsbury’s Chief Retail and Technology Officer, highlighted the importance of this partnership in their goal to become the UK’s leading AI-enabled grocer, emphasising the potential for increased efficiency, productivity, and customer service.

The Future of AI in Retail

The integration of AI into retail is just beginning. As technology continues to advance, we can expect even more innovative applications that will further transform the industry. For example:

Predictive Analytics: AI can predict shopping trends and customer preferences, allowing retailers to stock products more effectively and reduce waste.
Personalised Marketing: AI-driven marketing strategies can deliver personalised promotions and offers to customers based on their shopping habits and preferences.
Automated Customer Service: AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can handle customer enquiries and support, providing quick and accurate responses.

AI is undoubtedly revolutionising the retail industry. From enhancing the shopping experience to optimising store operations, AI’s impact is profound and far-reaching. The partnership between Sainsbury’s and Microsoft is a testament to the transformative potential of AI in retail. As this technology continues to evolve, it will undoubtedly bring even more exciting changes, making shopping more efficient, engaging, and convenient for consumers worldwide. The future of retail is here, and it’s powered by AI.

For a detailed look at Sainsbury’s partnership with Microsoft and their plans for AI integration, you can read the full announcement here .

Building a Mental Health-Focused Retail Environment

Mon, 15 Jul 2024 20:07:44 GMT

Championing Mental Wellbeing:

Building a Mental Health-Focused Retail Environment

As a recruitment specialist, we’ve seen firsthand how crucial employee mental health is for a thriving workplace. The mental wellbeing of retail employees in the UK is under significant pressure, with research from the Retail Trust showing that 91% of retail managers have witnessed a rise in staff facing mental health issues. However, they often feel unprepared to provide effective support.

Why Mental Health Matters in Retail

Retail employees have faced immense financial, emotional, and physical challenges, particularly in recent years. Prioritising mental health in the workplace is not just a moral duty or a legal requirement—it’s integral to business success. Positive mental wellbeing enhances employee engagement, which leads to superior customer experiences, higher productivity, improved staff retention, and ultimately, business growth.

Building a Mental Health-Centric Culture

Mental health initiatives can be woven into the fabric of your business operations. Employers play a vital role in developing a culture of openness and support, addressing mental health from the recruitment process through to performance development. By embedding mental health strategies into your organisational policies and culture, you can make a substantial impact.

Here are some actionable steps you, as an employer, can take to prioritise the mental health and wellbeing of your retail employees:

1. Demonstrate Leadership Commitment

A culture that values mental health starts at the top. Ensure that your senior executives show a clear commitment to mental health. Appointing a senior-level Mental Health Champion can be an effective way to translate this commitment into actionable strategies and visible support, sending a strong message to your entire team.

2. Develop Comprehensive Mental Health Policies

Integrate mental health into all relevant workplace policies, including absence and sickness, health and safety, working hours, performance management, recruitment, diversity and inclusion, bullying and harassment, and whistleblowing. These policies should offer practical guidance for managers, empowering them to confidently address mental health and wellbeing with their staff.

3. Cultivate a Supportive Workplace Culture

Breaking the culture of silence around mental health is crucial. Encourage open conversations and establish clear structures for sharing sensitive information. As a leader, actively support mental health initiatives, ensuring that employees feel comfortable discussing their mental health without fear of stigma or repercussions.

4. Provide Training and Support

Training is essential for equipping employees with the skills and knowledge to uphold mental health policies. From induction to ongoing learning sessions, ensure all employees, particularly managers, are well-versed in mental health awareness and support techniques. Early intervention can prevent issues from escalating, enabling employees to receive the help they need while continuing to perform their roles effectively.

5. Address Workplace Stressors

Identify and mitigate factors that negatively impact mental health, such as excessive workloads, job insecurity, limited career progression, and poor communication. Implement good management practices that engage employees, allowing them to utilise their skills and perform their duties to the best of their abilities. Positive supervision and customer interactions can significantly enhance employee wellbeing.

6. Support Employees Through Recovery

When employees need to take time off for mental health reasons, provide comprehensive support throughout their recovery. Maintain regular, empathetic contact without pressuring them to return prematurely. A supportive approach not only aids in retaining valuable staff but also ensures compliance with legal obligations.

7. Facilitate Work-Life Balance Adjustments

Promote a healthy work-life balance by offering reasonable working hours, flexible deadlines, and the possibility of flexible working arrangements. Such measures can reduce stress, improve wellbeing, and create a more motivated and content workforce. Regularly review your flexible working policies to accommodate employees' needs effectively.

With over 30% of retail workers diagnosed with a mental health condition, addressing employee wellbeing is a pressing challenge for the industry. As an employer, your genuine commitment to mental health, supported by effective tools, strategies, and policies, can create a significant impact. These initiatives should be embedded in the organisational culture and consistently reinforced across all levels, from the shop floor to the corporate office.

By fostering an environment where employees feel safe and supported in discussing their mental health, you can enhance overall staff wellbeing, prevent crises, and drive sustainable growth.

Enhancing Retail Strategies with Modern POS and POP Solutions

Tue, 02 Jul 2024 18:12:07 GMT

Enhancing Retail Strategies:

Modern POS and POP Solutions

Whether you're navigating the aisles of your local supermarket or exploring the bustling stalls of a weekend market, you're likely to encounter various point of sale (POS) or point of purchase (POP) materials. These tools, essential for capturing shopper attention and driving sales, must evolve to meet the expectations of today’s consumers.

Here’s a look at the latest trends in POS and POP and how retailers can modernise their strategies.

Understanding Your Customers

To effectively use POS and POP materials, it's crucial to understand your customers. Leveraging technology to enhance customer experiences and improve sales processes is key. Implementing tech strategies and proposals helps retailers understand their customers better, enabling the use of technology and POS solutions that drive improved sales and return on investment (ROI).

Embracing Digital Integration

Digital integration is a growing trend in POS and POP. Retailers are increasingly using interactive displays, QR codes, augmented reality (AR), and contactless payments to engage customers and provide a seamless shopping experience. Additionally, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are being utilised for inventory management, customer insights, and personalised marketing.

Personalisation and Experiential Retail

Data analytics is being used to create personalised in-store experiences with tailored promotions and product recommendations. Experiential retail is also on the rise, with pop-up shops, interactive product demos, and branded events creating engaging shopping experiences that drive sales.

Sustainability and Omni-channel Synergy

Sustainability is a key focus, with retailers increasingly using eco-friendly materials in their POS and POP displays. Involving supply partners early in the project ensures clear brand identity and impactful displays. The emphasis on eco-friendly materials not only attracts environmentally conscious consumers but also supports broader sustainability goals.

Innovative Display Solutions

Custom store fixtures and shelf management systems play a significant role in creating standout displays. Addressing trends like environmental sustainability, theft deterrence, and technology integration ensures that designs are both practical and engaging. Effective POS and POP materials should hero the product and have a clear brand identity, using eye-catching displays to attract shoppers’ attention.

Evolving Market Trends

POS and POP displays must evolve with consumer behaviour and technological advancements. Key trends include relational versus transactional materials, interactive and mobile-friendly displays, and modular design. Retailers should stay relevant to their shoppers by identifying their needs and facilitating them through various strategies. This might involve interactive elements, personalised offers, impactful graphics, or experiential setups like live demonstrations.

Sustainable Future

Sustainable display solutions are increasingly important as consumer demand for environmentally friendly products grows. Retailers should choose materials and designs that reflect a commitment to environmental responsibility. Innovative, biodegradable products offer green alternatives to traditional plastics, helping retailers reduce their carbon footprint. Customisation ensures that displays align with the retailer’s brand identity and marketing objectives.

From digital integration to sustainability, the trends in POS and POP are clear. Retailers must focus on interactive technologies, personalised experiences, and sustainable practices to capture consumer attention and drive sales. By staying ahead of these trends and understanding customer preferences, retailers can create engaging, efficient, and eco-friendly in-store experiences.

Retail Shopping: Why It's Due a Comeback and How It Can Be Designed to Thrive

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 19:00:00 GMT

Retail Shopping: Why it's due a comeback and

How It Can Be Designed to Thrive

By NWA Search

Retail shopping is poised for a revival, and it’s about time. We’ve become accustomed to the ease of online shopping, where the click of a button brings our purchases to our doorsteps.

Yet, despite the convenience, something essential has been lost in translation. The vibrant, sensory experience of shopping in a physical store has an irreplaceable charm. Here’s why innovative retail design and creating an immersive physical shopping experience is crucial in breathing life back into our high streets.

The Convenience Conundrum

In recent years, online shopping has surged. We’ve sidestepped the hustle and bustle of busy high streets, skipped the small talk with shop assistants, and forgotten the excitement of returning home with shopping bags in tow. Instead, we find ourselves browsing from the comfort of our sofas, awaiting deliveries that arrive days later. While this frictionless shopping experience is convenient, it lacks the engagement and joy of a traditional shopping trip.

The Ghosts of Retail Past

London’s once-iconic retail landmarks, like the Big Topshop at Oxford Circus and the 130-year-old Fenwick on New Bond Street, now stand as ghosts of their former selves. These closures signify a broader trend affecting high streets across the UK. Despite the proliferation of online shopping, we continue to buy, often more than ever before. The mantra “buy less, buy better” remains more aspirational than practical for many.

Returns have become a significant issue, exacerbated by the impersonal nature of online shopping. Consumers, often deceived by flattering online images and poor-quality fabrics, find themselves sending back items in droves. This surge in returns contributes to environmental waste, with many returned items never resold but ending up in landfills. Furthermore, the retail workforce has been displaced to warehouses, resulting in lower pay and poorer working conditions.

Reviving the High Street

Amidst this bleak landscape, a renaissance for physical shops is not only possible but necessary. Physical stores have always excelled when they offer more than just products. The best shopping experiences are about community, engagement, and fun.

Thoughtfully designed spaces can attract foot traffic, create memorable shopping experiences, and foster a sense of community. For instance, modern retail spaces are increasingly incorporating elements like open, welcoming layouts, aesthetically pleasing interiors, and interactive displays that engage customers in ways online shopping simply cannot match.

One clear example of this is the trend towards creating multi-functional spaces that blend retail with leisure and social activities. By integrating cafés, event spaces, and areas for social interaction, retailers are making their stores destinations in their own right. This approach not only increases dwell time but also enhances customer loyalty and satisfaction ( Local Government Association ).

Several examples illustrate how effective retail design and community-focused strategies can revive high streets. Albaray, an independent fashion brand, successfully transitioned from online to physical retail by opening a store in Chichester. This move was based on careful analysis of online customer data and a strategic choice of location, leading to positive community feedback and increased local engagement

Another example is the revitalisation efforts seen in areas where local governments and businesses collaborate to create pedestrian-friendly environments and support independent retailers. These efforts not only improve the aesthetic appeal of high streets but also make them more accessible and enjoyable for a broader audience ( Local Government Association ).

As we look to the future, let’s embrace the potential for retail shopping to make a comeback. Let’s design spaces that invite, excite, and engage. Because, in the end, there are some things you simply can’t buy online. And with that, it’s time to put on your coat and head to the shops. The high street is waiting.

The Influence of Age Diversity in Teams: The Key to Business Growth

Mon, 03 Jun 2024 19:09:27 GMT

The Influence of Age Diversity in Teams :

The Key to Business Growth

By NWA Search

We have the most age-diverse workforce in history. Building high-performing, multi-generational teams not only benefits your business now but can also ensure its future growth and success.

Debunking Age-Related Myths

Age has no impact on intelligence, capability, or performance. Despite this, age-based biases are widespread, with 1 in 2 people worldwide holding ageist beliefs. Contrary to these biases, multi-generational teams are proven to be more productive. Here, we explore how age-diverse teams enhance performance and increase turnover;

Key Benefits of Age-Diverse Teams

Innovation and Inclusive Thinking: Different viewpoints foster creativity.
Knowledge Sharing: Diverse skills and experiences promote learning.
Improved Collaboration and Sustainability: Inclusivity drives better teamwork and diverse teams are proven to be more loyal and consistent
Enhanced Emotional and Cultural Intelligence: Broader perspectives increase understanding.
Positive Market Impact: A diverse workforce improves brand reputation.

Effective management of biases through education allows multi-generational teams to thrive, boosting productivity and sustainability.

Customer Service Enhancement

Age diversity impacts not only employees but also customers. Ignoring it can lead to missed opportunities. For instance, a study by BCG concluded the 50 to 70 age group accounts for 27% of spending globally, up to 40% in countries like Japan and the UK. Companies must reflect this diversity to better serve and understand their customers.

Boosting Innovation and Creativity

Companies with age-diverse teams are almost twice as likely to lead in innovation. Younger employees bring fresh ideas, while older employees offer valuable experience. This blend sparks creativity, essential for responding to technological trends like AI.

Increasing Productivity and Enhancing Problem-Solving Skills

Studies show that older workers are just as productive as their younger counterparts. Age diversity positively impacts productivity, with different age groups bringing unique strengths such as problem-solving abilities and adaptability.

According to research, diverse teams make better decisions 80% of the time, leading to improved productivity.

Generational diversity fosters an environment where employees learn from each other, enhancing skills and bridging gaps. Cross-generational mentoring builds strong bonds and breaks down age-based biases.

Boosting Employee Engagement

A diverse work environment promotes open communication and a sense of belonging. Age-diverse teams see higher engagement, job satisfaction, and lower turnover rates, allowing for sustained progress.

Embracing age diversity leads to stronger, more sustainable workforces. Addressing biases and fostering an inclusive environment unlocks the full potential of your teams, driving innovation, productivity, and ultimately, business success.

The Power of Multilingual Compliance: Unlocking Success in Retail

Tue, 14 May 2024 06:30:00 GMT

The Power of Multilingual Compliance:

Unlocking Success in Retail

By NWA Search

Picture entering a shop where no one understands your language. It’s frustrating, confusing, and leaves you disappointed. This language barrier isn’t confined to physical stores; it extends to online shoppers navigating ecommerce platforms in unfamiliar languages. With projections indicating that nearly a quarter of global retail sales will be online by 2027, the ability to cater to a multilingual customer base becomes crucial for businesses aiming for global success.

In today’s world, characterised by increasing globalisation, multilingual support isn’t just a perk—it’s a necessity for retailers. It’s the key to providing exceptional customer experiences (CX), expanding customer bases, driving sales, and thriving in a competitive environment. Whether it’s enhancing conversion rates, fostering customer loyalty, or building trust, catering to diverse language needs offers undeniable benefits.

Crafting Exceptional Customer Experiences

In the realm of business, customer experiences hold the power to either elevate a brand's reputation or shatter it into irreparable pieces. No longer can businesses rely solely on the quality of their products or services to win over customers. The true differentiator lies in the realm of Customer Experience (CX). Gone are the days of transactional interactions; today's customers seek meaningful connections and personalised engagements.

This shift towards prioritising CX isn't merely a passing trend but rather a fundamental change in consumer behaviour. According to research by PwC, a staggering 32% of customers will sever ties with a brand after just one negative experience. Businesses that embrace CX as a strategic imperative position themselves for long-term success. Central to delivering exceptional CX is the provision of services in a customer's native language.

However, despite the evident importance of multilingual support, many retailers find themselves unequipped to deliver it effectively. Even industry giants like Amazon, with their vast resources, only offer customer service in 16 languages. Considering there are over 7,000 languages spoken globally, countless customers of these online behemoths find themselves lost in translation. The inability to access support in one's native language not only decreases the likelihood of purchasing from a brand but also increases the probability of customer churn. Research indicates that nearly 30% of businesses lacking adequate multilingual support have suffered losses in their customer base.

Conversely, businesses that prioritise multilingual support reap tangible benefits. Offering support in customers' native languages fosters loyalty, leading to enhanced customer retention rates. Studies show that nearly three-quarters (70%) of customers feel more loyal to companies that cater to them in their preferred language. Moreover, acquiring a new customer costs five times more than retaining an existing one. Businesses stand a 70% chance of making a sale with an established customer, compared to a mere 5-20% chance with a new one. Clearly, the ability to provide multilingual support is not just a customer service endeavour but a strategic move that positively impacts the bottom line.

Selecting the Right Translation Platform

In a world where global connectivity is the norm, retail businesses must invest in real-time translation technology to thrive in the ever-expanding global marketplace.

Online retailers can choose platforms that seamlessly integrate with existing technologies like your CRM, streamlining operations and enhancing efficiency. As online retail transcends geographical boundaries, the ability to cater to a multilingual customer base becomes paramount for success.

For the high street, retailers can address the challenge of catering to a multilingual customer base through several strategies:

• Multilingual Staff or Language Training: Hiring multilingual staff members who can communicate effectively with customers in various languages is one of the most direct approaches. Even basic language skills can go a long way in making customers feel welcome and understood. 

• Multilingual Signage and Communication: Implementing multilingual signage and communication materials throughout the store can help customers navigate the space more easily. This includes signage for product categories, directional signs, and important store policies displayed in multiple languages. 

• Technology Solutions: Integrating technology solutions such as multilingual kiosks or digital displays can assist customers in accessing information in their preferred language. These technologies can provide product information, promotions, and other relevant details in multiple languages. 

By implementing these strategies, retailers can create a more modern, inclusive and welcoming environment for customers of diverse linguistic backgrounds, ultimately enhancing the overall shopping experience and driving customer satisfaction and loyalty.

In today's interconnected world, businesses must view the customer experience through a multilingual lens. Embracing real-time translation technology enables businesses to engage with a diverse, global clientele, driving sustained growth and cementing their position in the global marketplace.

Soft Skills - Essential For A Successful Career

Mon, 29 Apr 2024 10:49:49 GMT

Soft Skills:

Essential For A Successful Career

By Joanna Clare | UK Careers Fair

In the rapidly evolving landscape of professionalism, it is absolutely essential that you possess technical expertise and are proactive towards continuous learning which will keep you at the forefront of your industry. However, have you thought of how your soft skills play a part in your career? Mastering the art of soft skills can set you on the path to a rewarding and fulfilling career. These interpersonal techniques and ability to communicate are sought after qualities that can enhance your career success by navigating challenges effectively, enhance collaborations and team work and definitely get you noticed by the right people.

Soft skills can include traits such as leadership, empathy, communication and adaptability and they form a solid foundation for healthy interaction. These skills can be developed and learnt over time while some individuals may possess natural soft skills that simply need refining.

Communication skills can often bridge gaps and allow good collaboration within a workforce while ensuring ideas are shared clearly with any issues being dealt with effectively. Empathy can allow individuals to foster understanding towards colleagues and to relate with how they feel both personally and professionally on a much deeper level.

The trait of adaptability allows you to be able to navigate through unpredictability and to embrace new technologies and different ways of doing things. With leadership, this is not confined to managerial positions as anyone can have good leadership qualities which is all about inspiring others and becoming a positive role model where others can emulate and become the best version of themselves.

Any successful career that has an element of collaboration needs soft skills as its foundation as what follows will be a mutually beneficial atmosphere based on trust and respect where colleagues are fully equipped to deal with inevitable conflict and challenges through open communications and working as a productive collective for the good of the company.

By investing in soft skills, there will be a marked shift both in the workplace and within your own personal growth. You will become more self aware and gain emotional intelligence with the ability to manage stress - all of this contributes towards a well rounded individual and you will exude a quiet confidence that attracts professional opportunities.

So, while technical expertise is essential for a career, so are soft skills. A professional who is made aware of the importance of being able to communicate effectively, show empathy, are able to adapt to situations and can lead others by example are extremely valuable assets to any company. As industries transform and new jobs are being created, soft skills are becoming just as imperative for a successful career journey as academic skills.

Retail design trends: Consumers are looking for wellness in where they shop

Tue, 16 Apr 2024 10:35:35 GMT

Retail design trends: Consumers are looking for wellness in where they shop

By John Caulfield | Building Design + Construction

Consumers are making lifestyle choices with wellness in mind, which ignites in them a feeling of purpose and a sense of motivation.

That’s the conclusion that the architecture and design firm MG2 draws from a survey of 1,182 U.S. adult consumers the firm conducted last December about their seeking healthier shopping experiences. ( Download the full report. )

Nearly half of the respondents said they were aware of the effects that displays which communicate “wellness” have on their minds and bodies. About three in five respondents agreed that sounds generated by physical events—like waves or rain—coupled with natural light can establish a sense of calm. And about the same ratio preferred shopping environments with activity spaces, such as meditation or exercise rooms.

MG2’s report delineates the survey’s respondents by age, location (i.e., suburban, urban, or rural), gender, and household income. The report also groups the respondents into three categories:

Pathfinders , who like to find, learn about, or develop wellness practices that will fit their lifestyles. Pathfinders accounted for 42% of respondents;
Escapists , who look for relaxing or centering wellness outlets. This group represented 35% of respondents; and
Ritualistics , who are committed to wellness routines that address their mental well-being on a scheduled basis.

For many, wellness in retail design equates to calm

The survey elicited responses that accentuated the range of meaning that “wellness” now encompasses. For example, 54% identified physical exercise, like running or yoga, as a wellness practice that enhances mindfulness. When it comes to enhancing emotional wellness, 48% of the survey’s respondents cited personal spaces for meditation or relaxation.

Indeed, “healing,” “tranquility,” and “re-energizing” were the top three themes cited for brands to emphasize in a consumer-focused wellness experience.

When taking a wellness-driven journey, Pathfinders prefer predetermined routes, as do consumers within the 27-43 and 43-49 age groups, whereas Escapists want to determine their own paths.

(Ritualistics split down the middle.) All but the Baby Boomer cohort prefer visual messaging cues that help them navigate a wellness journey.

Knowledge about a product or service’s wellness characteristics and its effects on a consumer’s body and mind was deemed important information sought by the greatest percentage of respondents. It’s worth noting, too, that more than one-third of Generation Z consumers wants to know how a product will factor into their daily routines. “Brands and retailers have the ability to establish greater trust with their consumer audience by communicating these details, providing a deeper sense of confidence when deciding to invest in a product or service in support of their wellness journey,” the report states.

Sound, smell, and sight were identified by respondents as the three top integrated in-store senses for memorable experiences. And among the myriad “sensory scapes” that a shopping environment can present, sounds generated by physical events combined with natural light were the mostly likely to add a sense of calm for consumers, followed by ecological scenes and sounds that simulate native landscapes.

Synchronized music and lighting, on the other hand, ranked highest among the sensory scapes that would best add a sense of stimulation within consumers.

Lighting and tech can boost a retail store’s wellness ambience

“You can’t put a price tag on what delivers health and happiness,” says the report, which found that 85% of respondents differentiate wellness-driven retail experiences from conventional shopping.

For Ritualistics, what separates one from the other is how the experience enhances their daily lives.

Escapists said it’s an experience that supports their emotional needs. And Pathfinders find wellness in shopping experiences that correspond with their everyday routines. (Boomers were the group least-inclined to see any difference between wellness-driven and traditional shopping.)

Lighting can be a significant factor in how consumers relate to a shopping environment. Nearly half of respondents to MG2’s survey said that dimmed lighting which soothes and provides a sense of leisure best contributes to a feeling of wellness, followed by lighting that mimics the patterns of natural light during the day. (Intriguingly, two out of five respondents with household incomes of $200,000 or more find bright light that energizes to be a contributing factor for wellness in stores.)

Fifty-five percent of respondents—and 66% of Boomers—cited activity spaces such as those carved out for meditation or exercise as the integrations they most desired in wellness-driven environments. A garden or forest was overwhelmingly preferred among aesthetics within shopping environments that would be most impactful in driving a feeling of wellness in consumers, followed by a retreat or spa.

MG2 posited that technology can be an “innovative and highly experiential” way to drive consumer education and engagement within the wellness space. More than one-third of Gen Z respondents thought that virtual reality can complement a wellness-driven consumer experience, while the highest percentage of Millennials and Gen X respondents (especially those who are female) singled out chromotherapy tech that uses light for physical and mental healing. Forty percent of Boomers saw wellness benefits in interactive wall and window displays that help them explore products and services.

What Employers Expect From Recent Graduates

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 19:48:07 GMT

What Employers Expect From Recent Graduates

By Joanna Clare | The UK Careers Fair

The dynamic landscape of the jobs market is ever changing and can be an extremely competitive environment, depending upon the current industry trends and is one where employers do have certain expectations with regard to recent graduates. Therefore, having a clearer understanding of these expectations and then carefully aligning your skills, strengths and qualities, is essential for creating a successful transition from a purely academic life to the life of full time work as a professional - one that is very different from the other!

When hiring, employers will generally look for a blend of technical expertise, motivation and soft skills amongst others. Obviously by holding a degree in a certain subject, this gives you a foundation of knowledge and employers are aware of this. However, some employers will want to employ graduates who can apply theoretical knowledge into practical scenarios - in essence, showing what you have learned and putting it into practice.

To be able to meet this expectation, recent graduates may choose to showcase their strengths, achievements and abilities which can bridge the gap between theory and applying their knowledge. This can be achieved through various methods such as practical projects or highlighting any relevant coursework that included hands-on experience.

Most employers seek to employ individuals who have good communication skills as once you start a job, you will invariably be thrown into the deep end at times and will require to convey ideas in team meetings, liaise with both colleagues and clients, present findings, discuss projects - the list is endless. Although nerve wracking, especially if this is your first job after university, this necessary skill can be enhanced by participating in confidence building group activities and mastering the art of public speaking.

Recent graduates must be adaptable by having the ability to embrace changes and show a constant and keen willingness to learn, as these assets are highly valued by employers. Of course, they understand that you are at the beginning of your academic journey but you must be open to the concept of continuous learning by demonstrating a proactive approach to acquiring new skills and staying fully updated on industry trends.

Teamwork and collaboration are integral to most places of work so recent graduates should be able to showcase their ability to work harmoniously in diverse teams and use collective strengths to achieve common goals. Highlighting instances where collaboration has led to successful outcomes during group projects can have a major impact on proving your ability to be a part of a successful and inclusive team.

Punctuality and a polished appearance are of utmost importance in the workplace but professionalism extends beyond these. Employers also seek recent graduates who display a strong work ethic, can take the initiative when required and exude a positive attitude. Detailing any previous experience where dedication and initiative made a difference can reinforce a graduates commitment towards professionalism.

Recent graduates should aim to meet or exceed employer expectations and this requires a proactive approach. By showcasing a combination of technical proficiency, effective communication, adaptability and teamwork, graduates can convey their professionalism and position themselves to become a valuable asset to an employer. Understanding and utilising these expectations creates a solid foundation on which to embark on a successful and fulfilling career.

The Importance of Cultural Diversity in the Workplace

Mon, 18 Mar 2024 08:00:01 GMT

The Importance of Cultural Diversity in the Workplace

By Jayson Darby | Thomas

Let’s face it, today’s business world is set on a global stage. Technology is just one factor that’s making our world smaller and giving companies of all sizes the freedom to recruit the best people, wherever they are. And as technology takes great strides into the future, the people who access it are jogging along in tandem.

Millennials are shaping the workplaces of today and the future. And the words on everyone’s lips is “cultural diversity.” It’s a trend that’s most definitely here to stay. But first, what exactly is cultural diversity?

For an actual definition, turn to The Oxford Dictionary. Here you’ll find it described as, “the existence of a variety of cultural or ethnic groups within a society” [1]. In other words, it’s a population where all differences are represented. From a business perspective, types of workplace diversity include, “race, ethnicity, age, ability, language, nationality, socioeconomic status, gender, religion, or sexual orientation” [2].

And with our political and worldwide backdrop, it’s imperative to understand what cultural diversity in business looks like. It’s not about tokenism and conforming to expectations.. From creating varied perspectives, to driving innovation, there’s a lot to be said for fostering this culture.

In this article, we’ll run through the importance of cultural diversity and its benefits. Designed as an expert guide to cultural diversity, we’ll answer those key questions. Through helping you improve understanding of this topic within your organisation and develop a guide on how to promote cultural diversity in the workplace.

What is cultural diversity?

Culture is what shapes us, it is the reason we have certain beliefs, influences how we behave and is what gives us our identity. Cultural diversity is the representation of different cultural and ethnic groups in society.

When talking about cultural diversity in the workplace, it is the inclusion of employees from different backgrounds, different races, different sexual orientations and different political views [3]. The term cultural diversity encourages an environment of inclusion, with representatives from a range of various backgrounds that come together to work as a team.

It’s easy to talk about the theory and definitions of cultural diversity, but when it comes to creating that within an organisation, it very much depends on the practices used during the hiring process.

Why is cultural diversity important?

We’ve touched on the idea of the benefits cultural diversity offers, but equality and diversity are something that hasn’t just received lip service within the media. There’s been extensive research into its positive effects and the importance of business inclusivity.

Studies looking at why cultural diversity is important give us solid stats to work from when thinking about its benefits. For instance, economically, research shows that the 43 most diverse public corporations were 24% more profitable than the S&P 500 [4]. Other studies show that almost 95% of directors agree that diversity brings unique perspectives [5].

Ultimately, workplace diversity and inclusion allow businesses to build teams that bring different viewpoints and talents to the mix, increasing innovation and driving higher revenues.

Types of workplace diversity

To get a deeper understanding of what cultural diversity looks like, you need to start with a rundown of different types of recognised workplace diversity.

We are all defined by characteristics that go beyond the basic HR capture forms. We could write an everlasting list with all the types of cultural diversity with this theory in mind.

In HR terms, there are a few primary types of diversity characteristics to bear in mind [6]:

Gender – women make up a bigger percentage of the workforce than ever before. But there is still a gap in terms of fair pay and the percentage of women in leadership roles.
Race and ethnicity – as ethnic and racial identities evolve, standardised forms with ethnic groups fail to hit the mark. By opening the conversation with employees and candidates on race and ethnicity, this goes a step towards improving cultural diversity.
LGBT – the LGBT community includes a complex range of people in terms of backgrounds, experiences and challenges. To work towards eliminating discrimination, careful attention needs to be paid towards a strategy as an LGBT employer.
Age – both younger and older workers can be discriminated against in terms of preconceptions. Through steps like opening apprenticeships to all ages and providing cross-generation mentoring programmes, these prejudices can be addressed.
Workers with disabilities – disabilities can cover many differences, from the ability to form social relationships to physical disabilities. Part of this can be helped with a neurodiversity programme, as well as fighting against negative perceptions.
Mental health – focusing on mental health along with workplace wellness support can combat a variety of issues, from absenteeism to behavioural problems.
Neurodiversity – recognising and providing a supportive environment for those with neurological differences that include dyslexia, autism and Tourette’s helps organisations to celebrate differences and the benefits they can offer in well-matched job types.
Thought style – different personalities and thought styles can enhance creativity if the individual and the role are well matched. In contrast, it can cause stress if ill-matched.

It’s worth noting that this is by no means an exhaustive list. To be truly diverse, researching and considering other differences from marital status, to education, language and accents, all come into the mix [7].

Six benefits of cultural diversity in the workplace

The benefits of diversity are long and varied. But here are our headline three benefits to fostering a culturally diverse policy in your organisation.

1. Cultural diversity helps develop and maximise skillsets

A culturally diverse workplace empowers people to develop their talents and skills. A range of ideas and expertise enables those to learn from a more diverse collection of colleagues.

It can also boost problem-solving capabilities and increase happiness and productivity. In an environment where all voices are heard, this spirit of innovation and encouragement to contribute can drive business success [8].

2. Cultural diversity improves the recruitment process

Surveys show that two-thirds of candidates cite diversity as an important consideration during a job hunt [9].

By developing a strategy for cultural diversity, you can broaden your appeal to prospective employees, and reach out to more high-level candidates across the globe.

3. Cultural diversity can help you to retain talent

Aside from attracting a broader talent pool in the first place, cultural diversity is the key to building the ideologies of respect between company and employee, and cooperation. In turn, this makes you a more attractive proposition to valuable candidates making you stand out in the marketplace.

4. Cultural diversity improves your teams creativity

Studies have shown the positive impact a culturally diverse workforce can have on a team and companies creativity. By bringing together people from different backgrounds you will see a more diverse series of solutions to issues and approaches to projects you might have.

A more diverse workforce allows you to bring new ways of thinking into the business that can be applied in many different ways. By listening to each employee's voice and way of thinking, a company will no longer be pigeon-holed in one direction.

A company that actively encourages diversity in the workplace will see more perspectives being discussed and more solutions being thought of than ever before. This can inspire employees to perform to the highest of their abilities.

5. Cultural diversity can help increase employee engagement

The best way to learn about other cultures and ethnicities is by talking to someone with that background. Research can only get you so far and has a far less personal touch. By communicating with someone with a different culture or background you not only gain first hand knowledge, you connect with someone directly.

Employees who engage with others about their background during lunches or out of hours drinks will feel better connected to a company, feel truly listened to and in turn engage further with their colleagues and the business.

Employee engagement helps build trust, starting from the very top and moving all the way down throughout the company. Engagement is always positive for the company, it can lead to greater motivation, collaboration and loyalty.

6. Cultural diversity will improve your company’s reputation

A company that employs people from all different types of cultures and backgrounds will be considered a good employer. This reputation amongst employees will elevate a company’s standing and attract more people to come and work there.

Your company’s reputation amongst its customers is one of the most important things. Customer service and reputation can be greatly improved through a diverse workforce, with different employees being able to assist customers in a more personal way thanks to shared experiences and understanding.

Examples of cultural diversity at work

The proof is there for the taking if you want to see just how effective cultural diversity in the workplace can be. Here are three of our favourite examples to give you some inspiration.

Johnson & Johnson

Top of the list in a few guides on the subject. Johnson & Johnson bring a true company-wide approach to cultural diversity. From using technology to eliminate gender bias, to training interviewers to recognise and combat bias during the hiring process.

Google

With 4,000 languages available to users, Google brings a real-world solution to a global audience. This has been the driving force behind the company’s success. Their motto is inspiring, “never judge a search engine by its interface".

Kellogg’s

Ranked number 21 on Diversity Inc’s 2019 list [10], Kellogg’s has more women in leadership roles than the national average. A third more. And they promote benefits such as longer maternity pay.

How to manage and promote workplace diversity

As such a complex topic, there are naturally big challenges that come with developing a culturally diverse strategy in the workplace.

It is best to look at this from two different perspectives to help improve diversity, promote it and ensure the messages are being understood. It can be broken down into what the business can do and what the employees can do.

When it comes to what a business can do to manage and promote diversity across the organisation, strategies that can be implemented include:

Boosting your cultural competency
Encouraging and embracing different viewpoints
Offering implicit bias training
Promoting the use of mentors [11] [12]

Employees also have their own responsibility when it comes to managing and promoting diversity. For many, there will be opportunities to introduce colleagues to their culture and background and teach them what they should know and understand such as:

Organising events celebrating their culture
Volunteering in organisations that serve the needs of underrepresented groups, this can be done as a team building exercise

How to manage a culturally diverse team

Understanding that globalisation has caused the positive cultural chasms that have created culturally diverse teams is part of the equation that organisations need to face. With greater employee mobility and even more organisations now making the effort to develop virtual teams, coming across more diverse teams is only going to grow.

However, there are challenges when it comes to developing the right management structure and identity when it comes to building a culturally diverse team. A multicultural team is a team whose members originate from various countries and cultures. Naturally, these people speak different languages as well.

It’s things like language which are sometimes easy to identify as part of how to manage a diverse team, but it’s not always easy to understand how you can best do it.

We are going to take a closer look at the kinds of things you need to know when it comes to managing a culturally diverse team. The biggest caveat will depend on the structure/diversity within the team as to how widespread some of these issues will occur when managing your own team.

Encourage cultural sensitivity from the offset

You need to start the process of cultural sensitivity from the offset, it’s not something that you can ingrain later in the career journey for many. From hiring to onboarding, it’s important to make this a priority.

Understanding if a candidate is culturally sensitive during an interview is essential, especially in a large multicultural work environment. Another thing to promote is cross-cultural training in your on-boarding process. This will instil multicultural values right from the start and make it clear to new hires what is expected of them, as well as giving them the skills they need to work well in a multicultural environment.

Reinforce these values regularly. Have a clear company culture that respects diversity and communicates it often.

Consider and accommodate different cultural habits and requirements

A multicultural workplace should focus on bringing together culturally diverse needs that are directly related to work, but also more broader needs and habits.

Think of things like food provided in the staff canteen or at work events that are culturally inclusive i.e. vegetarian and halal options. You may even want to consider quiet rooms for prayer or meditation to match cultural needs.

Consider different communication styles

There really is no one-size fits all approach when it comes to better managing culturally diverse teams. Importantly, different cultures have different ways of communicating, and your style of communication may not be the best appreciated by some.

That’s why you have to understand that there may be different communication styles in order to better manage people and the situation you may also find yourself in. It’s easier to try and learn the basics in different verbal and non verbal cues, or the use of phrases which can help in putting a point across or understanding if there are difficulties.

Plan around time zone differences

This is going to apply to the teams who work virtually and around the world but, remembering that different people are in different time zones is essential. It could be that you’re based on the west coast of the United States working with Europe. When they are about to log off for the day, you may be starting. Understanding the time differences can help you better achieve your goals.

Another thing to consider is if you’re working with teams who follow strict religious code and may be at prayer when you want them to work or have scheduled a meeting. Get a timezone application to help you better plan your working days with teams around the world.

Organise suitable training

The purpose of this type of training is to overcome cultural challenges at the office. This is a good way to get people to get to know each other and educate themselves about various cultural beliefs.

This training should highlight:

How to minimise the culture barriers
How to avoid stereotypes and prejudices
How to appreciate your own and the skills of other cultures
How to improve your social skills
How to become a better listener
How to aim your attention on common principles rather than differences
It is important to keep this training bespoke to the needs of the team.

Avoid stereotypes

It is sometimes a bit too easy to get confused between cultural differences and stereotypes.

Understanding how people behave and respond in a business environment is essential, especially when there are clear differences but making vast generalisations is counterproductive.

To avoid stereotyping, become acquainted with every team member and get to know them on an individual level. You will realise culture shapes behaviour but ultimately does not dictate it.

Approach feedback sensitively

Being able to provide your team with honest and constructive feedback is essential part of leadership and management duties. Your colleagues deserve to know the truth about the quality of their work, be it positive or negative.

Honest feedback for a multicultural team is essential however, it needs to be done with a level of understanding. Different cultures and nationalities respond to feedback in different ways. Some cultures may find that constructive feedback can feel negative whilst others, like American culture will be positive verbally whilst negative in a written manner.

Understanding these differences can contribute to better feelings overall when managing different cultures and staff.

Cultural diversity in the workplace challenges

It’s not always an easy road to creating a culturally diverse workplace. While different companies will experience their difficulties along the way, there are some common themes to watch out for.

They include preconceptions from underrepresented cultures on being marginalised, misinterpretation across cultures and languages, the intricacies of employment law, and conflicting working styles and etiquette [13].

References:

https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/cultural_diversity
https://www.thebalance.com/cultural-diversity-3306201
https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/cultural_diversity
https://www.thebalance.com/cultural-diversity-3306201
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2019/09/13/the-benefits-of-cultural-diversity-in-the-workplace/#68f8988671c0
https://www.allegisgroup.com/en-gb/insights/blog/2018/april/workplace-diversity-types
https://builtin.com/diversity-inclusion/types-of-diversity-in-the-workplace
https://www.hult.edu/blog/benefits-challenges-cultural-diversity-workplace/#creativity
https://www.glassdoor.com/about-us/twothirds-people-diversity-important-deciding-work-glassdoor-survey-2/
https://www.diversityinc.com/the-2019-top-50-diversityinc/
https://www.bentley.edu/news/7-ways-promote-diversity-workplace
https://www.hult.edu/blog/promoting-diversity-in-workplace/
https://www.hult.edu/blog/benefits-challenges-cultural-diversity-workplace/#talent

How AI and Generative Design Are Transforming Store Layouts for Enhanced CX

Tue, 12 Mar 2024 10:17:32 GMT

How AI and Generative Design Are Transforming Store Layouts for Enhanced CX

By Alyx Kaczuwka | Total Retail

For retailers designing curated and experiential spaces for customers to elevate their in-store experience vs. competitors’ stores or e-commerce alternatives, the challenge remains: How do you design a store layout that maximizes both the customer experience and overall sales?

Artificial intelligence (AI), including generative AI, can provide deeper insights, faster iterations and more intuitive store designs to drive the redesign process. Most retailers are already using space planning software, but far fewer are utilizing AI-driven insights or generative AI at any phase of design.

Before moving on to aesthetics, it’s important to start with a data-driven approach to your store design. AI tools are ideal for the extraction and analysis of store data, such as:

Highlighting Customer Traffic Patterns: AI tools can spotlight high and low traffic zones within a store, enabling retailers to reengineer their store layouts, direct customer movement, and utilize space efficiently and effectively.
Deep Diving Into Customer Behavior: AI can extrapolate customer behavior from time spent in particular store sections to specific product interests and customer interactions. AI algorithms might spot payment trends, such as a growing number of mobile vs. fixed point-of-sale transactions, or nuances like customers who buy certain products being more likely to linger in-store or have companions with them, suggesting a need for seating in that department.
Elevating Product Placement: Intelligent product placement dramatically impacts sales. AI analyzes sales trends, product relationships and consumer demands, placing products strategically to boost sales based on which products benefit from in-store visibility or sell best when grouped together.
Analyzing Competitor Layouts: AI can power competitor analysis when retailers add competitors’ store layouts to their training data, making it easier to capture learnings about their store designs and merchandising.

Generative AI takes store design a notch higher by facilitating the creation of 2D or 3D store models. An exploration of all available generative AI tools available today goes beyond the scope of this article, but a broad array of options exists, ranging from text-to-image tools to completely create an image based on a prompt, generative fill tools to add or delete sections from an existing store layout, or models to train from scratch on your current store layouts.

Using parameters based on your learnings, such as product placements, store dimensions, architectural features, accessibility needs and customer traffic patterns, generative AI can create detailed virtual models making use of your retail space. Here’s an example of a luxury retailer layout generated using Midjourney AI:

Once several layouts are created, a retailer can utilize them for virtual focus groups, letting consumers engage with the store digitally and offer feedback for refining the layout before the commercial architecture and design teams take over.

Rapid AI design tools for store models can be of value for commercial real estate process as well. Here’s what’s basically the same space above, but rendered for a retailer of luxury menswear. A broker can now easily create renderings for multiple potential clients.

AI can also emulate customer behaviors in these virtual setups. Behavior simulations, combined with review by stakeholders and focus group participants, can preemptively identify challenges the AI might have missed, ranging from security to accessibility, ensuring a seamless store operations experience as well as customer experience when the layout is physically implemented.

Overall, AI has the potential to revolutionize the retail industry, including store layouts and customer experience. By providing insights, speed and flexibility, AI can help retailers to create more intuitive, efficient and customer-centric stores, using intricate consumer insights, rapid prototyping, and fast modifications.

How generative AI is reinventing the world of retail

Mon, 05 Feb 2024 22:05:09 GMT

How generative AI is reinventing the world of retail

By Amber Hickman | Technology Record

Microsoft’s Shanthi Rajagopalan shares how generative artificial intelligence is driving innovation in the industry and improving supply chain operations, customer experience and predictive analysis

The key to success for any retail organisation lies in understanding its customers, product, supply chain operations and changing market trends and demands. To do this, they need access to data insights. However, getting this information has historically been a time-consuming and expensive process, according to Shanthi Rajagopalan, Microsoft’s head of solutions strategy, worldwide retail and consumer goods.

“In the past, getting insights out of your data required you to have access to and gather unstructured data, clean and organise it, then have a highly trained professional execute and interpret statistical analysis and pass this on to be further interpreted by the user of the insights,” says Rajagopalan. “This process requires specialised resources, and it also leaves businesses constrained by the quality of the data as well as their talent and the tools they possess.

“We see a lot of retail and consumer goods organisations that just ‘make do’ with the insights they have, which typically consist of simple regression, retrospective analysis and limited data exploration. In short, static reporting which serves up static insights.”

This type of data analysis is no longer sufficient for retail organisations contending with fluctuating market changes, supply chain disruption and customers seeking more streamlined shopping experiences. To stay ahead of the game, retailers need to be able to predict the future with more accuracy than before.

Generating innovation

Innovations such as generative and predictive AI are leading a technology revolution in the retail and consumer goods industry, enabling organisations to introduce solutions that deliver smarter and easier ways for customers to shop and for employees to operate the business. Generative AI also enables retailers to better understand their data and get meaningful insights into their business operations.

“Generative AI provides the ability to unlock insights from new sources, or unstructured data that has long been dark for the organisation, and access them using just natural language,” says Rajagopalan.

“Imagine the wealth of customer insights hidden in customer service call transcripts, for instance. You can find out what customers like and dislike about products, why they break, what else they would like to see – all these are forward-looking, open-ended insights.”

Domino’s Pizza is one of the retailers using AI to better understand its customers in the UK and Ireland. The organisation uses the Demand Planning feature in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations, which leverages AI to predict customer ordering trends without the need for hundreds of spreadsheets and with a forecast accuracy of 97.5 per cent. This means that Domino’s Pizza can better plan its supply chains, leading to less waste and a reduced carbon footprint.

Retailers can also use AI to create new experiences for customers and enhance the shopping journey.

“People want to find, not just search,” says Rajagopalan. “Businesses should be implementing improved search functions and rethinking interactions, personalisation, product catalogue tagging and matchmaking.

“If a shopper visits an online store and asks a question like ‘what shall I wear to my cousin’s wedding this spring?’, they receive personalised recommendations, while the business gets a deeper understanding of the customer’s needs and preferences.”

Carrefour, a French retail corporation that operates a chain of grocery and convenience stores, is one of the organisations taking this approach to adopting AI. The firm used Microsoft’s OpenAI Azure service to develop Hopla, a chatbot integrated into the Carrefour website that allows customers to ask for help with choosing products based on their budget, dietary restrictions and meal plan ideas.

This introduces an element of conversation into the shopping experience that will work to not only retain customers, but also attract new ones too.

“We often see marketing as a ‘one-way’ communication between a brand and consumers, with the brand shouting out into the world and hoping their message sticks,” says Rajagopalan. “Generative AI now enables brands and shoppers to have conversations in natural language and create personalised content. For instance, a brand can now generate three different versions of the same marketing campaign but tweak the language used in each one to better address the needs of different audience demographics.”

Easing the adoption process

Despite the growing number of use cases, there are many retail organisations that are still wary of adopting generative AI due to concerns regarding security, potential job redundancies, and more. However, there are steps they can take to mitigate the risks.

“With any new technology, every organisation should be fully vetting it and ensuring they have the right talent and processes to support it,” says Rajagopalan. “The process is no different with generative AI. But if you consider how broad its capabilities are and the fact that most people have already started using it in their personal lives, it is all the more important for organisations to define and publish responsible use policies and guidelines for their employees.”

Incorporating AI into business operations doesn’t have to be a complicated process, says Rajagopalan, noting that there are a range of solutions and resources that can help.

“An increasing number of software-as-a-service applications are shipping with generative AI features built-in,” she says. “This is a great way for businesses to see the benefits of generative AI and learn how to use and optimise it without having to take on the burden of building, governing and maintaining their own software.”

The Microsoft partner ecosystem is also working in this space to bring AI-powered solutions to retail organisations. At NRF 2024 , which will take place on 14-16 January 2024 in New York, USA, firms including Blue Yonder, Fractal, Fashable and Sitecore will be at the Microsoft booth highlighting uses cases for the generative AI solutions they have built.

Taking the leap

The impact of AI on businesses is expected to continue growing in the future. According to a market research report published by Fortune Business Insights in June 2023, the market value of AI in retail is expected to grow by 34.1 per cent by 2030, reaching $55.5 billion.

For organisations that are taking a ‘wait and see approach’ to generative AI, the time to act may come sooner than later as, according to Rajagopalan, “soon, everyone will be using generative AI in their personal lives, and it will be harder to avoid employees and customers demanding it in work and personal life.”

Partner perspectives

We asked a selection of Microsoft partners how they are using Microsoft technology and AI to help retail and consumer goods clients improve supply chain management, in-store operations and customer engagement.

“Avalara Dynamics 365 integrations allow retailers to optimise supply chain efficiency, streamline in-store operations and elevate customer engagement,” said George Trantas, senior director of global marketplaces at Avalara. “The seamless data synchronisation enables informed decision-making by automating compliance and tax processes to mitigate risks, which allows businesses to focus on core operations.”

“First movers among enterprises are leveraging generative AI to automate repetitive tasks, offer superior customer service backed by generative AI and produce high-quality content that resonates with their target audience,” said Ramana Raju Nidadavolu, manager of go-to-market for Microsoft Practice at Infosys.

Powerful new AI-driven analytics tools that are easy to implement will drive productivity and efficiencies using Microsoft Teams,” said Hilary Oliver, chief marketing and experience officer at Tollring. “For instance, Tollring is soon launching AI-driven analytics of Teams call recordings to automate the detection of keywords and subject topics, helping people to find and analyse the conversations that matter.”

10 New Retail Stores That Will Reignite Your Interior Desires

Mon, 05 Feb 2024 21:26:07 GMT

10 New Retail Stores That Will Reignite Your Interior Desires

By India Roby | Clever

From corduroy couches and stainless steel staircases to antique chairs dangling from ceilings, shoppers can expect a fully immersive experience

Despite what anyone else might think, I firmly believe there’s only so much shopping a person can do from a laptop or phone before the desire to do it in person comes out. Crowds and occasional chaos aside, there’s nothing that beats the feeling of physically entering retail stores and perusing the shelves and getting an up-close look at the assortment of products in front of you. The store itself can also be an unforgettable experience, and these days, brick-and-mortar stores are stepping up their game and bringing back a bit of fun to the retail landscape.

This year alone, shops have transformed small spaces into entirely new worlds, many too stunning not to snap a photo or two and upload on the feed. Whether you’re in New York City or heading out of town, there are stores that will deliver on both the clothing and retail atmosphere fronts all over the world, even in peak winter time. Ahead, we’ve selected 11 of the best and buzziest new retail stores worth checking out this season, from temporary pop-ups to permanent locations.

Comme Si

Comme Si, a luxe sock and loungewear brand, just launched a temporary Brooklyn store, created in tandem with designers Devan Elías

N, John Sohn, and Yoonjee Kwak. Their debut boutique is a pop-up located inside Hudson Wilder, and offers a unique experience that is authentic to the brand’s roots. Founder Jenni Lee pulled from a multitude of sources, pairing ’70s Milanese interiors with traditional Korean Hanok architecture. Amidst the different aspects of Korean minimalism, you’ll find pieces of her heritage scattered throughout, from a console and wall display with patterns found in traditional Korean tiles to upholstered stools and a collection of ceramics inspired by large onggi jars. The pop-up will be running until January 2024.

142 Plymouth Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Bottega Veneta

There are tons of Bottega Veneta stores scattered across cities, but if you happen to be in Colorado, then you must check out the fashion house’s new Aspen location, which recently opened in tandem with its partnership with Aspen Art Museum. The brand brings inspiration from the area’s snowy mountain tops into the 1,882-square-foot store on East Hyman Avenue. Take a break from the slopes and step into a warm and inviting atmosphere, complete with ceiling beams made from Aspen wood veneer and a soothing, natural color palette featuring shades of white, cream, gray, and beige. The freestanding display shelves and clothes rails draw inspiration from the surrounding trees, while the comfortable seating areas evoke the feeling of lounging on soft rocks or stones. As always, Bottega Veneta continues to serve as a major source of design inspiration for all.

428 E Hyman Avenue, Aspen, CO 81611

Beverly’s

Two years into launching the business, Beverly’s made history as the first Asian-owned store in New York City’s Rockefeller Center. Now, the cult homewares label has headed back downtown to its permanent home in Chinatown. Founder Beverly Nguyen opened her namesake homeware shop and specialty market in the neighborhood’s buzzy Orchard Street. With the help of architect Louis Rambert and Yudai Kanayama’s Serious Construction Company, the stylist turned her tiny pocket of retail space into a curated cookware cornucopia, selling an array of kooky ceramics and locally sourced essentials—like ladles and woks—alongside artisanal olive oil, fancy tea towels, and quilted knickknacks.

27 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002

Loeffler Randall

In 2021, Loeffler Randall found success with its first flagship store in New York City’s SoHo. But for its next location, which opened this fall, the fashion brand decided to go for an unexpected location in Charleston, South Carolina—which is currently being advertised as an up-and-coming retail haven. With 1,450 square feet to work with, the Charleston location is more than double the size of the 625-square-foot store in Manhattan. Sitting on King Street, Loeffler Randall adds a pastel punch to the surrounding area with its mix of event-ready sandals, handbags, accessories, and ready-to-wear clothing. Come for all the clothes, stay for the custom scallop table by Waka Waka!

145 King Street, Suite CA, Charleston, SC 29401

Gohar World

Gohar World opened a holiday pop-up in SoHo that quickly captured the attention of both locals and visitors alike. Located at 181 Lafayette Street, the store offers shoppers a chance to snag their delightful tablewares in person, from their latest Table IV collection to unique vintage finds from their “Old World” series. What makes the shop warm and inviting is its interiors, revamped in an abandoned church space designed by Rafael Prieto of Casa Bosques. The space features custom wallpaper made out of photographs that the designer took of Eglise Saint-Honorat in Arles, France. On top of providing a physical location, founders Nadia and Laila Gohar also host workshops like table-styling classes and offer embroidery personalization on linen products in the space. The shop will remain open until January 14, so be sure to get a visit in before it’s gone!

181 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10013

Buck Mason

Buck Mason recently opened a new concept store in the small town of Sewickley, Pennsylvania, which also happens to be the hometown of cofounder Erik Allen and his wife, Leanne Ford. Never intimidated by a DIY project, Leanne took the lead on designing the interiors of their latest brick-and-mortar, a space housing a variety of wardrobe essentials and classic American home goods. Expect to find crewneck tees and wide-leg pants placed alongside a curated selection of hand-picked items such as art, pottery, apothecary products, small home goods, lighting, and furniture—all of which were specifically chosen by Leanne from around the world.

426 Beaver Street, Sewickley, PA 15143

Salter House

Salter House had been a neighborhood favorite in Brooklyn Heights for years, but an opportunity arose for the family business to birth a new location in New York’s East Village this spring. Founders Sandeep and Carson Salter renovated a former tenement building from the 1900s, transforming the 450-square-foot space into a cottagecore fever dream. The intimate setting houses an array of sustainable houseware goods, with the walls surrounding it leaning into cellar aesthetics but with a warmer approach—the brick, metal, and stone features of Kettle’s Yard, an art gallery and house in Cambridge, England.

34 East 2nd Street, New York, NY 10003

Bode Women’s

After Bode launched its foray into womenswear, there was a lot weighing on Emily Adams Bode Aujla ’s mind. One of them was to create a store that fully embodied who exactly the “Bode woman” was. The designer placed her first womenswear store in New York’s Tribeca, not too far from the men’s location on Hester. The interior of the womenswear store, like all of the brand’s spaces, was designed by Green River Project , the firm founded by her husband Aaron Aujla, and Benjamin Bloomstein. The latest addition to the Bode universe in the downtown district has a familiar snug and playful feel like its LES branch but with a slightly more elevated approach.

79 Worth Street, New York, NY 10013

Guest In Residence

When supermodel Gigi Hadid launched her very own cashmere label, Guest In Residence , last year, it was only a matter of time before it expanded from pop-up to permanent status. The brand’s first flagship store opened on Bond Street, with bright yellow lettering luring customers from the window into a cozy cashmere-studded universe. Upon entrance, shoppers are greeted by vintage decor and dressing suites outfitted with Douglas fir wood panels. Designed in collaboration with Yaoska Interiors, the store offers a sense of cabincore calmness amidst the busy, finished with soothing 1950s Danish touches via club chairs in the boutique.

21 Bond St, New York, NY 10012

Dion Lee

During Miami Art & Design Week , Dion Lee opened its first U.S. and international flagship store in the heart of the Design District, expanding beyond its six locations in Australia. The store’s subversive designs heavily influence the space it occupies, resulting in a sleek, sculptural, and slightly gritty atmosphere. Designed by Smart Design Studio , the interiors resemble an art gallery rather than a retail space, allowing the collections to shine on a blank canvas. There are polished concrete floors, custom helix spiral staircase, and an abundance of stainless steel , plus the store features artwork from Berlin-based artist Oliver Laric .

115 NE 41 Street, Miami, FL 33137

What is the Employee Experience?

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT

What is the Employee Experience?

By William Beaumont-Oates | Thomas International Ltd

We have all experienced a workplace where our experience makes us want to stay for many years to come and unfortunately, other experiences may make us want to leave a lot sooner. In fact, many HR professionals believe that it is employee experience that dictates just how long someone wants to stay in a particular place of work especially when you consider things such as employee social networks, promotions, or rewards and recognition for their contributions.

It is commonly thought that the experience someone has at their workplace increases over time but in reality, studies show that the employee experience can decrease by as much as 22% in the first six months of employment.

In this guide we are going to answer the question of what employee experience is, how to measure it and why it matters - as well as what you can do to improve the employee experience in your organisation.

What is employee experience and why is it important?

Employee experience, akin to customer experience, reflects the atmosphere and workflow within an organisation. This encompasses several factors including the onboarding process, colleague interactions, leadership dynamics, work environment, and the technology used. The experience may vary by sector, with retail employees' interactions with customers being a key example. Employee control over their work environment, including choice between remote or on-site work, also significantly impacts their experience.

Employee experience is crucial for both individual satisfaction and broader organisational success. A positive experience can boost engagement levels, with Gallup reporting a 21% increase in profitability for companies with highly engaged teams. Moreover, organisations offering a superior employee experience see 40% lower turnover according to a report by Deloitte. Positive employee experience fosters loyalty, improves productivity, and can attract top talent. Conversely, neglecting employee experience can lead to higher attrition rates, lower productivity, and reduced company reputation. Thus, prioritising employee experience is essential for nurturing a motivated, committed, and high-performing workforce.

10 ways to measure the employee experience

1. First impressions

A prospective candidate's initial interaction with a company, often through a job advertisement or a related context, has a substantial impact on their employee experience. This primary touchpoint not only communicates job specifics but also introduces the company culture and values, shaping their perceptions about the work environment. It influences their expectations and initial understanding of the organisation's ethos. A well-crafted, transparent initial interaction can set the stage for a positive employee experience, fostering engagement, and encouraging a candidate's decision to join. It can also lay the foundation for long-term satisfaction, loyalty, and productivity in their potential tenure.

2. Interview experience

The interview experience is a key determinant in shaping a prospective candidate's view of a company and lays the foundation for their future employee experience. This interaction, beyond evaluating the candidate's suitability for a role, also communicates the company's culture, work environment, and values. An organised, respectful, and transparent interview process can create a positive perception, signalling that the company values its workforce. Conversely, a poor interview experience may dissuade qualified candidates and harm the company's image. Therefore, a positive interview experience is paramount in attracting and retaining top talent, and in moulding their overall employee experience.

3. Candidate experience

The candidate experience, starting from encountering a job advert to the interview process, is critical in shaping a prospective employee's perspective of the company and their ensuing employee experience. This journey mirrors the company's culture, values, and attitude towards employees. A well-handled candidate experience, marked by clear communication, respect, and transparency, not only attracts potential hires but also sets a foundation for their engagement and satisfaction within the company. Conversely, a negative experience can deter talented candidates and negatively impact the company's reputation. Thus, prioritising a positive candidate experience is essential for fostering a productive employee experience.

4. Onboarding

The onboarding process is a very important part of the employee experience. It will give the new employee an idea of what is expected of them but also, an insight into the business, how people feel and work to the requirements of the business.

The onboarding process can have a significant impact on an employee’s tenure. It starts when the new hire accepts your offer and continues through the first weeks, months, and even their first year on the job.

5. Colleague interactions

What are the colleagues saying about the business/department? What experiences are they having that can influence decision making and how long someone stays or goes?

Think about a time you have joined a team and it was positive compared to a time where the experience was negative. It all has an influence on the outcome for the new hire.

6. Leadership

Leadership plays a vital role in shaping the employee experience. Good leaders establish a positive work culture, communicate effectively, and inspire motivation, directly impacting employees' satisfaction and engagement. Poor leadership, on the other hand, can lead to a negative work environment, low morale, and reduced productivity.

7. Work environment

As pointed out, employees with choice in where they work have higher levels of employee experience than those who don’t, such as remote or on-site workers.

However, with more people returning to the office, is the workplace somewhere that they can feel comfortable at? Are they relaxed in an environment where they can achieve their work to the best of their abilities?

8. Technology

Technology can not only help to make life easier for employees, it can also help track the development of an employee as well - and the experiences they are having. Using technology to produce assessments and surveys at timely intervals is essential to help in diagnosing issues and resolving them quickly.

9. Psychological safety

Psychological safety in the workplace significantly impacts employee experience. It fosters an environment where individuals feel comfortable expressing ideas, taking risks, and admitting mistakes without fear of criticism or punishment. This climate of trust promotes innovation, collaboration, and engagement, enriching the overall employee experience. Conversely, a lack of psychological safety can lead to anxiety, reduced creativity, and disengagement, negatively affecting performance and morale. Hence, organisations should prioritise psychological safety to enhance employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention, ultimately cultivating a healthier, more positive, and productive workplace.

10. Development opportunities

Development opportunities in the workplace significantly influence the employee experience. These opportunities, which include continuous learning, career advancement, and skills training, demonstrate a company's investment in its employees. They contribute to personal and professional growth, boosting employee satisfaction, engagement, and loyalty. Employees are more likely to feel valued and motivated when they perceive their growth is a company priority. On the contrary, a lack of development opportunities can lead to stagnation, decreased job satisfaction, and higher turnover rates. Therefore, fostering a workplace culture that prioritises employee development is essential for enhancing the overall employee experience.

The difference between employee experience and employee engagement

There is a difference between employee experience and employee engagement. Whilst engagement is fundamental to the experience, and many of the tools used to measure experience come from the fundamental aspects, employee engagement differs in four key elements.

Enablement This is where the team has the necessary tools to be able to do their work or decisions are made in a timely manner that can help speed up the process.
Energy What energy is there to complete the task? Are you overstretching resources or do you need someone with a different take on how to deliver in this project?
Empowerment How are you empowering your team to deliver the results required? From the managers to the employees, what is taking place to help in getting the project/business results required?
Encouragement Being able to encourage change, progress, delivery is all part of the engagement strategies used on a daily basis to help your team deliver and feel part of the organisation.

Employee engagement is a psychological state that’s constantly shaped by an employee’s day-to-day work environment, culture and sense of purpose. It is what happens on a daily basis to help drive the objectives of the organisation rather than the experience which is about the total feeling around the place of work as a whole.

Fundamentally, a positive employee experience facilitates the feeling or state of being highly engaged, content and committed—which paves the way for an unrivalled, high-performance workplace.

Why employee experience matters

So why does employee experience matter and why is it important? There are many different associated benefits of developing the employee experience, these include:

High staff engagement The more engaged the staff, the more likely they are to stay and deliver better results - especially inline with the requirements of the organisation.
Happier workers Happy workers are 13% more productive than not unhappy workers. You want to establish an environment where happiness matters and that providing happiness to your employees can make all the difference.
Higher productivity Better engagement and happier employees make for a more productive workforce. Imagine having your organisation hit targets and do it in a place they enjoy working as well?
Lower absentee rates Absenteeism can be a real challenge for businesses, whilst some sick days are the norm, many can lead to disruption of all kinds in the workplace. Reduced absenteeism means people are going to be more productive and less likely to change jobs.
Higher quality work Generally there is a better quality of work associated with a better employee experience. The happier and more productive someone feels and becomes, the more the work speaks for that experience.
Improved customer relations driving greater customer satisfaction The better the experience for your employees, the more that reflects in the experience for your customers. They will reflect a positive attitude and nature towards your customers.

It’s not a coincidence that the most successful organisations are able to attract, nurture and retain top talent - which is key to their success.

9 ways to improve employee experience

Having established why employee experience is so important, let’s take a look at how you can improve employee experience within your organisation.

1. Promote open communication

Open and transparent communication is the backbone of a positive employee experience. Encourage regular feedback, updates, and dialogue to make employees feel heard and valued.

2. Invest in development opportunities

Continuous learning and professional development are vital for employees. Offering skills training, career advancement opportunities, or mentorship programs can help them grow and stay engaged.

3. Establish a positive work environment

A safe, inclusive, and comfortable workspace promotes productivity and satisfaction. This includes both physical spaces and a culture that encourages collaboration and respect.

4. Recognise and reward effort

Employees feel valued when their efforts are recognized. Whether it's a small acknowledgement for a job well done or a larger reward for significant achievements, recognition can boost morale and motivation.

5. Foster a strong leadership team

Good leaders inspire, motivate, and guide their teams. They play a crucial role in establishing a positive work culture and directly influence the overall employee experience.

6. Prioritise work-life balance

Encouraging a healthy work-life balance shows respect for employees' personal lives. Flexible schedules, remote work options, and respecting personal time can greatly improve employee satisfaction.

7. Provide the right tools and technology

Equip your team with the latest tools and technology they need to perform their jobs efficiently. This not only increases productivity but also reduces frustration and creates a smoother workflow.

8. Support employee well-being

Physical and mental health should be a priority. Implement wellness programs, provide resources for mental health, and create a supportive environment to improve overall employee well-being.

9. Cultivate psychological safety

Create an environment where employees feel safe to voice their ideas, make mistakes, and learn from them. This fosters innovation, improves team dynamics, and positively impacts the employee experience.

By investing in these areas, organisations can not only improve the employee experience but also increase employee engagement, productivity, and retention, leading to a healthier and more successful business overall.

The impact of employee social networks, promotions, rewards, and recognition on employee experience

A company's success doesn't solely hinge on its business strategy or financial prowess, but also on the experience it provides to its employees. Two critical components of this experience are the cultivation of employee social networks and the effective implementation of promotions, rewards, and recognition.

Boosting employee experience through social networks

Workplaces are social hubs. The relationships employees form with their colleagues significantly impact their job satisfaction and collaboration efforts. Strong social networks create a supportive, vibrant atmosphere that enhances the overall employee experience. Strategies to nurture these networks include organising team-building activities and social events, and encouraging participation in cross-functional projects. These initiatives foster a sense of camaraderie and belonging, enhancing job satisfaction and boosting productivity.

Promotions: enhancing employee experience

Promotions are a vital part of the employee journey, offering opportunities for growth, increased responsibility, and a sense of accomplishment. They signify the organisation's acknowledgment of an employee's skills and contributions. However, the process must be fair and transparent. A well-defined promotion structure that aligns with an individual's abilities and contributions can significantly enhance the employee experience.

The power of rewards and recognition

Rewards and recognition programmes play a pivotal role in boosting employee morale, motivation, and experience. Recognition may be as simple as an "employee of the month" program, a peer-to-peer recognition platform, or a performance-based bonus system. Such initiatives show employees that their efforts are valued and appreciated, thus strengthening their engagement and commitment.

The key to effective recognition is personalisation. Recognising employees for their unique contributions makes them feel individually valued and appreciated, thereby enhancing their work experience. It's also crucial to align these programmes with the organisation's values, reinforcing desired behaviours and fostering a positive work culture.

Continuous feedback and recognition

Continuous feedback and performance evaluations are essential for identifying employees deserving of promotions, rewards, and recognition. Regular constructive feedback helps employees understand their performance status and the steps they need to take for growth.

Further, managers and leaders should actively recognise and celebrate employee accomplishments, fostering a culture of appreciation. A simple acknowledgment can significantly boost an employee's morale and engagement, positively impacting their overall experience.

Fostering robust employee social networks and strategically implementing promotions, rewards, and recognition can significantly enhance the employee experience. By focusing on these elements, organisations can create a work environment that is not only productive but also fulfilling and rewarding.

Employee experience in summary

In conclusion, the concept of employee experience extends beyond merely a positive workplace. It encapsulates various facets such as onboarding, leadership, work environment, colleague interactions, and technology, all of which play a critical role in defining an individual's journey in an organisation. The employee's initial encounter with a company, either through a job advert or interview, can greatly shape their perceptions and expectations. Positive impressions from these first experiences often lay a solid foundation for engagement and satisfaction within the company.

Fostering strong employee social networks and implementing strategic promotion, reward, and recognition programmes can significantly enhance the employee experience. Cultivating a workplace culture that prioritises employee development, promotes psychological safety, and facilitates effective communication can lead to higher job satisfaction, engagement, and organisational success.

Effective rewards and recognition programmes that are personalised and align with the organisational values can boost morale, motivation, and foster a positive work culture. It is equally important to provide continuous feedback and evaluations, allowing for consistent growth and learning.

As organisations strive to deliver the best experience, the focus must be on creating an environment that supports growth, nurtures talent, and recognises effort. By doing so, organisations can improve their overall productivity, retain talented employees, and nurture a thriving, positive workplace that resonates with both current employees and potential candidates alike.

Four trends that will define retail in 2024

Wed, 03 Jan 2024 23:44:50 GMT

Four trends that will define retail in 2024

By Emily Seares | Raconteur

Retailers must remain agile and ambitious to keep pace with quickly evolving technology and meet consumer expectations in 2024

Retailers are bracing themselves for continued uncertainty in 2024.

A recent poll by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) shows that more than 75% of UK consumers remain concerned about inflation and recession, with 84% worried about current price increases, reveals Jessica Frame, BCG’s managing partner for the UK. She predicts that shoppers will still restrict spending next year as a result, particularly for non-essential items.

But 2024 is also set to bring opportunities as retailers look to harness new technologies, embrace innovation with in-store experiences and grow revenue streams in areas such as recommerce and retail media networks (RMNs).

Years of AI investment will start to pay off

AI in retail – which includes machine learning (ML), chatbots, swarm intelligence, natural-language processing and image and video analytics – is expected to reach $24.1bn by 2028 . Experts predict its impact will grow significantly in 2024, increasing personalisation and more seamless customer journeys to boost the brand experience.

“Even as a back-office tool, AI will benefit the customer experience and raise the bar for what shoppers [can] expect,” says Vicky Bullen, CEO of global brand and design agency Coley Porter Bell.

Advancements in AI and ML will offer shoppers access to new experiences that are built on deep customer understanding, says Alex Tanner, senior consultant at brand consultancy Interbrand. By this time next year, he says, we can expect human-like chatbot shopping assistants that will tell you if something suits you, and then offer hyper-personalised recommendations to target you with the most tempting deal.

The AI revolution hasn’t happened overnight – more than 75% of fashion retailers have invested in the technology since 2021. But Tanner predicts the results of this R&D are about to hit the mainstream.

Julian Skelly, managing partner for retail at Publicis Sapient, says that shopping assistants will also provide grocers with a unique opportunity. AI bots will direct customers to new brands, products and ingredients based on their dietary preferences, budget and lifestyle. These channels will also boost the power of their retail media networks with more data.

But the results of AI are only as good as the data it has. To collect more data about customers, as well as digital interactions, retailers will be able to watch customers in physical stores, too, looking at their facial expressions when something is tried on, explains Tanner. Technology may even, he says, allow retailers to identify what customers are wearing, where they likely bought it and what they paid for it.

But he warns: “The promise to shoppers is better deals. A more engaging experience, perhaps? But will we be willing to pay the price with our data? Will we have a choice? All this will play out in 2024.”

Retailers will push the boundaries of in-store experiences

Customer loyalty is a rarity, so retailers need to maximise the impact of their brand experience through all channels in 2024, says Bullen.

“The in-store experience will be essential,” she explains. “But with retailers reducing their estate portfolios, brands will need to do more with those precious few spaces. Even digital brands are exploring the value of a physical experience – we’ve seen Shein announcing pop-ups and more will follow,” she adds.

And new in-store technology that enhances this customer experience – such as self-service checkouts – will be expanded further, predicts Jack Stratten, head of trends at retail consultancy Insider Trends.

He explains: “Uniqlo and Zara have self-checkout experiences that are proven to work from the customer and business point of view.

“With that technology becoming cheaper to implement, we’ll see self-checkout grow massively next year. We’ll also start to see it in sectors beyond grocery and fast fashion. Anywhere there are queues, this tech can make a difference,” he adds.

Technology will also bring the physical-store experience into people’s homes in ways we’ve not seen before, says Rosh Singh, managing director, EMEA, for digital experiences agency UNIT9.

While we might feel jaded by the metaverse hype that dominated 2022, Singh says the long-awaited ‘spatial revolution’ looks to be finally here. He points to Meta’s release of the Quest 3 headset and Apple’s announcement of its Vision Pro, a trailblazer in ‘mixed reality’.

“Imagine transforming consumers’ living rooms into interactive and fully shoppable flagship stores,” Singh says. “Spatial computing creates scalable brand experiences with virtual try-ons, hyper-personalisation and a seamless purchase experience.”

2024 will see the rise of ‘recommerce’

Although retailers will focus on using new technologies to enhance customer experience, they’ll also be looking at new business models to grow revenue. Stratten predicts a “resale boom” in 2024 as retailers further expand into recommerce.

Selfridges wants half of its sales to be from resale, repair, rental or refills by 2030. H&M and Uniqlo have dedicated more floor space to rental and resale initiatives. And demand is growing for resale marketplace sites such as Vinted, Vestaire and Depop.

In 2024, recommerce will be a profit-driver not a supplementary sustainability initiative, says Leon Bailey-Green, founder of Upper Clash and Retsre. He expects to see more retailers starting to strategically incorporate recommerce into long-term plans.

“The retail industry generally operated on a ‘make it, sell it’ cycle. But we will witness a shift as all retailers and brands allocate a portion of their revenue to recommerce, spurred by factors such as legislation, competition and growing customer demand,” he adds.

A recent study by Barclaycard Payments shows that recommerce contributes nearly £7bn to the UK economy. More than four in 10 (44%) consumers buy more second-hand items than they did a year ago. “There’s a big market for resale and at the luxury end it’s an entry point, especially for younger customers who are interested in luxury but don’t yet have the disposable income. Resale isn’t a new trend, but it’s about to explode,” he adds.

Retail media networks will provide new sources of ad revenue

Skelly also predicts that successful retail media networks (RMNs) will grow in popularity, become increasingly sophisticated and drive profitability in 2024.

Retailers with strong loyalty programmes and high-volume traffic are capitalising on their first-party data by offering advertising opportunities to brands through RMNs. Skelly predicts that RMNs will become “increasingly standardised” in 2024, with more retailers taking advantage of this high-margin channel.

“We’ll see partnerships and consolidation into larger networks and a trend to break out of traditional CPG relationships to more customer-focused propositions. By following these strategies, retailers can add a new high-margin channel to their digital business, positioning for more sustainable, long-term success,” he says. Looking forward, 2024 provides an opportunity to switch focus to a retail media profitability play that also drives customer lifetime value, he says.

Maren Seitz, senior director at data analytics consultancy Analytic Partners, agrees. “Retail media networks are set to take centre stage in the ever-changing retail and ecommerce landscape in 2024. Their enhanced offering with better and faster data, which is expected to continue their momentum from this year, will allow brands to integrate retail media more seamlessly within their broader marketing mix,” he says.

Despite the challenging economic climate, retailers that embrace innovation and new technology in 2024, while exploring revenue-boosting areas, could be well placed to ride out any short-term turbulence and come out of it stronger on the other side.

How AI and Seamless Checkouts Will Revolutionize Shopping

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 07:50:42 GMT

How AI and Seamless Checkouts Will Revolutionize Shopping

by Techopedia

The retail industry is rapidly evolving, driven by technology. Streamlined checkouts, from cashier-less stores to mobile payments, are enhancing efficiency and delivering personalized experiences. AI-generated product descriptions and images are transforming retail by tailoring content to individual preferences. Industry leaders like Amazon and Alibaba leverage these innovations to improve customer engagement.

Imagine a future where shopping requires no effort, waiting in checkout lines is a thing of the past, and product descriptions are tailored to your preferences.

This is not a scenario from a sci-fi movie; it is the reality dawning around the retail industry.

According to the Global Retail Market Outlook, the global retail market is valued at approximately USD 23 trillion in 2023 and is expected to grow steadily from 2024 to 2032. Shopping is not going anywhere, and it will only get bigger.

But what really matters to us is the reform of this sector by technology. In an era of change, it is not only about the scale but innovative ways technology changes our shopping experience. Technology is changing how we engage in business, from easy checkouts to artificial intelligence (AI) generated product descriptions. It will make our lives more comfortable, with personalized interactions and an entirely transformed retail sector in a way not seen before.

This is where we enter a transformed retail world, where technology is leading a revolution to redefine the shopping experience, making it easy and enjoyable (and aimed at making you part with more cash in your wallet).

The Evolution of Retail and Pioneering Streamlined Checkouts

The history of the retail industry is a story of adaptation and evolution. It has continually adjusted to consumer expectations, from small corner stores to sprawling malls. However, the digital age brought about a significant shift, raising customer expectations to new heights.

With the widespread availability of e-commerce and mobile apps, shoppers now demand convenience, personalization, and seamless experiences.

In response, traditional retailers must adopt the innovations or be ready to face the risk of becoming obsolete. Innovation has become crucial for maintaining competitiveness in this ever-changing technological age.

Among these innovations, streamlined checkouts have emerged as a significant advancement toward effortless shopping. They simplify the checkout process by implementing technologies such as RFID systems, mobile payments, and cashier-less stores.

These methods provide consumers greater convenience by eliminating long queues and saving time.

Real-world examples of success, such as the concept of Amazon Go’s cashier-less store, illustrate the transformative potential of efficient checkouts in contemporary retail.

This innovation leads us to envision a future where shopping is seamless and customer-focused, underscoring the importance of adaptability and forward-thinking strategies in meeting evolving customer demands.

Simultaneously, AI-generated product descriptions ensure customers have immediate access to detailed and accurate information, further enriching their decision-making process.

Prominent retailers like Amazon and Alibaba strategically employ both technologies to provide seamless, efficient, and information-rich shopping experiences.

The Rise of AI-Generated Product Descriptions and Images

The emergence of AI-generated product descriptions and visuals signifies a noteworthy transformation within the retail industry. This technology streamlines the creation of compelling product descriptions and visuals with exceptional efficiency and personalization, replacing laborious and inconsistent manual methods.

AI-driven solutions, powered by natural language processing and machine learning, revolutionize how we interact with product information. They swiftly generate and update a vast array of product descriptions and images, saving valuable time and resources for retailers.

What sets AI-generated content apart is its ability to tailor product descriptions and visuals according to individual preferences, elevating the overall shopping experience.

Real-Life Examples of AI-Enhanced Retail Transformation

Industry giants like Amazon and Alibaba are taking the lead in this AI-driven retail revolution. Amazon leverages generative artificial intelligence (GAI) to simplify creating and managing product listings.

This innovation streamlines the process for sellers, enabling them to develop comprehensive and engaging product descriptions, titles, and listing details with minimal manual effort. On the other hand, Alibaba introduced Tongyi Wanxiang, an AI tool that generates images based on text cues, further enhancing the creation of product listings.

In addition, several other notable businesses, such as eBay and Walmart, also embrace AI. eBay streamlines the selling process through AI-generated product titles and descriptions, while Walmart enhances search capabilities and offers customers enriched product information.

Addressing Retail AI Challenges and Concerns

Addressing the challenges and concerns about AI-driven transformations in the retail industry is of utmost importance. Retailers must maintain a balance between technological advancement and data privacy while also alleviating fears of job displacement.

Retailers must prioritize data security and ensure that AI benefits consumers and the workforce. By embracing transparent practices and adopting ethical AI frameworks, retailers can effectively mitigate challenges, ensuring that technology is a catalyst for progress rather than a cause for concern.

The Bottom Line

Looking ahead, the retail industry holds many innovative and exciting possibilities. The future presents an era where AI, streamlined checkouts, and AI-generated product descriptions blend, offering an unparalleled shopping experience.

Additionally, the integration of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) is expected to gain prominence, enabling consumers to engage with products in immersive ways. As consumer preferences evolve, retailers must adapt to shifting expectations, emphasizing personalization and convenience.

The retail of tomorrow is ready to become a dynamic fusion of technology and consumer-centricity, where adaptability and innovation are the keys to success.

Preparing For A Virtual Interview

Tue, 07 Nov 2023 15:18:09 GMT

There is nothing quite as nerve wracking as a job interview.

by Joanna Clare | Content Manager

Virtual meetings are becoming increasingly popular due to a variety of factors so if you have been offered a virtual interview from the comforts of your own home, there are still certain rules that you should adhere to.

There is nothing quite as nerve wracking as a job interview. Virtual meetings are becoming increasingly popular due to a variety of factors so if you have been offered a virtual interview from the comforts of your own home, there are still certain rules that you should adhere to.

Be punctual! Many meetings put you in a virtual waiting room prior to the meeting commencing so you must show up as you would if you had been invited in person. At least five minutes before the official interview time, ensure that you are waiting. The interviewing panel will be notified when you are there and it will not get things off to a good start if you are late!

Check all connections and settings on your computer beforehand. It may sound common sense but I can personally recall countless times in meetings - some of them important - when someone needs to be prompted several times to turn on their microphone or camera.

Although we all love our pets, this is one occasion when it would not be a good idea to have your dog sitting next to you or your cat curled up and visible on the screen. Pets can be noisy and distracting and you need to remain calm and professional with the focus on nothing but the interview.

Hold the interview in a quiet area of the house whereby if there is an unexpected knock at the door or the doorbell rings, it will not serve as a distraction or an embarrassment. Likewise, ensure no one will enter the area you are in until the interview has been completed.

Be mindful of where you position yourself for your interview. The aim is to be as professional as possible. A plain background whilst sitting on a chair and having your computer in a suitable situation in front of you is a much better idea than sinking into our comfortable sofa surrounded by cushions and throws. Try to emulate what you would be offered in a formal in person interview.

Body language is very important so sit up straight and make regular eye contact with the interviewing panel. Stay fully engaged and show your attentiveness by nodding occasionally and making appropriate gestures.

Dress appropriately. You may be at home but you still need to dress to impress so ensure you are smart and well groomed. You need to appear both confident and professional so put as much thought into your personal appearance as you would if you were having an in person meeting. Luckily, you can gain some comfort by wearing just your socks or slippers as no one will notice those!

https://www.ukcareersfair.com/news/preparing-for-a-virtual-interview

The Financial Side of Shopping Innovation

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 14:12:24 GMT

The Financial Side of Shopping Innovation: Investing in Tomorrow’s Retail Experience

by Bojana Ristic | Pre-IPO & Startups

The retail landscape is undergoing a shift, driven by innovative technologies that are reshaping the way consumers interact with brands and products. As retail innovations such as self-checkout systems and smart shopping carts become increasingly prevalent, the financial implications of these advancements are catching the attention of forward-thinking investors. This article delves into the investment potential inherent in these trends, offering insights into how investors can position themselves to capitalize on the ongoing transformation of consumer shopping habits.

Investment in Self-Checkout Systems

The rise of self-checkout systems represents a fundamental shift in the retail sector, as consumers embrace a seamless and efficient way to complete their purchases. These systems leverage automation and intuitive user interfaces to minimize wait times, providing customers with greater control over their shopping experience. From a financial perspective, the investment opportunities tied to companies driving this trend are intriguing.

The companies at the forefront of self-checkout innovation are not only improving customer satisfaction but also reducing operational costs for retailers. Investors who recognize the long-term value of these solutions position themselves to benefit from both the increasing adoption of the technology and the potential for enhanced profitability among retailers. While the self-checkout market is undoubtedly promising, investors should also consider the broader ecosystem in which these solutions operate.

Smart Shopping Carts and Their Impact on Investments

Smart shopping carts have emerged as a beacon of convenience in the modern retail arena. Equipped with advanced features such as touch screens, computer-vision systems, and mobile payment capabilities, these carts redefine the shopping experience by allowing customers to navigate stores with ease while making informed purchase decisions. From an investment standpoint, the potential for growth in this sector is noteworthy. Companies pioneering the development of smart shopping carts are not only catering to current consumer demands but are also well-positioned to shape the future of retail.

The integration of data analytics into these carts provides retailers with valuable insights into customer preferences and behaviors. As the synergy between technology and consumer data continues, companies capable of translating these insights into strategic decisions hold substantial value. Investors who recognize the potential for data-driven retail strategies and actively seek opportunities within this domain can position themselves advantageously in a market that stands at the intersection of technological innovation and financial growth.

A Guide to Navigating the Financial Waters

As the retail landscape undergoes a profound transformation, investors must navigate a dynamic landscape characterized by rapid technological advancements. A prudent approach involves understanding the intricacies of each innovation and identifying companies that demonstrate the potential to drive long-term value. Comprehensive research into the financial health, growth strategies, and market positioning of these companies is essential for making informed investment decisions.

Furthermore, diversification emerges as a key principle in capitalizing on the investment potential of retail innovations. Investors who build portfolios with exposure to various components of these trends, including self-checkout systems, smart shopping carts, and supporting technologies, position themselves to benefit from a holistic perspective on the evolving retail ecosystem.

Conclusion

The rise of self-checkout systems and the integration of smart shopping carts redefine the retail experience, and savvy investors who recognize the potential of these trends can strategically position themselves to reap the rewards. By staying attuned to the companies driving these innovations, understanding the broader ecosystem, and embracing diversification, investors can navigate this dynamic terrain and make choices that align with both technological progress and financial growth.

How to Get More Out of Hybrid Work Using Psychology

Mon, 16 Oct 2023 20:54:36 GMT

How to Get More Out of Hybrid Work Using Psychology

From thomas.co | HR Blog

With many countries putting Covid-19 lockdowns behind them, fully remote models have been replaced by hybrid ones. Hybrid is more complex than fully remote work and involves supplanting working norms that have lasted for decades. Hybrid work on this scale is unprecedented. ‘Hybrid working’ is now a familiar phrase, but in many organisations, its definition is still evolving.

Organisations face the opportunity and challenge of rethinking the fundamentals of the workplace. To get the most out of their workforces, businesses must avoid a ‘one size fits all’ approach, and instead employ personalisation to maintain engagement as they test hybrid models. To set hybrid teams up for success, managers must recognise how hybrid work impacts the engagement levels of different kinds of people and take steps to reshape the working environment accordingly.

The ‘ DISC ’ model of behaviour is the most widely accepted and distinguishes four broad categories of behavioural preference in the workplace; dominance, influence, steadiness and compliance. Although most people will exhibit a mixture of these, we tend to have a stronger preference for one or two modes of behaviour.

Dominance

As self-starters, remote work is unlikely to demotivate dominant types. Due to their drive to succeed, dominant profiles may also be highly conscientious, the trait that most strongly predisposes an individual to succeed at hybrid working (MacRae). Strong goal orientation and high standards often correlate with professional success but can also lead to burnout which may be less visible in a hybrid setting. Dominance profiles will find the freedom and challenge of hybrid working motivating but are likely to become frustrated if it impedes the delivery of results.

To empower dominant profiles, managers must be direct and results-oriented, and communicate the big picture. Whether in the office or remote, dominant individuals want to get to the point, achieve results, and attain rewards. Rather than issuing commands, managers can motivate ‘high D’ individuals by asking them how they are going to achieve their goals. Providing the right level of challenge, whilst being alert to signs of stress and burnout is a crucial consideration for managers.

Influence

In a hybrid or remote work environment, influential team members may struggle to maintain motivation due to the loss of the social connection they felt in the office. They may also struggle to maintain concentration if working in isolation for long periods of time without the opportunity to collaborate with others. Whilst Influencers’ need for novelty and creativity may initially make the hybrid environment appealing, they are likely to need some level of in-person interaction to maintain high engagement and motivation in the longer term.

Individuals with influence as a working strength combined with high levels of curiosity in their personality profile are likely to be some of the quickest to adapt to new ways of working. Yet many hybrid workers also miss the daily interactions, impromptu conversations and the wellbeing boost of socialising with colleagues, clients and customers.

This is especially true for people with influence in their behavioural profile but applies to all hybrid workers. To reduce isolation, prevent new hires from feeling lost, and help employees feel part of hybrid teams, it’s important not to leave employee engagement to chance. Embedding an awareness of behavioural dynamics within hybrid teams helps to create a common language, promoting effective remote and in-person communications.

Steadiness

Team members who are high in steadiness can help to stabilise teams that are undergoing change. However, people with this personality trait can also be disrupted and demotivated by rapid changes in their working environment. Their levels of emotional resilience and conscientiousness are often deciding factors in their ability to manage disruption.

Individuals with lower levels of stress tolerance are likely to find new work environments challenging. In the longer term however, they may find that remote work relieves some of the stressors present in traditional working environments, such as workplace conflict, interruptions from colleagues and commuting.

Steadier individuals thrive in a secure environment that affords them the psychological safety to raise their concerns. Employees with high steadiness may consider organisations that justify their hybrid working strategies using specific employee survey results to lack empathy. For more steady and compliant behavioural profiles, maintaining engagement and wellbeing in a hybrid environment means complementing traditional listening mechanisms with new forums for sharing. Leaders who can model emotional intelligence, fireside chats and reverse town halls can all be beneficial.

Compliance

In a hybrid work context, compliant individuals may be more easily derailed by disruption to existing systems. High change work settings may be stressful and ultimately demotivating for people with this behavioural preference. However, compliance is also critical to successfully managing change, contributing in-depth analyses, enforcing quality standards, assessing risk and exercising diplomacy. Individuals who can tolerate ambiguity without losing focus on detail and quality can be immensely valuable in agile workplaces. Those who find ambiguity challenging will need structure to thrive.

To set compliant individuals up for success in a hybrid team, managers must protect them by providing detailed updates, reassurance and clearly defined objectives. Assigning logical, analytical tasks and providing materials in advance of face-to-face meetings will help to get the most out of compliant types. Lack of context in hybrid teams can increase inaccurate perceptions and assumptions, most often between opposite personality types, such as Compliance and Influence.

Compliant individuals may be frustrated by Influencers’ spontaneity and prioritisation of people over policy, while Influencers may perceive Compliant individuals as closed off and uncreative. Shared awareness of differing communication styles can unlock higher levels of team performance.

Without a playbook for what hybrid working should look like, organisations are forced to adopt a test-and-learn approach. To highly compliant individuals, this can feel chaotic, so it is important that firms take a scientific approach to experimentation, communicating results sincerely, continuously and logically to their more compliant staff. Behaviour and personality assessments can provide an indication of the kind of communication that your team require. As organisations seek to manage core HR processes such as recruitment, onboarding and professional development in a hybrid environment, these insights are especially valuable.

Augmented Reality and Spatial Computing: The Future of Retail

Tue, 03 Oct 2023 12:34:47 GMT

Augmented Reality and Spatial Computing: The Future of Retail

BY ANDREW ROSSOW | nftnow.com

Thanks to the successful marketing of Apple’s Vision Pro , spatial computing and augmented reality (AR) are about to get even more exciting and in your face, transforming brick-and-mortar shops into next-gen storefronts.

Spatial computing, a vision long held by Silicon Valley, aims to shift interactions with technology away from screens and into physical spaces. Users will engage with technology seamlessly within their environments through voice commands, auditory cues, gestures, and more.

The Apple Vision Pro, which was first teased in June at Apple’s annual WWDC conference, has undoubtedly elevated the status of these technologies simply from the anticipation and promises it’s already marketed.

What is spatial computing?

Spatial computing is a technological approach that allows for digital interactions to occur seamlessly within our physical environment. Instead of being confined to screens, spatial computing integrates digital information into the world around us. This can be achieved through voice commands, gestures, auditory cues, and augmented reality (AR) visuals. In essence, it merges the digital and physical realms, enabling users to interact with technology as if it were a natural part of their surroundings.

Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, referenced spatial computing when he first teased the device as “the first product you look through, not at.” The device is scheduled for release in early 2024 and is part of a bigger movement that is actively working to bridge e-commerce and brick-and-mortar retail.

Diego Di Tommaso, co-founder of the AR metaverse platform Over, told WWD that he has noticed a surge in AR’s popularity since Apple unveiled its Vision Pro. Naturally, he expects that brands will begin exploring new avenues, including physical mom-and-pop storefronts.

In the next six to twelve months, Di Tomasso believes brands will primarily focus on AR activations in physical stores, which could involve integrating AR experiences into store exteriors or incorporating interior elements, such as virtual try-ons or product enhancements to entice customers.

Digital and physical realities

become one

This approach has the potential to transform any location into a “store,” benefiting brands with strong online followings. By beaming store-like experiences with avatars into customers’ homes, online popularity could translate into real-world engagement.

In September, Over will collaborate with Italian fashion company Pinko for an AR activation at a pop-up store in Florence’s Rinascente building. The activation will encompass both exterior and interior AR experiences, including interactive digital products, aimed at promoting a new sustainable product line.

However, Pinko told WWD that while it’s still early, these “exterior and interior AR experiences, including interactive digital products” will help “drive awareness” towards a new sustainable product line.

Giovanna G. Casimiro, who since 2022, served as Head of Metaverse Fashion Week , has turned her attention towards Phygicode, a consortium that wants to use these virtual technologies to “bring people back to the malls and entertainment centers.”

Having recently left Decentraland to step into the role of Phygicode’s Head of Production, Casimiro also shared her belief with WWD that we are about to see the transformation of “phygitality” into a more immersive experience that plays into the growing phases of spatial computing and AR.

While realizing these scenarios will take time, tech innovators are appearing more confident in anticipating AR’s next phase residing in retail.

Editor’s note: This article was written by an nft now staff member in collaboration with OpenAI’s GPT-4.

Do these 5 things to make your hybrid team high performing

Mon, 18 Sep 2023 15:35:23 GMT

Do these 5 things to make your hybrid team high performing

By Thomas International

Teamwork is the ultimate competitive advantage. But teams have been disrupted and dispersed by the pandemic. Dynamics have shifted, and this could be affecting productivity. In fact, 20% of businesses report reduced productivity as a result of remote working (ONS, 2021). Given the impact of teamwork on a business’ bottom line, building high-performing hybrid teams is vital. Here are five actions you can take now to do just that.

1. Build trust by increasing self-awareness in your team

The best way of building trust in a team is by developing the self-awareness of its members. Research by organisational psychologist Tasha Eurich found that self-awareness increased the probability of success in key performance areas. You can improve a team’s self-awareness using personality profiling assessments, which highlight the traits, preferences and competencies of team members.

2. Encourage constructive conflict

Unproductive conflict often arises from a lack of understanding. Research reveals that behaviour-based training improves team performance (McEwan, 2017). Insight into group dynamics and pressure points can be an invaluable cheat sheet for focusing training to fast-track outperformance. Team behavioural assessments can build an awareness and appreciation of the skills and attitudes each team member brings to the table, helping to facilitate constructive conflict.

3. Increase your team’s commitment to success

Research suggests that individuals lose ownership of group decisions in teams of more than ten, yet a lack of diversity and bandwidth can hamper teams of under six. Consider splitting larger teams into focus groups. Assessing your team’s emotional intelligence can be game-changing, increasing commitment to delivery. This is especially beneficial in a hybrid environment, which can make communication more difficult and impede team cohesion.

4. Instil performance accountability in your team

Team members with lower resilience levels may need targeted support to perform under duress. One way of providing such support is by using an emotional intelligence assessment to identify and mitigate stressors, maintaining team-wide accountability for performance. Regular ‘360 degree’ feedback sessions create performance transparency, helping to engender a culture of striving.

5. Incentivise innovation

Studies show that one of the best ways to kickstart innovation is to increase the diversity within your team. Minimise unconscious bias in the hiring process and look for culture-add rather than team fit in your recruitment processes. Assessing candidates’ Aptitude rather than relying on CV credentials alone can help to widen the talent pool, as well as providing insight into their likely in-role performance.

Most In-Demand Skills for the Future: Stay Ahead of the Curve

Wed, 06 Sep 2023 11:30:55 GMT

Most In-Demand Skills for the Future:

Stay Ahead of the Curve

By Cristina Pucci | The UK Careers Fair

In a world where technology is advancing at an exponential rate, how can we stay competitive and relevant?

The answer is by learning skills that are in demand. These skills will put you ahead of the curve when it comes to your job search or getting ahead professionally. Here are the 7 most in-demand skills for the future :

1. Artificial Intelligence

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is upon us, and with it comes a whole new suite of technologies that are changing the way we live and work. One such technology is artificial intelligence (AI), which is predicted to have a significant impact on the job market in the future.

While it's natural for people to be worried about their jobs when they hear about new technologies like AI, the fact is that new tech can also bring positive changes like never before.

For example, according to recent studies, jobs in programming, analytics, and managerial skills will be in high demand in the field of AI.

On the other hand, jobs that involve repetitive tasks are most likely to be replaced by machines due to their ability to execute those tasks with more accuracy and speed.

2. Web Development

Web Development is one of the most important aspects of keeping content and web applications online. There are no signs that demand for web developers will decline in the future. In fact, it's quite the opposite!

Every company needs a website nowadays, and with the ever-growing popularity of smartphones and apps, that number is only going to continue increasing.

So if you're looking for a career that has stability and growth potential, look into becoming a Web Developer!

3. UX Design

User experience (UX) design has become one of the most important aspects of creating digital products. It's what makes or breaks a website or app--whether people will enjoy using it and continue to come back.

As a UX designer, you will create a product that is not only visually appealing but easy and enjoyable to use as well.

This means putting yourself in the shoes of the product user and thinking about their needs and wants.

4. Sales and Marketing

Marketing is the process of planning and executing an integrated marketing campaign to reach a target audience with the goal of persuading them to take action. It is what enables salespeople to close a deal easily. For this reason, sales and marketing will remain essential in the workplace of the future.

Salespeople close deals while marketers lead campaigns that drive revenue. Both roles will still be in demand in the future and must work together closely to achieve targets.

5. Blockchain

Blockchain technology is a distributed database that allows for a secure, transparent and tamper-proof record of transactions. It is often described as a "decentralized public ledger", as it allows for trades and transactions to be verified and recorded without the need for a third party.

This technology has the potential to revolutionise many different industries, including finance, logistics, copyright management, and more.

As this technology continues to evolve, so will the job market around it.

6. Healthcare and Nursing

The global population is ageing, and this trend will continue in the years to come. By 2050, there will be over 16% of the world's population that is aged 60+. This means that there will be an increased demand for healthcare and nursing skills in the future job market.

In countries like the United Kingdom, shortages of nurses are already a reality. The rise in the need for nurses has not been able to keep up with the increasing number of retirees. And this problem is only going to get worse.

When we face difficult times like these, it's clear that we need talented and skilled professionals who can provide critical support--especially in the field of healthcare.

7. Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is a top tech skill because of the importance of protecting customer information and digital records. In 2020, remote work led to around 20% of all cybersecurity attacks.

However, according to Cybersecurity Ventures, the number of unfilled cybersecurity jobs reached 3.5 million in 2021.

This is why cybersecurity will always be in demand, making learning such a skill an excellent asset!

Conclusion

As technology advances and workplaces become more agile, it is important to stay ahead of the curve and update your skills regularly.

So, make sure you take some time out of your busy schedule to master at least one of the most in-demand skills for the future .

The Future of AI in Retail - Transforming the industry

Mon, 21 Aug 2023 07:00:06 GMT

The Future of AI

in Retail...

Transforming the Industry

By Terry Clark | 365 Retail

As AI technology continues to evolve, its impact on the retail industry will only grow. In the next decade, we can expect to see groundbreaking advancements that will further transform the shopping experience, both online and offline. Here are some possible developments that could shape the future of retail:

Enhanced Personalization: As AI algorithms become more sophisticated, retailers will be able to deliver even more personalized shopping experiences. This could include AI-driven styling advice, custom product recommendations, and tailor-made promotions that cater to individual customers’ preferences and needs. This level of personalization will foster stronger customer loyalty and drive higher sales.
Advanced Supply Chain Management: AI will be critical in streamlining supply chain processes. By analyzing vast amounts of data, AI-powered systems will predict demand fluctuations, optimize inventory levels, and improve logistics planning. This will result in more efficient supply chain operations, reduced costs, and a more sustainable retail industry.
Virtual Reality Shopping Experiences: As virtual reality (VR) technology matures, AI will be at the forefront of creating immersive shopping experiences. The Metaverse could allow customers to virtually visit stores, try on clothes, or explore product features without leaving their homes. AI will also enable retailers to personalize these virtual experiences based on individual preferences, further enhancing the shopping journey.
Autonomous Retail Stores: In the next decade, we could witness the rise of fully autonomous retail stores. These stores would rely on AI-driven systems to manage inventory, pricing, and customer service. Customers would be able to walk into a store, pick up their desired items, and leave without ever interacting with a cashier. AI-powered cameras and sensors would track purchases and automatically charge customers’ accounts as they exit the store.
Seamless Integration of Online and Offline Retail: AI will play a crucial role in the convergence of online and offline retail. As customers increasingly expect a seamless, omnichannel shopping experience, AI-driven solutions will enable retailers to merge their physical and digital operations. This could involve AI-powered apps that help customers navigate store layouts, find products, or access personalized promotions in real time.
Ethical AI and Data Privacy: As AI becomes more prevalent in retail, the industry will need to address ethical concerns and data privacy issues. In the next decade, we can expect to see the development of transparent AI algorithms that promote fairness and unbiased decision-making. Retailers will also need to invest in robust data privacy measures to protect customer information and maintain trust.
AI-Enabled Workforce: AI will not only automate repetitive tasks but also augment human capabilities in retail. Employees will be equipped with AI-driven tools that help them make better decisions, improve customer service, and boost productivity. Retailers will need to focus on upskilling their workforce to adapt to this new era of AI-enhanced work.

Using ai in retail AI has the potential to revolutionize the industry, it is essential to consider the potential downsides that may arise from its integration. These concerns primarily revolve around job displacement, data privacy, and the potential loss of human touch in the shopping experience.

Job Displacement: One of the most significant concerns about AI’s introduction to retail is the potential for job displacement. As AI-powered systems and robots increasingly handle tasks such as customer service, inventory management, and logistics, the need for human employees in these roles may decline. This could lead to a reduction in job opportunities, particularly for entry-level and low-skilled positions in the retail sector. To mitigate this impact, it will be crucial for retailers and governments to invest in workforce retraining and reskilling programs that help employees adapt to new roles in an AI-driven retail environment.
Data Privacy and Security: The use of AI in retail relies heavily on the collection and analysis of large amounts of customer data. While this can enable highly personalized shopping experiences, it also raises concerns about data privacy and security. As more personal information is collected, stored, and processed by AI systems, the risk of data breaches or misuse of data increases. Shoppers may become wary of sharing their information with retailers if they feel that their privacy is not adequately protected. To address these concerns, retailers must implement robust data protection measures and maintain transparency about their data usage policies. Additionally, regulatory frameworks must be updated to ensure that customer data is protected in an increasingly AI-driven retail landscape.

As ai in retail continues to evolve, it promises to revolutionize the landscape further, merging the physical and digital realms and redefining the shopping experience for customers.

By embracing the potential of AI in retail while being mindful of its challenges, the industry can evolve and adapt to the ever-changing landscape. Striking the right balance between technological innovation and responsible implementation is crucial for harnessing the power of AI to shape a more efficient, customer-centric, and sustainable future for the retail industry.

Should fashion retailers still be launching resale platforms?

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 07:00:00 GMT

Should fashion retailers still be launching resale platforms?

By Jeena Sharma | Retail Brew

Either we’re running out of fingers, or it seems like fashion retailers continue to launch resale initiatives every other month. Just last month, Carhartt debuted its resale platform in partnership with Trove. Also in March, H&M extended its “Pre-Loved” program to the US in collaboration with ThredUp.

In the luxury space, brands from Gucci to Balenciaga seem to have staked their claim in the resale market. Suffice to say, the space is getting increasingly competitive. Yet the market continues to expand, begging the question: Is a resale platform still a good bet for fast fashion and luxury retailers? For most brands, the answer is yes, experts tell us.

“It’s a good idea for brands to explore the secondhand market and find out if they have a role in it,” Claire Tassin, retail and e-commerce analyst at Morning Consult, told Retail Brew. “And I see a lot of what’s been happening over the last couple of years as some fantastic experiments to see what the right type of investment is.”

Sustainability and circularity are factors both fast fashion and luxury brands take into account when deciding whether to pursue resale, but for luxury brands specifically, resale can also be a way to attract new consumers.

“If you’re a premium or luxury brand, maybe they couldn’t afford to buy [your products] at full price, but in a resale environment, they could,” Brian Ehrig, partner in the consumer practice of Kearney, told Retail Brew.

For Andy Ruben, founder and executive chairman at Trove, a branded resale solutions company that works with retailers like Canada Goose and REI, resale is a valuable proposition for retailers regardless of whether they’re in the premium space or fast fashion.

“For fast fashion, it’s lower-quality items that you can get without spending much, and for resale, it’s things that have already been owned that hold their value better,” he told Retail Brew via email. “Everyone wants newness; that is the core of retail.”

Show me the money: One of the values of resale for fast fashion retailers is the ability to minimize waste, but for Ehrig, the second-hand market is not necessarily a “money-maker” for those brands given labour costs involved in creating products and the challenge of profiting from resale at a low price point.

“Every single garment has to be checked thoroughly, and you have to make sure it’s ready for sale and to communicate to consumers where there might be flaws, to photograph it, to build the marketing story around it, to get it up on a website,” he said.

Still, he added, fast fashion brands can make money by using resale at their physical locations and drive more traffic to their stores, “so that hopefully consumers will come looking for the resale. They’ll find something there, and then they’ll find something new as well,” he said.

Not enough: While luxury brands may find more value in resale, it’s still not without challenges, including maintaining a steady supply. “There is technically enough supply sitting in people’s houses, but there’s not enough resale supply to satisfy the capacity that the resale these third-party resale apps have,” Ehrig said, adding that brands can address this by trying to do trade-in days in stores or other marketing events that can generate demand for items.

Tassin agreed, saying that inventory is a key issue when it comes to the resale market. “A big challenge in that secondhand space is recruiting more sellers into the space, because…there’s far more buyers and sellers and secondhand,” she said. “We need more people selling their stuff to make this a compelling market to shop in.”

She added that in order to succeed, brands should pay close attention to the market, which hasn’t changed much in the last year.

Per Morning Consult, consumers’ participation in the resale market is virtually identical to where it was last spring: 42% of the general population have made a secondhand purchase in the last three months.

Tassin said that number is “concerning,” despite the apparent stability of the market, and that brands tend to sell their secondhand products alongside their new products “and kind of compete with themselves almost in that way.”

A good way to address the inventory issue, per Tassin, is for retailers to reach out to their existing customers to encourage them to resell their products. “Knowing who that shopper is, making sure that you’re identifying the right platform or partnership in order to make that happen, and recruiting existing customers to be sellers or for that inventory to ensure that the first time somebody checks out your second inventory that there’s something attractive there is crucial,” she said. “A reason to come back is also really crucial.”

Holograms, AR technology and RFID tags: The store of the future is taking shape

Mon, 17 Jul 2023 22:21:00 GMT

Holograms, AR technology and RFID tags: The store of the future is taking shape

By Zofia Zwieglinska | Glossy.co

Retail innovations including clothes with RFID tags, digital mannequins and seamless checkouts are removing the friction in the shopping experience — and exceeding Gen Z’s expectations.

Brands including Uniqlo, Zara and H&M are introducing in-store retail solutions that use these new technologies to facilitate product discovery, customer try-on and a seamless checkout experience.

According to May 2023 insights from a Klara study involving Gen-Z and millennials, 44% of Gen-Zers believe they will try on clothes in the same way in the future as today. Meanwhile, 40% said they expect to use virtual dressing rooms, 18% said they’ll use augmented reality, and 23% will rely on artificial intelligence to advise on which clothes best fit their body and fashion style.

Many brands are already changing their retail stores to integrate these technologies. In May 2022, H&M Group brand Cos piloted smart mirrors in its Beverly Hills store. Through the use of RFID tags, the mirrors allowed customers to order items to try on without leaving the changing room. RFID, or radio frequency identification, is a form of wireless technology that uses electromagnetic technology to track their location.

Web3 brands including 9dcc and RSTLSS, meanwhile, are equipping clothing with NFC, or “near-field communication,” tags. These tags bring capabilities to phygital items and facilitate updates on drops. NFC tags can also be used to create digital authenticity wallets or to show the composition or materials origin of garments and accessories in stores.

With labels and tags becoming digitized, they’re offering ways to make the retail experience faster and more seamless. Fast Retailing began to test RFID technology in its stores in 2013, and all of its brands — including Uniqlo, Theory and Helmut Lang — began using it in price tags in 2017. With them, items can be tracked for merchandising purposes. In 2019, Fast Retailing brought RFID-enabled self-checkouts to Uniqlo stores. The checkouts recognize the tags in the clothes and, without manually scanning, prices are calculated. All of its North American stores and new openings now have them.

“We developed self-checkout using RFID technology to help solve a pain point that all consumers have experienced: waiting in long lines,” said Masahiko Nakasuji, Fast Retailing Group global marketing executive officer. “We developed it from the perspective of the customer: What would make the checkout process easier for them?” So far, RFID self-checkout has reduced checkout times by 50%.

Earlier this year, Zara’s owner, Inditex, announced that it is introducing a new security technology via chips sewn into garments, phasing out hard anti-theft tags in stores this year. The removal of anti-theft tags at checkout has become a pain point for the brand, with the process being slow and creating queues. According to Inditex, the new tags will cut checkout times by up to 50%.

In its renovated stores, H&M Group is also testing new retail innovations. The Barcelona H&M store, which reopened after a revamp in late May, uses technology to reduce friction in the store and bring people in. Hologram models offer customers a new way to visualize garments without trying them on. Customers access their choice of model by scanning a QR code and browsing through options of different sizes and skin tones. They can then choose clothing to try. The store also includes completely mirrored “social” fitting rooms, made to fuel user-generated social content.

The hologram digital mannequins and social fitting rooms were supplied by future retail agency Outform.

“In fashion, people increasingly want to see models that look like them, and now we offer that,” said Simon Hathaway, Outform’s group MD for EMEA. “Because all the tech is connected, potentially through to a retailer’s e-commerce site or app, the choice of items could be like an endless shelf.” While a digital mannequin is significantly more expensive than a traditional one, it typically becomes a hero item in store, functioning both as a display and a useful service.

Through digital mannequins and QR codes, brands can also gain insight into their customers’ behavior, both online and in-store. For example, hologram mannequins collect data on he items that customers interact with. “We call it a digital handshake, which is basically that moment in-store when you can connect somebody’s data point in the physical store with the wider unified commerce ecosystem,” said Hathaway. “That way, if somebody doesn’t buy the item, they can be re-targeted through social channels.”

Augmented reality try-on has been tested by brands like Coach and Tommy Hilfiger, but many customers have provided feedback that the clothes need to be real, in order to see how they fall on the body. So far, Coach has mainly tested handbags and visual effects that don’t require this.

AR try on is also going further – Coach’s technology partner ZERO10 came out with a one stop AR store prototype next week, presented at the Viva Tech conference in Paris. The prototype, consisting of an iPad screen and AR mirror, is meant to reduce store rental costs as well as other expenses associated with commercial space rental, minimizing storage requirements, and avoiding overproduction.

“Rather than integrating it into existing stores, brands have the option to utilize the AR Mirror as a standalone pop-up store,” said founder of ZERO10 George Yashin. “This allows them to provide a fresh and unique experience for customers beyond their traditional point of sale locations and expand their presence to various venues such as festivals, airports, and public spaces, significantly saving on rental and space costs.”

According to the Klarna survey, 81% of Gen Z and 75% of millennials expect that AR will enhance their in-store shopping experience, and one-third believe this technology will eventually become standard across retail stores.

How to Build a Resilient Mindset

Mon, 03 Jul 2023 07:00:01 GMT

How to Build a Resilient Mindset

by Shonna Waters, PhD from BetterUp

A resilient mindset might seem difficult to identify. To get a clearer view, let's start with an example.

Picture this scenario: You hyped yourself up for your first day at a new job, leaving your home with plenty of time, a bag packed the night before, and a big smile.

Then things took a turn when you missed your bus, broke your new laptop, and felt overwhelmed by the new office.

In this kind of new and difficult situation, it would be easy to crumble in the face of adversity. But if you have a resilient mindset you’ll avoid a meltdown.

When you learn how to build resilience, you'll see how to rise above the obstacles you encounter. With effort and hard work, you can develop a mindset that empowers you to take on challenges, adapt to new situations, and see the value in continuous growth.

Here’s how to get started developing a resilient mindset.

What is a resilient mindset?

Resilience is the process of adapting to difficult situations that you’ll naturally encounter throughout your life. Here’s why resilience is important: it allows you to recover from challenges, setbacks, and other stressors and move forward.

People with a resilient mindset see challenges as opportunities to learn new things, not a moment of failure. Being resilient means carrying an awareness of your strengths and weaknesses.

Your mindset affects how you approach achieving goals and moving forward. One option is a fixed mindset that tells us that we can't improve. Or, you can have a growth mindset and understand that you can learn with practice, effort, and determination.

Resiliency demands a growth mindset and its positive thinking benefits. If you have a fixed mindset right now, you can always level up to a growth mindset.

How to build a resilient mindset

You can't sprinkle resilience into your next meal and have a resilient mindset. But there are several key ingredients. BetterUp research has found that five key factors impact how you grow and strengthen your resilience.

But there's no need to stop at five. You can use many strategies to build a resilient mindset that supports your well-being and helps you overcome challenges. You can learn to embrace what helps you the most at your own pace.

Check out these eight tips to help you learn how to build a resilient mindset:

1. Deepen your self-awareness: Check in with your thoughts, emotions, and how your body feels as you encounter stress. This helps you identify your strengths and weakness. Strengthen your self-awareness by doing mindfulness practices like meditation or deep breathing.

2. Flex your cognitive agility skills: Your cognitive agility helps you adapt your thought processes for the better. Next time you find that one way of doing something isn't working, try a new process. You might learn that this method works the best.

3. Develop connections with others: Research shows people with more social relationships have better physical and mental health. Plus, they handle stress better. Make an effort to check in with loved ones in-person or send a quick message over social media. These small steps will strengthen your connections and improve your social health.

4. Work on your emotional regulation : Remaining calm and collected in the face of adversity is important. You think more clearly about your actions when you're in tune with your emotions. You can do this by journaling and reflecting each night.

5. Strengthen your self-compassion: Perhaps you're experiencing job search depression and having a tough time or struggling to get ahead at work. Being compassionate with yourself is important for continuing to work hard and problem-solve. Next time you're hard on yourself, try to remind yourself of things you should be proud of instead.

6. Remain optimistic: Stressors and setbacks might make you dwell on the negatives. Acknowledge that, then shift your thoughts to more positive thinking. Try to use more positive self-talk to drown out your inner critic.

7. Zero in on your purpose: Reminding yourself of your purpose and what you want to achieve can propel you to set goals and work to achieve them. Think about your values. Try going on a journey of self-discovery to find what makes your life meaningful.

8. Build up your self-efficacy: Whatever events or stages of life you experience, you can be in control over how you act. Plus, you can be confident about it too. Practice your self-efficacy by making lists of things you can control and influence, along with items outside of your control.

Choosing courage over comfort: The fundamental resilient trait

Resilience isn't a card that automatically relieves you of all challenges. Instead, it demands you leave your comfort zone to face them head-on. It can be scary, filled with uncertainty, and make us question ourselves. But it’s also how you grow.

So how does resilience improve mental health? Well, research has found plenty of evidence that traits of resilience help influence positive mental health characteristics, like optimism, self-esteem, and self-efficacy.

These things help you develop the skills to confront challenges and overcome what's negatively impacting your day-to-day life, like stress or insomnia.

Resilience is crucial to supporting your mental health, but sometimes, you'll need assistance to build it up. If resilience sounds entirely unachievable, you may want to consider seeking support from a mental health professional to get help changing your mindset.

Either way, it's OK to be afraid. We're all apprehensive about failure at some point. Life's full of challenges. But to properly care for your wellness and health, it’s important to be brave and confront those nerves.

Start by letting go of control

Resilience is a big skill to develop. It’s not always easy to know where to start. By building a resilient mindset, you’ll become better at letting go of things you can't control.

There will be things we can't control. Things like lousy weather, misunderstandings, or heavy traffic are inevitable. But learning how to cultivate an agile mindset will help with your growth and boost your resilience.

Studies have found that resilient people can better deal with and let go of negative emotions and memories. They take healthy measures to balance out their well-being and think with a clearer mind. Holding onto negative feelings or stressors that they have no control over will only consume them.

Letting things go is also a form of self-care. It books your mental health and helps you live in the present moment. Instead of fretting over things you can't influence, resilience allows you to devote your energy to more important things.

Yes, you can learn resilience. But you'll have to work

There's no question that resilience can be learned — but not in a single night. Resilience demands plenty of dedication and what we call Mental Fitness. Mental Fitness is the practice of getting a bit better each day. It prioritizes prevention, purpose, goal-setting, and growth.

Sustained effort is key to building resilience. A few other habits that’ll aid you as you develop and test your resilience:

Practicing compassion for yourself and others
Having a positive attitude
Setting realistic goals
Not backing down from challenges

Rest to be resilient

Your resilience might have you taking on lots of work and moving fast. Don’t neglect your rest even as you aim to overcome all of your challenges. And we don’t just mean getting enough sleep.

Rest before you feel like you're in dire need of it to avoid burnout. Don't let yourself become so exhausted that your mental health begins to suffer.

Rest can look different for everyone, and it can be mental or physical. Whatever you can do that helps rest both your mind and body are what matters.

Here's a quick tip to get ahead: schedule your rest. Set the intention and hold yourself accountable by muting Slack, taking a day off, and doing something you love. Finding time for yourself is tricky when life is busy, but this is an investment in your health and well-being.

Resilience: A lifetime journey

Growing a resilient mindset is certainly going to test you. Building resilience is a constant task. Throughout every stage in your life, you'll encounter new stressors, testing your resilience.

But you can do this. Amidst uncertainty, you can create resilience and benefit from it. Just make sure to focus on your Mental Fitness, rest, and be open to new learning opportunities.

Your resilient mindset will be a supportive, empowering companion as you work to overcome the obstacles.

Find someone who'll support you as you develop your resilient mindset.

The Key to Retailers’ Sustainability Goals

Mon, 12 Jun 2023 17:19:28 GMT

The Key to Retailers’ Sustainability Goals

by Satyendra Pal from from Publicis Sapient

In the past, supply chain sustainability was a “nice-to-have” for many retailers. Understanding the origins of every product and material was certainly optimal, but not always realistic or necessary.

Today, mounting consumer interest and regulatory pressure around sustainability mean retailers are investing in technology to provide accurate supplier disclosures, reduce emissions and decrease waste.

But the road to meeting consumer and regulatory standards isn’t perfectly clear. There are many ways to achieve the elusive idea of “sustainability,” and each retailer has unique challenges regarding environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals.

How are top retailers getting closer to their net-zero goals through supply chains in 2023? It starts with increasing supply chain visibility.

What is supply chain visibility?

Supply chain visibility is an accurate view of the entire supply chain from end to end. This means seeing where individual products and materials are in the supply chain journey and where they come from, including all external partners.

It starts with raw sourcing, and it doesn’t end when the customer purchases the product. For example, what do consumers do with the packaging? If consumers return products, where do they end up?

The entire lifespan of the product and packaging itself has become increasingly relevant to retailers and consumers alike.

Increased visibility, especially real-time visibility, is a top concern for the retail industry in 2023.

Internal supply chain visibility vs. external supply chain visibility

In the past, supply chain visibility focused on internal oversight of the end-to-end supply chain, but it’s now taken on a much broader meaning that includes external stakeholders, like consumers.

Internal visibility through supply chain control towers

Pre-COVID, many retailers had less visibility over the supply chain journey, and major disruptions weren’t as frequent.

Now, retailers have the impetus to gain greater control and knowledge of the entire supply chain through technology and overall digitization.

IoT technologies like RFID tags, supply chain control towers, blockchains, and data platforms have given retailers more visibility than ever before.

External supply chain visibility through transparency to consumers

Consumers and regulatory bodies are also interested in the end-to-end supply chain, especially when it comes to sourcing. Customers want to know if the products they’re buying are coming from sustainable suppliers that practice ethical labor standards.

Not only are retailers focusing on tracking products in the first place, but they also have to figure out the best way to communicate that information to consumers.

Why is supply chain visibility important now?

From ESG targets to supply chain volatility, there are a variety of emerging external conditions creating pressure and incentive for retailers to gain end-to-end visibility in 2023.

In the past year, U.S. state and federal governments have considered regulations related to supplier and carbon emissions disclosures for CPG companies and retailers.

The SEC’s corporate climate risk disclosure rule

In March 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed a rule requiring all publicly traded companies to disclose materials emissions made by a company’s suppliers, detailed plans for meeting emissions offset pledges, and reliance on offsets.

While this rule is not currently in effect, it could require emissions data from Tier 1 and Tier 2, 3, 4 or 5 suppliers. This means that not only would retailers need to have accurate supplier information, but emissions information as well.

The Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act

In January 2022, the New York State Senate unveiled an act requiring fashion retailers or manufacturers doing business in the state to conduct “good faith” supply chain mapping and disclose at least 50% of their suppliers across all tiers of production.

As of June 2022, only 21% of fashion firms currently name their suppliers publicly.

The act would also require these businesses to publicly set and track ESG targets, including employee wages, greenhouse gas emissions, and the use of recycled materials.

These proposals represent a growing push for retailers to verify ethical and sustainable labor practices across the board—and a need for them to pick up the pace.

Retailer net-zero emissions goals

Many retailers are chasing ambitious “net-zero” carbon emissions goals through lowering carbon emissions and buying offset credits by 2030, 2040 or 2050.

According to the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi), 45 major global retailers have committed to a net-zero target, up from just 13 in 2021.

Other retailers are focused on different sustainability targets, such as reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by a certain percentage within a set timeframe. Fifty-two retailers have committed to non-net-zero targets as of 2022, up from 40 in 2021.

However, only a small portion of retailers are on track to meet those goals. The rest are looking for tangible ways to make progress in the coming year.

Consumer demand for sustainable sourcing

Consumers are growing wary of “greenwashing,” a term for empty promises or green labels with no action behind them.

They want to know where products are coming from and how they can be reused or recycled to reduce waste.

Research shows that consumers do care about ethical sourcing and would even pay more for it.

In the next year, it’s time for companies to combine innovation, sustainability, and profit goals, starting with supply chain visibility and transparency with consumers.

“Customers and companies want to know where products are coming from—and if they’re being produced using non-standard practices. There’s an element of ‘react or act’ before it’s too late.”

Satyendra Pal, Global Omni Fulfillment Practice Lead at Publicis Sapient

Three ways retailers will improve supply chain visibility in 2023

Retailers will continue to make strides in supply chain visibility this year through technology and transparency alike.

While significant near-term production changes are overwhelming, efforts to analyze and disclose supply chain practices can make an arguably greater, and more immediate impact.

Step one

Supplier transparency through blockchain and cryptocurrency

With growing regulatory and consumer concern toward reporting emissions, retailers are looking past their own ESGs and into their suppliers’ sustainability. Both blockchain and cryptocurrency technology are growing tools that can power end-to-end visibility, by allowing external parties, like vendors and suppliers, to plug in data.

“Blockchain is essentially a decentralized trust agent,” said Erid Haderaj, Product Manager at Publicis Sapient and Web3 consultant. “You can, in real time, track your data and ensure there’s no kind of misconduct or malicious actors, because once it’s on the blockchain, it can’t be tampered with.”

For example, in a grocery supply chain, farmers, shipping agents, packers and retailers could input quality product data into a cloud-based system, offering more protection over food perishability and helping avoid food waste.

While many people think that cryptocurrency needs a monetary value, it can also be used to tokenize physical products on the blockchain. Every single product moving through the supply chain could be attached to certain digital tokens.

“Retailers can create a digital twin of their inventory—or some type of API—that can grab product information and transfer it into a Web 3.0 environment,” said AJ Dalal, Managing Director, Data & Web3 Strategy at Publicis Sapient. “Using a cryptocurrency to tokenize and move things across the supply chain allows you to have real-time inventory updates.”

In the future, the supply chain verification process could become even more automatic—through geospatial information using satellite imagery of a particular deforestation area, or DNA in terms of the raw materials that are coming through, which would inform the digital token information.

Step two

Artificial intelligence and machine learning for demand forecasting

A key part of the end-to-end supply chain is what happens to the products when they’re sitting on shelves.

Retailers were weighed down by excess inventory in 2022 and are looking for permanent solutions to better forecast demand in 2023. Not only is food and other product waste unsustainable, but it’s also not profitable.

Artificial intelligence (AI) will be a crucial element of accurate demand forecasting for retailers in the future, and more and more retailers will begin to invest once they’ve implemented better tracking across the supply chain.

Walmart, for example, has invested in technology to automatically scan and count stock as soon as it arrives at consolidation centers.

“In the past, retailers had supply chain visibility from external vendors, purchase orders and more,” Pal said. “But if you only care about when things are landing, you only know if something is going to be delayed when it’s actually delayed. And by then, it’s too late.”

The sooner retailers invest in this technology, the better the algorithms will become for the future—and the more sustainable supply chains will become.

Step three

Consumer transparency and involvement with circular supply chains

In 2023, circular supply chains will become the norm—starting with consumer transparency. A circular supply chain ends with recycling or reusing a product instead of throwing it away. This can happen through the retailer, through the consumer or through a joint effort.

Companies can build better relationships with their consumers by telling “product stories” and involving their consumers in the entire journey of the product—from suppliers to sustainable disposal.

Many retailers have pledged to design their own branded products with sustainable packaging as part of a circular economy. While the shift in packaging design is crucial, it’s also important that retailers communicate recycling options to consumers in a meaningful way.

“Companies can use blockchain to reward customers for certain actions,” Haderaj said. “A retailer’s app can verify that a product has been recycled by using AI to analyze a picture that a customer submits. For example, for every five bottles a customer recycles, they could receive a token for a 10% discount on the next product. By employing blockchain technology, the retailer can easily see how many tokens each person holds in real time.”

Retailers can use this technology to collect more meaningful data on where products go at the end of their supply chains—and work with customers to become more sustainable together and remain relevant through the entire customer journey. While visibility and transparency alone will not immediately reduce carbon emissions next year, they are essential in deciding on future production changes that will achieve ESG goals.

10 Top Luxury Retail Stores for 2023

Tue, 30 May 2023 11:59:28 GMT

10 Top Luxury Retail Stores in 2023

by Jack Stratten from Insider Trends

Luxury retail continues to evolve and meet the changing needs of consumers.

Many customers are now prioritising quality over quantity, particularly in personal luxury goods, with Bain & Company predicting growth in the market from between 3-8%. The secondary luxury market is also gaining in popularity, with IMARC predicting growth at 9.1% for 2023-2028.

Luxury stores are also recognising that they cannot simply rely on their brand name alone, particularly for a younger audience. Customers are looking for more from their retail experience, with brands adding galleries, eateries, events, digital experiences, art installations and more to their physical stores.

So which stores are showing the rest how it should be done? Read on for inspiration from our top luxury retail picks for 2023 (in no particular order).

Bentley Cube, Seoul

In Seoul’s fashion district, Cheongdam, Bentley has launched its latest design concept, Bentley Cube. The launch of this lifestyle space was celebrated with an exclusive collection of Bentley Continental GT models from Mulliner.

Additionally, artist Ha Tae Im has created a series of unique artworks for each car in the collection. Clients can commission a bespoke version of the Mulliner Bentley Batur at the Batur Studio Suite, and afterward relax at the Azure Lounge.

Customers who are after the perfect in-car sound can visit the Sound Playground, in association with Bentley’s long-term audio collaborator Naim, for luxury audio equipment.

Louis Vuitton, Tokyo

The Louis Vuitton store in Ginza Namiki has a very distinctive design, with glass panels made to resemble rippling water, reflecting all the buildings around it.

The water theme continues inside the store, with floating jellyfish and aquarium lighting, and curved wood and glass adding to the natural aesthetic. Visitors can purchase ready-to-wear clothing, fragrances, and personalised items, and also relax in the café, where they can buy LV monogrammed lattes. Exclusive clients can access a private lounge.

Anya Hindmarch – The Village , London

Instead of a luxury store, how about an entire village!

Anya Hindmarch has launched an ambitious retail concept featuring six Anya Hindmarch stores in one London location, capturing British nostalgia and local village life.

The Village includes vintage eatery The Anya Café, rotating concept space The Village Hall, The Collection Shop for a curated edit of the brand’s main collection, organisational tips and tricks in The Labelled Shop, and personalised products in The Bespoke Shop.

The newest addition to The Village is the World’s Smallest Department Store, which focuses on service and carefully selected pieces.

Dolce & Gabbana, Seoul

The latest luxury flagship from Dolce & Gabbana is a dramatic glass building encased between four black pillars in Cheongdam-dong. Prospective customers walking by are able to view the collections on each floor from outside.

The inside of the store takes customers on a journey, encouraging them to move between each floor of the store via a spiral staircase. The design is elegant and sophisticated, with gloss, glass, concrete and touches of wood. Products sitting at a variety of heights, allowing shoppers to follow the spiral.

The final area to discover is a relaxing terrace on the roof, for customers to engage in conversation around a counter.

Browns, London

Browns opened a new flagship in Mayfair, combining its past and the future, with retro designs and Farfetch technology incorporated throughout.

The new immersive experience allows customers a seamless journey through the store, where they can find out if items from their wish list are available, use QR codes to access more products, and book appointments and pay for their purchases. The store can also use this data to personalise its customer service, allowing sales staff to access past purchases to help customers find suitable items.

The space also includes a sustainable restaurant and private courtyard for dining, called Native At Browns, Thrift+ For Browns where customers can donate luxury items, and the Immersive Room, a space for rotating pop-ups and events.

Ralph Lauren, Tokyo

A pop-up store at a permanent location is the theme for the Ralph Lauren store in Ginza, Tokyo. The brand says this will allow it to update the store monthly, keeping its offering fresh.

The store features a staircase of history, with a timeline of events and photos of Ralph Lauren. There is also a Create Your Own Area for personalising items, including limited edition Ginza designs.

The store features a product many fashion houses are including in their spaces – a coffee shop, called Ralph’s Coffee. Customers can sit with their coffee in the café, or go out into the garden, which will also be used for events.

Burberry, Shanghai

Burberry has opened its flagship in the iconic Plaza 66 in Shanghai, using architect Vincenzo De Cotiis to design the space. It is a meeting of the functional and the luxurious, with concrete fixtures, and the brand’s signature check print throughout.

A mirrored ceiling increases the feeling of light in the space, keeping it airy and modern. The site is also carbon neutral and uses electricity from renewable sources.

Salvatore Ferragamo, New York

Italian footwear brand Salvatore Ferragamo opened a new concept store in New York, during the NFT.NYC web3 conference. The launch marked a shift towards web3 and incorporating digital and experiential elements in the store.

The space has an NFT booth to help create the brand’s first NFT collection. The customer chooses artwork from digital artist Shxpir, and then after their photo is taken, the completed artwork can be minted on the blockchain Ethereum.

A personalisation option for customising footwear is also available, but with another digital twist. Holographic projections will allow the customer to see the designed products before they are sent off to be made.

The Royal Suite by Gucci, London

Luxury brand Gucci has entered into the luxury hospitality market in a collaboration with The Savoy hotel in London. The Royal Suite by Gucci is on the fifth floor of The Savoy and is decorated with items from Gucci, including opulent chairs and a four-poster bed.

Guests have access to a Savoy butler as well as Gucci gifts, champagne and Italian aperitifs. The space also includes a number of experiential digital elements, including VR headsets to watch Gucci shows, a projection that transforms the dining table into a forest, and QR codes to learn more about the fine art throughout the room.

Swaine, London

Established in 1750, UK luxury brand Swaine is looking to rebrand itself with the launch of a new flagship on London’s New Bond Street.

The design of the space aims to highlight the brand’s long heritage with an in-store museum, as well as the qualities of its full product offering. This includes Swaine brands Brigg umbrellas and Herbert Johnson hats.

A room dedicated to Brigg’s umbrellas is particularly effective thanks to a feature ceiling which evokes rain falling.

Customers can access bespoke services and book private appointments in the space. Notably, workshops for Herbert Johnson hats and Swaine’s leather items are above the store, shortening the distance between maker and customer.

What Does Retail Look Like in Web 3.0? How Retailers Are Approaching NFTs, Virtual Reality and AI

Wed, 17 May 2023 12:11:39 GMT

What Does Retail Look Like in Web 3.0? How Retailers Are Approaching NFTs, Virtual Reality and AI

'Shopping in Web' 3.0 Sourced from Guide to Next. pulicis sapient

As we head into 2023, some retailers are wondering: Is the metaverse/Web 3.0 hype dying down? When Mark Zuckerberg announced Facebook’s name change to “Meta” and shared his vision for a “metaverse,” the buzz and excitement around virtual societies and decentralized technology dominated industry conversations.

Now, as most consumers still have yet to explore the space, the initial hype is waning. According to recent Publicis Sapient research, about half of U.S. consumers ages 18-34 have accessed the metaverse, but nearly half of the younger demographic is still unfamiliar with the concept. However, that doesn’t mean that investment or business opportunities are dying with it. In fact, now is the time that the biggest players in the metaverse and Web 3.0 space are testing virtual experiences, improving baseline technology and building talent to dominate the future internet.

The metaverse of the present is not the metaverse of the future

According to AJ Dalal, Managing Director, Data & Web3 Strategy at Publicis Sapient, in five to seven years, the metaverse will not be tied to a specific world, like Decentraland or Roblox. Instead, the metaverse will be an extension of any experience layer. Any website or digital experience will have an augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) component and will exist on the new Web 3.0 iteration of internet technology.

“Right now, we are seeing the first wave of innovation—of companies risking it all to solve a problem,” Dalal said. “The death of this wave, like the death of AOL or MyVista, for example, opens the door for the second wave, where innovation will have sustainable growth.”

What does this mean for retailers? Rather than investing too heavily in any one metaverse or blockchain platform, it’s time to test different experiences, evaluate Web 3.0 applications and look for friction points in their customer experience that these applications could solve.

There are three key areas that retailers can expect to grow exponentially in 2023 when it comes to Web 3.0 and the metaverse: non-fungible tokens (NFTs), AR/VR and artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML).

What does Web 3.0 mean for retailers?

The third era of the web, or Web 3.0, doesn’t currently exist today, and, in fact, is still just an idea of what a different, improved internet could look like. While many experts have thoughts on exactly what problems exist with shopping today that could be fixed in Web 3.0, broad solutions have yet to be actualized.

Most ideas for Web 3.0 are based on two principles: ownership and decentralized authority. Today, digital assets, as well as personal data, are owned by large media and tech companies. While these companies rely on selling this data to advertisers, creators and consumers alike that contribute the data have little say in how any of this system works. In a decentralized model, they would take more control, or ownership, of this data.

Similarly, media conglomerates have become “walled gardens,” meaning that they don’t interact with each other, creating friction between different siloed monopolies. Many experts currently building Web 3.0 are attempting to use NFTs, blockchains and AI/ML to decrease this friction and spread out ownership and authority among users.

What could Web 3.0 solve for retail?

Shopping will likely become more seamless for shoppers, making products more findable. For example, internet searchability could be improved in Web 3.0 using blockchain-based search engines. Currently, when a consumer starts a product search on Amazon and doesn’t find what they’re looking for, they have to start the same product search over again on Google Shopping or Walmart.com , for example. In the future, it’s possible that consumers could save their searches and carry them through the different retailer websites they’re browsing. In fact, 20% of consumers predict they’ll soon be able to take their profiles and data between metaverse games, according to Publicis Sapient research.

20% of consumers predict they’ll soon be able to take their profiles and data between metaverse games

64% of consumers worry that their data and information will be collected if they use the metaverse.

Another potential application of Web 3.0 could improve the management of customer data. Content creators and casual users alike aren’t currently compensated for videos or personal data by social media networks—at least not in a meaningful way. In addition, 64% of consumers also worry that their data and information will be collected if they use the metaverse. One proposition for Web 3.0 social networks is the ability to choose when and how users share their data with companies in exchange for some sort of value, including payment for content creators.

However, Web 3.0 is still just a nebulous collection of these specific use cases, nascent technology and idealistic projections. It can be difficult for retailers to determine exactly how their business should change and how to prepare for it.

How can retailers visualize the future Web 3.0?

One way to think about the future Web 3.0 is a comparison to the creation of the iPhone and its subsequent influence on society.

“In that announcement, Steve Jobs explained how the iPhone basically took what 10 devices could do and combined it into one, think of everything that the iPhone has unlocked in our lives over the last two decades. It impacts how we do everything. What we are exploring right now with Web3 could be comparable to that innovation.”

AJ Dalal, GVP, Data Science & Analytics

Just as the Nokia of the past doesn’t compare to the iPhone of the present, the future of shopping will look quite different than the emergent Web3 use cases that retailers are experimenting with today. But that doesn’t mean that experimentation and investments aren’t important.

There are several aspects of the future of shopping that retailers can prepare for that will also see significant growth in the next year.

How the use of NFTs will change for retail

Currently, the majority of the population doesn’t own NFTs. NFTs became popular through specific digital art and currency uses, which haven’t yet translated to broader applications. Most people aren’t paying for goods and services with Bitcoin or Ethereum either, and they haven’t purchased tokenized collectibles. Only 14% of U.S. consumers ages 18-34 own NFTs, and the percentage lowers to 7% for the general population, according to Publicis Sapient research.

While retailers should still prepare to accept cryptocurrency for purchases and develop digital tokens for physical products, NFTs will become much more useful in loyalty programs and inventory management. In fact, ¼ of consumers in the same study believe that brands will soon embed loyalty points and rewards within NFTs.

“Consumers and brands have realized that NFTs need to offer some type of value proposition. What are customers currently engaging with that could be improved with Web3?” Dalal said.

Loyalty programs are a major effort carried out by most retailers. Loyalty points exist as a debt— as owed products or services to customers. Currently, tracking and securely validating loyalty points and rewards across e-commerce and physical stores in real time can be quite difficult.

This is a space where blockchain technology would be especially helpful, and many retailers are starting to jump in. Starbucks, for example, has one of the world’s largest and most successful loyalty programs. The chain recently announced its foray into NFTs through its loyalty programs, where members will be able to redeem NFTs for special products and experiences.

However, it’s important to note that using NFTs to build out a loyalty program can’t solve every problem.

“If your loyalty program is not delivering A+ results, what will change with Web3 technology that will deliver A+ results? And is that underpinned by a proper strategy and utility?” Dalal said.

NFTs are also gaining traction in inventory management. With NFTs, retailers can code all physical products as digital twins in Web 3.0, tying online inventory with warehouse inventory and cross-store inventory to see where physical products are at all times.

Before diving in, retailers should carefully consider which blockchain technology to use. Because Web 3.0 technology is still in its early days, it’s possible certain companies will develop faster and end up dominating others. Brands should test multiple blockchains by setting objectives and testing performance before choosing a blockchain and fully investing in it.

How AR/VR wearables will develop

Another Web3 space that should see significant growth over the next year is AR/VR, which will be especially relevant to the retail shopping experience. Two of the biggest obstacles to the wide-scale adoption of this technology are the hardware and experience, which still aren’t up to par with many consumer standards. Often metaverse worlds and AR experiences can be glitchy with poor image quality. Most VR headsets are also a bit too bulky for daily wear.

Luckily, the technology is drastically improving. Apple is rumored to release its first VR headset next year, and Sony’s PSVR 2 is heading down the pipeline as well. As this hardware and its accompanying experiences improve, AR and VR can begin to influence how customers purchase products. 20% of U.S. consumers between ages 18 and 34 currently own a virtual reality device, and 40% said they’d be likely to purchase one within the next year, according to Publicis Sapient research.

Some retailers, like luxury clothing house Hugo Boss, have already started to dive in. The company is testing AR to create digital mannequins with customers’ exact body measurements to try on clothing virtually. Amazon has launched a similar feature for shoe try-on, where customers can use their phone camera to see how a pair of shoes would look on their feet from different angles. This use is also applicable to furniture. About 40% of U.S. consumers between ages 18 and 34 are interested in trying on clothes in the metaverse and visualizing other 3D products before making purchases.

“We are at the beginning of the journey in mass producing AR and VR hardware at affordable prices, which means retailers should prepare to double down on this technology,” Dalal said.

While the technology isn’t fully optimized, retailers can experiment with app features and other experiences to see what works best and how customers engage. This will help them prepare for a future where AR/VR is the norm in a shopping experience.

How AI/ML will impact the future of Web 2.0

While much of the work dedicated to improving the web experience is focused on Web 3.0, the use of AI/ML has the ability to drastically impact the current state of Web2, and it’s something retailers should invest in moving forward. Before Web3 becomes a reality, we’ll likely experience a hybrid version of Web2, like Web2.5, and AI/ML will likely be able to take on work faster with limited resources.

One of the biggest use cases for AI already is targeted advertising, where automation is already efficiently powering thousands of minor decisions to personalize ad experiences online. Other uses for AI are currently still in their beginning stages but are steadily improving.

For example, while most advanced AI-powered chatbots can hold conversations with customers, they still haven’t reached the level of service of a human employee. Similarly, AI writers or content generators can help optimize content and even generate copy for them in some instances. Still, these chatbots can’t yet create longer stories or articles on their own.

While most retailers shouldn’t rely on AI to generate photos, text or hold all conversations with customers, the technology will likely improve enough to be able to take over the majority of these responsibilities in the future.

However, many retailers and tech startups have already started to experiment in the AI space when it comes to personalized shopping. Pinterest acquired a shopping app called THE YES, which allows customers to browse through pieces by swiping right or left while a supporting AI learns customer preferences and curates better selections. Rather than creating increasingly complex filters to facilitate the shopping experience, retailers could rely on AI to create intelligent shopping algorithms to deliver individualized experiences.

According to Dalal, while AI is helping to support functions like this in Web 2.0, much of the workforce could then transition to building out new shopping experiences fit for Web 3.0.

“There are a lot of AI applications that can be used to foster growth in Web3 and maintain the existing world of Web2. People talk about how their jobs will be at risk, but that’s not really the case. Your job may just shift to focus on Web3, and AI/ML can continue content for Web2.”

AJ Dalal, GVP, Data Science & Analytics

Preparing your company for Web 3.0

Just as e-commerce and Web 2.0 have transformed the retail industry, Web 3.0 is poised to do the same more excitingly. While many experts are focused on the initial hype—and even fear—surrounding the buzzword, a significant opportunity to make the shopping experience better lies ahead.

“It’s like rolling a snowball down Mount Everest. Shoppers won’t be limited to a phone, laptop or other device, and we can take digital shopping across all of our senses, including touch, hearing and sight. This is a monumental opportunity in our world,” Dalal said.

Retailers can embrace this innovation by testing and experimenting with NFTs, AR/VR, metaverse experiences and AI/ML today while still knowing that these technologies are in their infancy and will continue to evolve.

Transformational Leadership - A Complete Guide

Mon, 01 May 2023 07:00:00 GMT

Transformational Leadership - A Complete Guide

You may have experienced in your professional working life someone who manages to take control of a situation through having a clear vision of the group’s goals, a passion for work and even making you feel energised in the whole process. In return, you end up looking up to this person, you feel like they have a complete grasp on things or instil a level of confidence that gets you performing even better.

This person is a transformational leader.

Discovering who the transformational leaders are in your organisation is not only a positive business advantage but, it is also a powerful resource that you can use to help inspire your teams and certain individuals to perform better.

In this guide we are going to look into transformational leadership, the components of a transformational leader and the characteristics of what a transformational leader is.

What is transformational leadership?

Transformational leadership is when someone or some people in your organisation are incredibly dedicated, enthusiastic, energetic and passionate about the role - and by being so, they can inspire and help every member of the team whilst also improving the business at the same time.

Leadership expert James MacGregor Burns introduced the concept of transformational leadership in his 1978 book, "Leadership." He defined transformational leadership as a process where "leaders and their followers raise one another to higher levels of morality and motivation."

Later, in 1985, researcher Bernard M. Bass developed the concept of transformational leadership. According to his 1985 book, "Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations," this kind of leadership style includes ways for measuring the success of transformational leadership. This model encourages leaders to demonstrate authentic, strong leadership with the idea that employees will be inspired to follow suit. According to Bass, a transformational leader displays the following characteristics:

Transformational leadership is a leadership style in which leaders encourage, inspire and motivate employees to innovate and create change that will help grow and shape the future success of the company. This is accomplished by setting an example at the executive level through a strong sense of corporate culture, employee ownership and independence in the workplace.
Transformational leadership focuses on the needs of others, rather than the needs of the leader. Similar to servant leadership, but differs because in each style the leader has a different focus.

For many in the field of this research, transformational leadership has some roots based on the idea of charisma. Of course, charisma is nothing new - it’s a relatively old concept however over the last 40 years, the idea has become even more popular as it is underpinned by the idea that employees have been “overmanaged but underled.”

You can think back to some of the great historical leaders who have managed to rally their teams in times of adversity, development or even trying to achieve their goals. People like Bill Clinton and Tony Blair in politics had to overcome nearly 20 years of an electorate voting the opposite way to overturn results - this was done, as many consider, through charisma on screen and behind the scenes.

In the same way, people in business today such as Elon Musk or Gary Vaynerchuck - whether you agree or disagree with their practices, have managed to change the face of how we view leadership in building up those around them to get what is needed for the business to achieve.

It’s no coincidence then that charismatic leaders also are sometimes called transformational leaders because they share multiple similarities. However, their main difference is focus and audience. Charismatic leaders often try to make the status quo better, while transformational leaders focus on transforming organisations into the leader's vision.

According to Bass, transformational leadership can be defined based on the impact that it has on followers. Transformational leaders, Bass suggested, garner trust, respect, and admiration from their followers.

In today’s digital business world, transformational leadership can be even more transparent through the kind of content that they put out in social media and other platforms to help spread both the vision and create a mass following behind it all.

Transformational leadership components

There are of course some select components to transformational leadership. In fact, Bernard M. Bass suggested there are four different components of transformational leadership and these include:

Intellectual stimulation

Enabling and compelling employees to look outside their self-interest to the needs of the team and organisation, challenging their mindsets, ideas and beliefs to drive growth and performance, encouraging creativity, collaboration and the pursuit of excellence.

Transformational leaders not only challenge the status quo; they also encourage creativity among followers. The leader encourages followers to explore new ways of doing things and new opportunities to learn.

Individualised consideration

The transformational leader focuses on the needs, dreams and fears of the individual, knowing that these are key to understanding how to create an environment that empowers employees to perform.

Transformational leadership also involves offering support and encouragement to individual followers. In order to foster supportive relationships, transformational leaders keep lines of communication open so that followers feel free to share ideas and so that leaders can offer direct recognition of the unique contributions of each follower.

Inspirational motivation

Building a compelling vision for the future, setting clear goals that stretch employees and recognise potential, as well as being positive about employee development.

Transformational leaders have a clear vision that they are able to articulate to followers. These leaders are also able to help followers experience the same passion and motivation to fulfil these goals.

Idealised influence

To what extent are the leader role model behaviours consistent with the overall vision they have set out and does this role modelling engage employees to move towards the leader and the vision?

The transformational leader serves as a role model for followers. Because followers trust and respect the leader, they emulate this individual and internalise his or her ideals.

Transformational leadership characteristics

We’ve come to understand that transformational leadership as identified in research from the late 70s and early 80s is where "leaders and their followers raise one another to higher levels of morality and motivation" and their constituent components include intellectual stimulation, consideration, motivation and influence.

But, what are the characteristics of a transformational leader? What are their values and what is it that they are transmitting to their peers/followers/employees? Here are just a few characteristics to consider.

Demonstrates integrity and fairness

They wouldn’t take a course of action, or ask anyone else to take one if they didn’t feel it was necessary and in return, be the first to do it themselves.

Encourages motivation and positive development

They have the ability to help others rise to the goals of the organisation/task and inspire confidence that it can be done at the same time.

Sets clear goals

All leaders must be able to clearly set goals, but a transformational leader does this without hesitation or deviation. There has to be a goal or a vision that everyone can work towards. Whether it is hitting sales targets or having a 3 year plan that can rapidly transform and change the organisation as a whole - broken down into stages - this is where the transformational leader develops their abilities .

Exemplifies high moral standards and encourages the same in others

“Do as I say and do” is the mantra here. There is a granite-like mental approach to creating a moral standard that helps to encourage others to achieve the same.

Has high expectations

Whatever it is that has to be achieved, setting the expectations at the highest level is a characteristic of the transformational leader. There’s no point going for mediocre, if you’re going to put your energy into something, be sure to be aiming for the highest level.

Fosters an ethical work environment with clear values, priorities and standards

As with the high moral standards, there is a sense from the transformational leader that clear values, the priorities and developing an ethical work environment is paramount to success.

Provides encouragement

This is where the transformational leader is really thriving. It’s about imparting that energy and drive to make whoever in the team take note and be energised to the task at hand.

Promotes cooperation and open communication

Leaders find ways to get people to talk and to communicate freely. The transformational leader does this to not only help others see where there may be issues but also use the team to help find solutions at the same time.

Provides support and recognition

A transformational leader is also someone who manages to understand where there may be difficulties and in return, help or where a team member has done some great work - it’s about championing it and recognising why it worked so well.

Encourages people to look beyond self interest toward working for the common good

A team united is better than a team divided - as the old adage goes. Transformational leaders find a way to inspire individuals to work together for the same goals rather than splintering off to think about self-interests.

Keep their egos in check

Sometimes leaders can be a little too egocentric. Transformational leaders strive to keep their egos under control, putting the best interest of their team and their organisation before their own personal gain.

Ability to take the right risks

Transformational leaders overcome irrational fears and evaluate risks in terms of obstacles, capabilities and the vision of the organisation.

Proactive approach

This style of leadership can lead to innovative solutions to a problem the customer may not have even recognised.

When combined, these characteristics relate to the 4 components of transformational leadership.

Positive effects of transformational leadership

Most of the research around transformational leadership indicates that there are positive effects across individuals and groups.

Leadership expert, Ronald E. Riggio in an article for Psychology Today says that "research evidence clearly shows that groups led by transformational leaders have higher levels of performance and satisfaction than groups led by other types of leaders" whilst in the textbook Transformational Leadership from Bass (and Riggio) “Transformational leaders help followers grow and develop into leaders by responding to individual followers' needs by empowering them and by aligning the objectives and goals of the individual followers, the leader, the group, and the larger organisation.”

What are some of the positive effects that transformational leadership can have on a workforce? Here are some examples:

Reduces staff turnover

Inspiring leaders encourage staff to stick around and not go looking for alternative employment - through their management style. By boosting employee morale and by helping them achieve personal satisfaction, transformational leaders often are able to retain more employees than other common leadership styles.

Obviously, being able to retain staff is important but being able to retain really good staff has benefits throughout the organisation. From reducing the amount of time, money and energy in trying to replace staff to having better performing staff members stay in their positions or even advancing is a positive for the whole organisation.

Drives employee engagement

Being able to understand and recognise the needs of their followers / staff transformational leaders find ways to keep not only their staff happy but also, engaged in the organisation and their work.

For example, a transformational leader may be able to identify that specific training is required to keep staff engaged. In one study, 80 percent of surveyed employees said that learning and development opportunities would help them feel more engaged at work. This is further supported by data which shows that a more engaged workforce is a better customer service engaged workforce by nearly 90 percent.

Boosts motivation and morale

Transformational leaders understand that strong, healthy relationships are at the heart of all business operations. They know that boosting staff morale drives employee motivation and encourages them to want to improve their relationships with each other and with customers.

Transformational leaders are highly motivated and energetic, their charisma helps bring a vision to the organisation and team whilst using their communication skills to effectively motivate their employees.

Supports change

Change can be a worrying time for many employees but transformational leaderships know how to make change appear both positive and essential for many different business cases. Transformational leaders in particular know how to get staff excited about and interested in change.

These leaders understand the importance of promoting a willingness to change - especially in response to fast technological advancements and other challenges (such as the increase in working from home).

Encourages learning and development

In addition to working towards a unified goal and improving self morale and satisfaction in employees, transformational leaders encourage their employees to continue improving by creating opportunities to face new challenges. They help their teammates discover their own capabilities by bringing them out of their comfort zone.

When an employee’s growth becomes stagnant, it directly affects the growth of the business. Good transformational leaders keep their teammates engaged in their work and open to new learning areas to help them grow consistently.

Transformational leaders understand how to develop and promote a learning culture that contributes toward high employee engagement.

Promotes collaboration

Transformational leaders recognise and promote beneficial collaboration between staff. Not only does it enhance communications and leads to creative problem solving it helps to improve greater staff engagement.

This style of leadership encourages staff to look beyond their self-interest to the needs of their team, workmates and the organisation.

Enhances communications

The transformational leadership style involves providing people with regular feedback which promotes improved two-way communication and keeps people on the right track.

This helps to resolve issues before they become issues and find solutions for better working and development.

Prioritises ethical behaviour

Transformational leaders exemplify and demonstrate high moral standards. They develop ethical work environments which means that there is a general sense of combined purpose and understanding of what is right and wrong for the business and the leader.

Establishes strong relationships

Transformational leaders are conscious of the fact that in order to build a strong business, one must start with building sturdy and healthy relationships. All strong relationships rely on honest and transparent communication.

New corporate visions can be quickly formulated

Transformational leaders do an excellent job of incorporating a new vision into their current situation. They are also good at recognising gaps or problems in the process of a vision, which allows them to make adjustments or recommendations to correct the situation immediately.

It quickly changes low-morale situations

When a company is struggling for a long time period, they typically use transformational leaders to boost morale and change the environment. The passion, enthusiasm, and high energy levels encourage and inspire others to find success.

Conclusion

We have all experienced good leadership in our careers at some point, but a transformational leader is someone who can not only inspire others, they can clearly create a vision and engagement that gives encouragement and motivation to everyone in the business.

Based primarily on charisma, a transformational leader can bring many benefits to an organisation and these can include:

Reducing staff turnover
Boosting morale
Promote collaboration
Encourage development
Enhance communication

Psychometric Assessments as we use at NWA Search can help organisations identify who exhibits the traits of a transformational leader and provide the necessary platform to develop these skills through identifying needs and training to those needs.

Sourced from Thomas International Ltd.

Threads Of Innovation: Top Tech Trends In The World Of Luxury Fashion Retail

Mon, 17 Apr 2023 11:11:54 GMT

Threads Of Innovation: Top Tech Trends In The World Of Luxury Fashion Retail

Written by Fabio Caversan - Vice President of Digital Business and Innovation at Stefanini, driving new product offerings and digital transformation. | Forbes

The world of luxury fashion is more commonly associated with new looks than new tech, but as emerging digital technologies make an outsized impact in a pandemic-influenced retail industry, high-end fashion retailers are discovering that when it comes to connecting with customers and boosting their bottom line, tech is chic.

From big data and new apps to powerful platforms and sleek solutions, digital technologies are making it easier for luxury fashion brands to connect and learn about their customers, implement sophisticated inventory management strategies and optimize omnichannel efforts. This results in a heightened ability to drive in-store engagement and create personalized customer experiences, sharpen the supply chain and deliver a seamless omnichannel shopping journey.

At Stefanini, we specialize in servicing luxury fashion brands, equipping them with solutions to digitally transform their business and the customer experience. I provide strategic direction to match industry trends with solutions to create programs that help merge digital transformation and overall business objectives.

Considering that, here are some top digital trends in luxury fashion to keep your eye on in 2023 and beyond.

You Can’t Spell Fashion Without AI

Data analytics and centralization. Hyperpersonalization and microtargeting. Inventory management. Customer service. All require AI to effectively scale and deliver at the level expected of luxury retailers. AI-powered technology solutions are proliferating, providing opportunities for fashion brands to track customer journeys and match customers with the right products, monitor inventory, forecast trends through data and predict customer behaviours and preferences.

Keeping It Real

In a world where authenticity and brand cachet are everything, new digital tech advances are game changers. Tech that records and preserves digital identity has a myriad of applications as a transparent, traceable and efficient tool in the retail supply chain. This provides the possibility to follow products and supply chains by creating a physical-digital link that records every stage of production, leading to improved sustainability and increased brand sentiment. Consequently, organizations can prevent counterfeit goods, identify the last party to gain custody of the product, track new merchandise shipments and advertise exclusivity to consumers by capitalizing on a transparently finite supply.

Know Your Audience

The rule in retail is 80% of your revenue comes from 20% of your customers. That ratio is more disproportionate in luxury fashion, making it notably critical to maintain strong connections with customers—and have a nuanced understanding of their priorities and preferences. Social media and mobile applications play an important role, driving a diverse range of new apps to connect to consumers in new ways. This can inspire microtargeting and hyperpersonalization for limited releases and exclusive offers, identify when customers are in specific stores and deliver targeted offers based on history and preferences. Some cutting-edge platforms can glean customer info through facial scanning and sentiment analysis (metrics on service calls are already becoming more common).

Intelligent Automation And Omnichannel Optimization

Gartner predicts , "By 2024, Tier 1 retailers in North America and Europe will reduce inventory carrying costs by 30%." They’ll do it by investing in technology like intelligent automation (also known as cognitive or hyperautomation). Intelligent automation uses bots with decision-making capabilities to increase scheduling productivity and accuracy, evaluate the connectedness of task management and automate end-to-end processes.

Luxury retailers who adopt intelligent automation equip sales associates to serve customers more effectively by informing them about the location and availability of products (both in-store and online) and when limited supply items or exclusive releases are expected. With details about individual customer preferences, sales associates can provide elevated and personalized service—a defining characteristic of high-end service in the luxury space. Practically, sophisticated and transparent merchandising and inventory management are more critical than ever, especially when the global supply chain is chaotic and unpredictable. Fashion retailers are investing heavily in the technical and logistical infrastructure required to execute speedy delivery and fast and efficient returns and exchanges.

The Data Dimension

The power of data is extraordinary, but the most sophisticated tech tools are only as good as the quality of the data collected. Because high-end items (and the accompanying shopping experience) are so important in the luxury space, the in-store experience remains a key piece of the data collection and utilization puzzle. Some of the most interesting and impactful digital and virtual innovations are related to in-store data collection and customer experience. That’s important because brick-and-mortar retail isn’t going anywhere; in some respects, it’s stronger than ever, part of a connected retail ecosystem. Brands are increasingly turning to digital/social media to track sentiment and provide incentives to third-party partners to share collected data and are also using sensors, computer vision and RFID technology to measure foot traffic inside and outside of stores. Some solutions can track conversion rates, monitor inventory and read sentiment, leading to new insights that can enhance the shopping experience and improve the overall design of the store.

A Fashionable Future

Luxury retailers are finding it increasingly important to create a seamless experience across mobile, social media, web and in-store. Investing in a diverse technology stack that benefits customers as well as retailers builds positive brand associations but also allows you to cater to personal profiles and purchasing habits with tailored products and store experiences designed just for them.

Given the clear importance of emerging digital technologies in the luxury fashion space, retailers would be wise to prioritize education about the tech innovations available to them. Luxury retailers are very familiar with the importance of staying in touch with the latest and greatest trends—and it’s abundantly clear in this sector that impactful technology innovation is the next big thing.

For decision-makers, evaluating which tools make operational and financial sense for your brand begins with determining how well a solution enables you to:

Learn more about your customers
Implement sophisticated inventory management strategies
Facilitate supply chain optimization
Drive in-store engagement
Create personalized customer experiences
Support seamless omnichannel effort

If the answer isn’t clear, consider consulting with an experienced technology partner to assist you in selecting and integrating new technology in a thoughtful and strategic manner—or even create a digital retail solution designed with your business objectives in mind.

6 AI Applications Shaping the Future of Retail

Mon, 03 Apr 2023 07:00:04 GMT

6 AI Applications Shaping the Future of Retail

Here's how Machine Learning and Computer Vision can help AI-first retailers improve customer experience, increase profitability, and stay ahead of the competition.

Written by Alberto Rizzoli | V7

Retailers who want to stay on top of their game are increasingly turning to Artificial Intelligence.

AI gives them access to streams of data that improves speed, efficiency and—ultimately—their business decisions. Indeed, more and more retailers are throwing money at AI, with global annual spending expected to reach 7.3 billion by 2022. In 2023, meanwhile, 325,000 retailers will be using machine learning in some form. Moreover, retailers are already well-prepared to leverage AI, with their CCTV cameras able to collect relevant visual data. This then helps the store implement computer vision.

Techniques such as image classification, object detection, optical character recognition, human pose estimation and activity recognition are already playing a significant role in helping retailers improve both the customer and the employee experience.

In this article, we’ll look at some of the most exciting applications of AI in retail and describe the technology behind them.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

Cashierless checkouts
Inventory management
Customer behaviour analysis
Auditing product placement and planograms
Crowd analysis
Optical Character Recognition for retail
The Future of AI in Retail

Cashierless checkouts

A cashierless checkout is one that doesn’t require a cashier. Instead, a customer can enter the store, add groceries to their cart, pay for the groceries and exit the store without having to deal with a human assistant at any point. Awesome.

Via computer vision and big data analytics, retailers can turn traditional shopping into smart shopping very soon.

A cashierless retail store combines the use of thousands of cameras, loT sensors and computer vision-based systems to:

Detect and understand customers’ interactions
Monitor the movement of products (thanks to object detection algorithms)
Automatically detect prices

A cashierless checkout may work like this:

Before a customer enters a store, they need to download a smartphone app. Once inside the store, the app is authenticated by a QR code. If the retail store has introduced a smart shopping cart—such as the AI-powered, weight sensitive cart produced by Caper, which identifies exactly what a shopper has placed in their cart—the customer can then log into the cart, before said cart automatically scans each item with a barcode.

When the customer has finished shopping, they then need to enter a sensor-enabled lane which automatically charges their card.

The process doesn’t end there, however.

Using big data analytics, the smartphone app is able to record, store and use data about each individual shopper so that it can a) identify customer behaviour and b) personalize future recommendations.

Amazon has already instigated the cashierless checkout revolution with its Amazon Go cashierless stores. Other chains, including Walmart, Kroger and Sam’s Club had announced that they will soon follow suit.

There are two major benefits to cashierless checkouts:

Reduced waiting time for the customers
Less money spent on hiring shopping assistants for the retailer

The technology behind the cashierless store, meanwhile, looks like this:

How quickly can a cashierless checkout expand?

At the moment, the development of the technology is limited by the fact that so much labeled data is needed for most computer vision problems (post estimation and activity detection especially).

There are also concerns in regards to the ethics of using facial recognition (data security).

Inventory management

Inventory management is hugely important because it helps you understand what you need, at what level, at what time—and at what price.

Inventory management in retail has been undergoing a digital revolution for the last few years, and now that retailers are starting to use AI, they can better optimize their:

Supply chain
Pricing
Promotional planning

Computer vision systems are used to capture images, before employing image segmentation and object detection algorithms to track items on shelves and carry out an entire inventory scan.

Computer vision systems also:

Provide instant notifications whenever there’s a sale or a stock-out
Boost the layout of a store
Speed-up A/B testing
Produce heat maps
Forecast how much time a product will remain on the shelf

The upshot is that AI is able to assist human workers and help to get products onto the shelves as soon as possible.

Retailers can use computer vision to create autonomous robots to help with this, too. These robots go as far as automating the stock replenishment process.

However, there are still limitations and success isn’t a guarantee just yet. If a robot is to accurately and completely cover the entire store, they need access to huge swathes of accurate visual data.

Customer behaviour analysis

When it comes to customer behaviour, a few things matter to retailers:

Suspicious activity
Dwell time (time spent in front of a shelf)
Gaze time (time spent looking at a product)

Suspicious Activity

AI-powered systems are able to analyse CCTV camera footage that allows them to a) identify potentially suspicious activity and b) signal to the staff. The staff can then review the footage instantly and take the next step.

Computer vision-based systems (which use techniques such as activity recognition, object tracking , and pose estimation) have been developed also for theft detection. Because they let staff analyse movements and behaviours in real time, they are an accurate method for catching thieves.

What’s more, an AI-powered camera can be used to identify other types of wayward in-store behaviour, including a physical assault. This helps to protect the reputation of the retailer, as well as provide more customer safety.

Dwell time and gaze time

O2 is one high-street store that has started to use AI technology and video analytics to measure dwell times. The overall aim is to understand more about the in-store customer experience so that they can boost conversion rates on specific products.

Improving both dwell time and gaze time allows retailers to understand how shoppers interact with different items. Using data insights, the retailers can then make more informed decisions that ensure customers add more items to their carts, thus benefiting the retailer by increased profitability.

By leveraging AI technology, a retailer can further improve the in-store experience by delivering personalization which includes—among other things—cross-selling and upselling.

By analysing data a retailer can determine the marketing value of a retail shelf versus another. In understanding this, they can better decide which products to place where, at what eye level and so on.

They can also A/B test packaging design and therefore serve the customer in better ways.

Auditing product placement and planograms

For years, performing an audit of the retail shelf has been a time-consuming process, simply because it was always done manually. Moreover, a manual audit is never fully accurate, and error rates are high.

Indeed, a planogram—which defines where products should be located and displayed in-store, as well as in what quantities—has for a long time been an imperfect process.

This is where image recognition and object detection techniques come in.

Together they are able to automate the process—check prices, the location of products and so on—with the upshot being that retailers get to understand much more about their shelf conditions and make the necessary amendments in terms of store layout improvements.

Computer vision is also being used to analyse which goods are being well-consumed and moving fast, as well as those that aren’t. This helps the store management to make a better decision in regards when to refill their stores and which items to focus on—and which ones to ignore.

Essentially, AI software will be able to offer two key KPI’s to retailers:

Planogram compliance (how well individual size distribution/quantity of products is implemented in-store)
On-floor availability (how many available products are currently on the shop floor, and not in the backroom)

When either of the two KPI’s falls below a defined threshold value, the staff are informed and can then take action.

The technology can quickly identify empty shelves, too, which for years have been the bane of both retailers and consumers. Using fixed cameras along with object detection and image recognition algorithms, retailers can instantly alert staff each time an empty shelf is found. The technology is able to identify both the shelf’s location, and the exact description of the SKU.

Startups like Fellow AI, BossaNova and Trax are already using robots and cameras to audit planograms, allowing retailers to get more accurate with specific size distribution and quantities for their in-store products. This will save time, while the technology will adapt to in-store dynamics so that, when changes to the original plan need to made, they can be made almost instantly.

Not just that, but it’s worth remembering that consumer goods companies pay good money for premium shelf space—and bots can ensure they’re fairly rewarded.

Crowd analysis

Object detection is nowadays used to detect customers entering and exiting the store. Retailers can then use this footfall data—counting people—to analyse metrics that allow them to understand why people purchase their products, their overall in-store behaviour and reactions to products (sentiment analysis), well as customer preferences.

Moreover, crowd counting has other uses. It can be used to better understand and manage queues, staff changes, and it overall provides analytical data that helps the retailer improve their store management.

For example, it provides demographic analysis that shows the store manager which products are popular with which demographics. Decisions can then be made in regards product listings that help to boost conversion rates.

Retailers can also use computer vision to ensure that health and safety protocols—such as maximum occupancy—are being followed. And if a store is enforcing COVID-19 protocols, the technology can detect face masks and ensure social distancing rules are being followed.

Speaking of COVID-19: The demand for assisted shopping rose greatly during the pandemic. And thanks to the object detection capabilities of CCTV cameras, gig economy workers can now enter a store and know exactly where to head straight away for any sort of product. This saves time and restores consumer trust and confidence.

The technology typically includes manual tracking, pressure mats, thermal counters and video counters. Object detection is a fundamental component in video counters, as it detects objects in each frame, while object tracking assigns unique IDs to each individual shopper detected, before tracking their in-store movement.

Of course, there are still problems that the retailer will need to overcome in order for computer vision to successfully track footfall data. The angle of the CCTV cameras needs to be just right, while good lighting is essential for accurate object detection.

Where the technology itself is concerned, object detection needs to be rapid if it’s to capture accurate traffic data, especially in super busy stores.

Optical Character Recognition for retail

Gathering together huge swathes of pricing and product data has been a major challenge for retailers. They need the data to be accurate, but for years they’ve had neither the processes nor the time.

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) uses computer vision to let retailers turn written text, receipts and other documents into a digitalised form so that machines can then a) scan it, b) read it and c) use Natural Language Processing algorithms to data process it and turn it into something meaningful super fast. This allows for easier editing and searching, and it also smooths over—among other processes—the invoice and returns processes.

For example, retailers can use OCR to search from huge repositories to quickly find the right document, as well as enter said document and search within it for the right information. It can be used to scan and extract data from a Bill of Lading, purchase orders, packing lists and more. Moreover, by leveraging the OCR invoice system, retailers can create templates for thousands of invoices without the need for user interaction.

Ultimately, this all saves time, boosts accuracy and improves customer satisfaction.

Meanwhile, replacing barcodes with OCR saves even more time, and allows the retailer to scan products and inventory (such as boxes) to accelerate the process, automate the process, and centralise it.

OCR is used in multiple industries, but its supermarket receipt scanning is especially useful in retail as it provides automated cash-back processing, as well as an automated loyalty points system.

What is supermarket receipt scanning exactly? It’s the process of using OCR to read receipts and identify the essential data fields, before transforming any text into a data format that’s usable (and meaningful).

Because the process is 100% automated, the retailer saves huge amounts of time while gaining access to an unprecedented amount of data to help them with better product research. They can also understand buyer behaviour better, make tweaks to their inventory and even mix up their pricing strategies.

OCR can also be used to improve services such as “click & collect” by speeding up collections so that the customer doesn’t have to wait for the necessary paperwork to be sorted.

The Future of AI in Retail

The future of retail lies with AI. The way retailers research their products, price their products and manage their inventory will depend more and more on AI, as will the way the consumer shops.

Retailers have already started to adopt AI to provide a better customer experience. Stores are using cameras to learn more about dwell and gaze time and spot thieves, and the likes of Amazon have already adopted a no checkout system.

Naturally, things might not always work out straight away, as Walmart’s partnership with Bossa Nova showed us.

But the fact that AI is efficient, accurate and predictive means that it’s only a matter of time before the likes of smart shelf sensor systems, cashierless checkouts and better planograms are adopted on a wide scale to improve the retail experience for the customer—and the retailer themselves.

9 sustainability takeaways from NRF 2023: Retail’s Big Show

Mon, 13 Mar 2023 18:51:02 GMT

9 Sustainability Takeaways from NRF 2023: Retail’s Big Show

NRF 2023: Lessons in collaboration, consumer trends and resale

Written by Scot Case, NRF

Retail sustainability was everywhere at NRF 2023: Retail’s Big Show . It was being discussed on the main stages in front of thousands of people, in private invitation-only meetings and on the trade show floor. As sustainability becomes increasingly embedded into retail business models, several key themes emerge when retail executives gather to talk about the future of retail.

Sustainability is a journey

Like any continual improvement process, sustainability is a journey; it is not a destination. Every retailer, brand and supplier is in a different place on their own journey. The retailers and suppliers most commonly recognized for their sustainability progress also have the most ambitious goals for future sustainability innovations. They are always chasing opportunities for further improvement.

Every retail role is a sustainability role

Retailers recognize that sustainability is a group effort. Sustainability executives and teams are most effective when the expertise exists beyond just one person or department — sustainable solutions require collaboration across the entire organization. During the NRF Foundation Student Program , retail executives from Dick’s Sporting Goods, Saks Fifth Avenue, Target and Walmart highlighted how roles as diverse as merchandising, operations, marketing, supply chain and government relations all play significant roles in retail sustainability initiatives.

Consumers have different sustainability needs

A significant percentage of consumers are seeking more sustainable products . They claim a willingness to pay more for sustainable products, particularly younger, wealthier and more educated consumers. Retailers recognize, however, that consumers are on their own sustainability journeys and have their own sustainability priorities. Some focus only on product packaging when considering sustainability. Others examine the sustainability impacts of the product inside the packaging, including how it was made, the source of the raw materials, concerns about product ingredients or its carbon footprint. Determining which sustainability attributes are most important to consumers and how they rank with other traditional consumer priorities like price, performance and availability remains a key retailer priority.

Sustainable retail addresses social issues

Sustainability in the retail sector addresses more than just environmental considerations; it’s about the people too. That’s why retailers like Target have programs to support smaller suppliers led by women and people of color. Chobani founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya shared his story as an immigrant from Turkey in a keynote address at NRF 2023, connecting his experiences with the company’s efforts to support immigrant workers.

Resale retail continues to scale

Multiple Big Show sessions addressed the rise of resale retail , in which traditional retailers or dedicated online marketplaces enable consumers to buy lightly worn, repaired or refurbished products. IKEA shared how its furniture resale program has increased foot traffic in its physical stores while also creating environmental and consumer benefits. Other sessions addressed the unique needs of luxury resale markets and identified how the environmental, financial and aesthetic demand for vintage items drive the resale market — one analyst suggested the resale market could reach $300 billion by 2031.

Sustainable retail requires sustainable suppliers

As much as 98% of a retailer’s sustainability impacts are outside its direct control. The impacts are driven by the decisions of their suppliers and their suppliers’ suppliers. Each of those suppliers depends on additional networks of suppliers for the subcomponents they need. A single product can be the result of a network of hundreds or thousands of suppliers. Finding ways to influence suppliers deep within supply networks remains a challenging goal for the retail industry.

Collaborating with suppliers is crucial

The most successful sustainability solutions emerge when retailers collaborate closely with suppliers. Walmart’s Project Gigaton project includes, among other initiatives, an effort to help suppliers finance their own transitions to renewable energy. Executives from Levi’s and L’Oréal also spoke at NRF 2023 about the importance of collaborating with suppliers on common sustainability goals. Seventh Generation, a supplier of sustainability-focused cleaning and personal care products, described how it works with retail partners to understand which dimensions of sustainability are most important to each retailers’ sustainability goals.

Sustainable retail requires better data

Tracing sustainability impacts throughout vast supply networks requires better systems for collecting, validating, sharing and analyzing the data. Sustainability data systems are being developed to address specific concerns like human rights, recycled or organic content, carbon footprints and origins of raw materials, but many systems remain proprietary, incomplete and unable or unwilling to share data with other systems. Fragmented data protocols and systems complicate sustainability efforts. Solutions are emerging based on common auditing protocols, public blockchains and artificial intelligence systems, but no system has yet been widely adopted that meets the sustainability needs of retailers.

Retail conferences can be more sustainable

NRF 2023 attendees saw efforts to make the conference itself more sustainable. Stages featured reusable, aluminum water bottles rather than single-use plastic water bottles. Exhibitors were encouraged to reduce the environmental impacts of their trade show preparations and to donate excess materials through the JavitsCares program to local nonprofit organizations throughout New York City. The large banners displayed throughout the Javits Center are being upcycled into colorful bags and wallets.

The retail industry’s focus on sustainability has never been stronger. Consumers, employees, investors and others are talking about it and NRF continues to share best practices, develop tools and facilitate conversations to accelerate their sustainability-focused progress.

How Luxury Brands are embracing the omnichannel approach with a twist

Mon, 27 Feb 2023 14:57:23 GMT

How luxury brands are embracing the omnichannel approach... with a twist

Article by Kati Chitrakorn for Vogue.in

The luxury brands going beyond traditional out-of-home advertising and investing in experiential, large-scale activations.

An omnichannel approach is key.

At the end of January, an unusual-looking inflatable object — a hodgepodge of houses, cannon stations and planets, with a frog-like face and a wagging tongue — was erected next to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, drawing curious visitors to crowd around for a closer look. At the beginning of February, the inflatable popped up in London’s Marble Arch. It is a giant replica of Howl’s Moving Castle , the Japanese fantasy film animated by Studio Ghibli, erected in partnership with Loewe for their third and final collaborative capsule.

“The message is one of uplifting connection. Crafting fantasies to create alternative realities and see the world in a different way,” Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson describes in a statement.

Loewe is one of several luxury brands investing in large-scale spectacles that act as high-profile marketing stunts. In January, to celebrate its latest collaboration with Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, Louis Vuitton rolled out a host of global activations, including a pop-up at London’s renowned department store Harrods that includes a photobooth, claw machines and a mirrored space mimicking Kusama's Infinity Rooms. By the entrance of Harrods is a 15-metre-high life-like statue of Kusama that appears to be painting the building in her signature polka dots.

Large-scale experiential marketing campaigns can help brands build an emotional connection with consumers, which ultimately increases customer retention. However, successfully executing a project of this size requires big budgets, and can be tricky to measure and scale. Minimising the environmental impact also remains a challenge and many brands have yet to apply their sustainability objectives across all touchpoints, including marketing, experts say.

Creating a scene

Loewe’s interpretation of Howl’s Moving Castle is a stone’s throw from luxury retailer Selfridges, where the LVMH-owned Spanish luxury label is staging a multi-dimensional experience that includes a pop-up in The Corner Shop; a takeover of the store’s cafe that French culinary studio Balbosté is turning into Calcifer’s Kitchen (the fire demon who cooks in the film); and cinema screenings of the movie. In Selfridges’s exhibition space, dubbed as The Cloud Room, visitors can discover the film’s background art by Studio Ghibli, go behind-the-scenes of the campaign and explore the making of Loewe’s Moving Castle bag.

The “otherworldly” spectacles created by the likes of Louis Vuitton and Loewe offer “an all-encompassing environment” that engages curious passersby, introducing the brands to a potential new demographic, says Thomai Serdari, a professor of fashion and luxury marketing at NYU's Stern School of Business. They also give brands the opportunity to highlight their personalities. She sees Louis Vuitton as a brand that is driven by a sense of wonder and joy — a key feature of Kusama’s artistic installations. The unexpected and playful characters from Howl’s Moving Castle match Loewe’s surrealist attitude.

This approach is more powerful than traditional out-of-home (OOH) advertising, which gained traction during the pandemic as consumers experienced screen fatigue, but essentially remains a one-way broadcast, says Serdari. “Unlike the OOH ads that we have learned to neglect, [experiential campaigns] are an invitation to participate with the brand.” Similar to the hyperphysical retail spaces created by brands including Balenciaga and Jacquemus , the most effective marketing spectacles are distinctive and emotional, says Serdari. That makes a brand more memorable to consumers, which can boost sales and improve retention.

However, getting it right doesn’t come easy. Brands need to be “rigorous” in their execution: “If it’s not executed well, it’s not going to translate and that can actually harm the brand.” Smaller brands may not have the financial might or capability to take those risks. And, when it comes to experiential marketing, marketers have limited visibility on who the customer is, where they came from and whether they will go on to purchase a product in store or online, because of a lack of real-time actionable data. This makes proving a clear ROI a challenge.

Savvy brands are starting to prioritise cross-channel experiences to capture the digital audience and track engagement. Louis Vuitton encourages visitors to scan a QR code leading to the brand’s website for more information on the Kusama collab, or download a dedicated app where they can play mini games to earn digital “seeds”, which are then grown virtually and used to earn collectibles and unlock rewards, including the opportunity to win a product from the capsule. Louis Vuitton has also partnered with Snap to create an augmented reality filter that covers six global landmarks with polka dots, including the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Statue of Liberty in New York and Tower Bridge in London.

Only a few of the Vuitton x Kusama products are available for purchase online, which drives shoppers hungry for the limited-edition pieces back to the physical store. “The key here is being able to move from awareness to discovery to buying the product,” says Zoha Zoya, group creative director and head of experience design at R/GA, an advertising giant whose clients include Moncler and Stone Island. “You can build a relationship with your customer beyond a one-off activation to an ongoing relationship where they become even more loyal to the brand.”

Like Louis Vuitton, other brands are experimenting with creating a phygital spectacle using AR. Last February, Burberry introduced an AR filter, which activated a mural inspired by its Spring/Summer 2022 Rodeo Drive collection, outside its Beverly Hills flagship, bringing the storefront to life. However, filters can only go so far, Serdari believes. “I don’t think that these would be successful campaigns if they were only about augmented reality. It has to be anchored into something that is unique and different in material form.”

Future uses

As pressures grow for the fashion industry to respond more urgently to environmental concerns, brands and retailers need to take a more transparent and sustainable approach to marketing — and big displays can draw criticism.

Physical activations are naturally wasteful because of the resources required, including the use of materials, energy and carbon emissions, says Harriet Vocking, CEO of Eco-Age, a consultancy specialising in sustainable business strategy. While it doesn't mean that brands should halt all in-person marketing activities, they need to take a considered approach, she says.

A senior executive at a beauty company, which previously hosted a large pop-up at Harrods, says an external agency helped to store parts of the installation for a year. However, because the brand couldn’t find another purpose for it, the parts were ultimately destroyed. “We paid through the nose for disposal and for storage,” they told Vogue Business. When asked what will happen to the giant Kusama statue at Harrods once the project is complete, Louis Vuitton declined to comment. All components from installations tend to be under the ownership and therefore the responsibility of the brands involved, according to Harrods.

There are signs that brands are working to rethink traditional marketing formats and minimise their environmental impact. Since 2020, Selfridges has set guidelines for its design and construction teams in sourcing sustainable materials and identifying best practices to reduce waste and energy consumption. Some components from its 2022 projects, such as tie-ups with Paco Rabanne and Victor Vasarely, have been repurposed for other events or around the store.

In other cases, brands have been more involved with repurposing their elaborate installations. For By Far’s fragrance launch at Selfridges in September 2022, the brand created silver shelves and a gigantic version of its perfume charm case. By Far now uses it as a centrepiece for localised community events — a new focal point for the brand. Luxury companies are also taking a more responsible approach when it comes to fashion shows. Prada is recycling materials that make up its catwalk shows, and Alexander McQueen is reusing its show set.

While some progress is being made, many brands are still not applying their sustainability commitments across multiple areas of the business, R/GA’s Zoya says. Marketing is an area often overlooked, she believes. The challenge is that consumers and the media are constantly after newness. “Brands are expected to create something unique every season. Now, they also have to think about how to make it last longer and where they can utilise it as much as possible. But, how do you repeat and recycle without feeling repetitive?”

Brands could reduce waste by keeping significant components from installations as they build on their internal archives, which in recent years has become a valuable marketing commodity, suggests Serdari. “Fashion brands are becoming entertainment empires. In that sense, it should no longer be about archiving only the sketch and design of the dress, but perhaps the media and entertainment that they produce, which is a part of the history of the brand.”

When it comes to discussions around sustainability, the discourse is still predominantly focused on product and manufacturing, she says. “Most are yet to put the whole story together and they haven’t managed to truly incorporate sustainability across all of their initiatives. To do so, I think, would make their campaigns even more excellent in execution and will resonate with consumers in an even more powerful way.”

So What Are the Hot Topics of Euro Shop 2023?

Mon, 13 Feb 2023 08:00:08 GMT

The Hot Topics of EuroShop 2023

Copy & Images Source: Euroshop Trade Fair website

We have focused on the eight Hot Topics that are being featured at Euroshop 2023 and brought them together to give you an overview of what is in store at this years hottest Retail Trade Fair!

1. Sustainability

Act in a resource-saving way - for the climate and your customers

Sustainability has become a highly significant strategic issue for the entire retail industry. Many retail companies are working towards achieving carbon neutrality throughout the entire value chain. Both demand and supply for sustainable solutions are increasing enormously.

In which areas can you act sustainably?

Sustainability is becoming increasingly important in all areas of activity. When shopping, customers are not the least likely to pay attention to how brands present their sustainability efforts and how they handle energy and resources. EuroShop and its exhibitors are aware of the importance of this topic and offer numerous suggestions in many areas:

Shopfitting and exhibition stand construction
Lighting
Visual Merchandising
retail technology
Refrigeration
Energy Management
Food Service Equipment
and many more

How can event appearances be made more sustainable?

The three cooperation partners Messe Düsseldorf, IFES and fwd will be addressing this question at Euroshop 2023 in a special area of their own. Under the title "THINK SUSTAINABLE – ACT RESPONSIBLE. How to create a sustainable future in LiveCom", visitors will learn how trade show booths and trade show appearances can be designed more sustainably using best practice examples.

2. customer centricity

Know the value of your clientele and optimize the customer experience

Focus on customers and their needs. Many retail companies are seeking ever closer direct contact with the end consumer in order to offer them personalized and individualized digital customer services. The customer's smartphone plays a major role in this context.

What means do you use to focus on the clientele?

To make the best use of your digital services, you should always think "from the customer's point of view". Know your clientele, act in a way that addresses your target group and thus decide on the ideal digital solutions for the customer experience. Solutions that aim to achieve this are:

digital consulting assistants
personalized offers
digital coupons
loyalty systems
and much more

3. vital city centres

A success factor for the future of the city centre? Brick-and-mortar retail!

The attractiveness of our retail locations is increasingly declining. The challenges lie in the growing vacancy rate, the lack of visitor frequency and the declining identification of citizens with their city. In times of accelerating digitalization, making city centers attractive and lively is one of the most important tasks for urban planners, brandeteers, and also for the high street retail sector. Physical and sustainable experiences offer an opportunity to inspire people and attract them back to the city centres.

What means do you use to attract visitors back into the cities?

For retailers, EuroShop offers all the tools they need to continue shaping a brick-and-mortar store in the interests of a vital city center.

Many experience dimensions of EuroShop, such as Retail Marketing, Retail Technology, Shopfitting, Store Design & Visual Merchandising, but also Food Service Equipment for retail gastronomy, represent offers that turn stores or shopping centers into attractive meeting places.

Within the Future Urban Lab, visitors will also have the opportunity to realize their own vision of a city of the future.

Such visions may include, for example, the following ideas:

Offer gastronomic options.
Use state-of-the-art technologies and digital services that make shopping an experience worth telling.
Design your retail store in a way that makes consumers want to come back.
Set up your premises in such a way that your customers can linger.
Inspire your customers with events and special experiences.

4. Smart Store

Smart store concepts: shopping around the clock

The digitization of the retail industry has led to brick-and-mortar stores becoming more intelligent. Automated store concepts have become established in which the shopping process is largely digital and unmanned.

Sensor and image recognition technologies play an important role here. However, they are also used in conjunction with other applications such as "smart" shelves that monitor stock and detect out-of-stocks, electronic price tags, and intelligent scales.

What are the different smart store concepts?

Self-checkout: Customers are responsible for scanning and paying for the goods themselves all the time.
Scan & Go: While shopping, customers scan the goods themselves and the payment process is automatic.
Grab & Go: Here, virtually everything is automated via sensors and image recognition software, the customer identifies himself or herself with a QR code when entering the store, selects the desired goods and leaves the store again.
Vending machine stores: Here, the customer simply operates a touchscreen to select products. In the background, robots collect the goods.

5. connected retail

Seamless Customer Journey: Connected Retail

Retail only works online OR offline? No. "Fusion" is the magic word here. Because: Omnichannel commerce has gained another big boost from the Corona pandemic. Click & collect services have become the norm for consumers, and many retailers have merged their loyalty systems from the online and offline worlds, giving customers a 360-degree view of purchases made. The seamless connection of digital and brick-and-mortar channels will be essential for every retail company in the future.

How do I create a seamless omnichannel experience?

How do I serve my customers personally, purposefully, and consistently across all my online and offline channels?
How do I create a connected store where my customers get an immersive shopping experience with their mobile devices?
Customer loyalty: What means do I use to bind my customers to my brand – online as well as in the store?
What solutions are available to me to offer services such as personal consulting, click & collect or fulfilment digitally?

6. energy management

Keeping an eye on energy consumption and saving

In view of developments on the energy market, precise control and monitoring of energy consumption in retail stores will increasingly become a critical success factor for every retail company in the future.

Innovative and intelligent technological applications will play a decisive role in measuring a company's own energy consumption, identifying potential savings, and conserving resources.

How to Energy Management

The solutions that will be presented at EuroShop 2023 help to use lighting and air conditioning efficiently and at the same time in a customer-oriented way. The use of AI-based analysis and forecasting platforms also offers high potential here. At EuroShop, you will find numerous suppliers from many product areas who are dealing with this topic:

Air conditioning
Cooling systems
Lighting
Building Management
Electromobility
Energy monitoring

7. Experience

Inspire with a lasting effect

When designing any kind of physical place and space in times of increasing digitalization, it is more important than ever to create experiences that inspire enthusiasm and encourage people to stay and return. Important building blocks here are the stimulation of the senses and the creation of a feel-good atmosphere, but also the seamless integration of all digital channels to create a holistic positive customer journey.

Create memories and goosebumps moments

Whether the focus is on event, merchandise presentation, expo or marketing - many EuroShop trade show booths are just such experiential spaces and make the visit unforgettable. Let yourself be inspired by great ideas in the areas of:

Design
Shopfitting
Events
Multi-sensual marketing
Live communication
Omnichannel integration

8. third places

Turn your store into a shopper's paradise: Third Places

For the success of a stationary retail concept, it is often no longer sufficient to limit oneself to the pure sales function. Rather, the aim is to create a place where people feel comfortable, where they enjoy spending time, and which they ideally visit again and again, and not just for the actual shopping. The goal is to create a feel-good atmosphere and make shopping an experience.

Third Places are (semi-)public places where people meet, build relationships, exchange ideas and strengthen their sense of community. Classic examples are cafés, museums, parks or libraries – places that deliberately have nothing to do with home or work.

How do you create a Third Place?

Design, materials, light, and gastronomic offerings, as well as digital services, make a decisive contribution to the success of such third places. It is precisely in these areas that our exhibitors keep developing amazing approaches, making EuroShop an important source of inspiration.

You will find inspiring answers to many important questions at EuroShop:

How do I make the store a place of well-being?
What gastronomic offerings will attract my clientele?
How do I use lighting to create a magical place?
How do materials and design have a positive effect on the length of stay of my customers?
How can I optimally combine the digital with the physical?

Ian Scott's Trip to New York's Retail Delights

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 08:00:01 GMT

My Trip to New York & It's Retail Delights

Extracted from Ian Scott's LinkedIn trip diary posts

Ian Scott - NWA Contributor

https://www.ianscott.net

As our post dedicated to Ian Scott's trip to Paris last year was so popular, we thought we would dedicate this week's blog to Ian Scott's latest trip to New York. Another delightful collection of photos and insightful commentary. Enjoy!

On Saturday we stumbled across the Chelsea Market in the Meatpacking District , while seeking the Google store.

It proved to be a visual delight, full of character and interesting features.

With 6 million visitors each year, the market is a primary tourist destination for foodies and shoppers alike.

Inside we discovered character and details that surprise and delight. Historical features and memorabilia combine with dramatic lighting as the main walkway snakes through this deep building.

The retail and food offers combine, each space having it's own character. I recommend a visit for anything that wants to see a beautiful old space being reinvigorated into a relevant shopping and eating destination.

ARITZIA

Aritzia Super World looks like a kids' inflatable bouncy castle has collided with a puffa coat factory.

The store has huge inflated fabric tubes criss-crossing the entire space, surrounded by racks of puffa coats.

There is no imagery or messaging, just coats, lots of them. Oh and lots of customers browsing and buying.

Aritzia calls themselves creators and purveyors of everyday luxury and this store is dedicated to the single product range. It is great to see this type of focus for one store.

I usually criticise a retailer that has no communication throughout their store, but it works here...just. I would have liked to learn about the features and benefits of the coats, but still feel this concept works because of the single minded focus.

THE OCCULUS

I also took another look at The Occulus, one of the most stunning malls I have ever seen. The rib-like structure is unique and the views inside are jaw dropping.

CAMP

Yesterday I got to visit CAMP the toy retailer at Columbus Circle in New York.

I had heard a lot about this creative brand and the great stores they develop. And I must admit I was highly impressed.

This store is set over two floors, with the main area a beautiful, calm conventional store space. There is a low stock density which is both surprising and visually appealing for a toy store.

The extensive use of pale wood fixturing creates a calm environment - again an unconventional approach for a toy store. For British shoppers, think of the old Early Learning Centre combined with a premium fashion brand.

A large truck takes centre space on this lower floor, with a great racetrack behind, where kids can play with cars and other sit on products. I watched a couple of kids using this track before continuing around the store on a car and horse.

But it's upstairs where this brand really stands out. The upper level is a bookable space that has several areas where kids can be creative, and most important of all, make a huge mess.

A large classroom type room can be hired for parties. But the most interesting areas provide environments where kids can spin paint, throw slime and my favourite - splatter paint around a whole room. It looks like Jackson Pollack has been living in that room.

What a fantastic experience for kids, being able to be creative or just go wild, in a shop.

The store associates explained that their founder wants product out of boxes and available for kids to play with and this store captures that principle so brilliantly.

H&M

One of the benefits of walking so much around a city like New York is discovering hidden delights when on your way to your intended location.

This happened last week when in Williamsburg, while seeking the Showfields store. This new concept store from H&M most certainly caught my eye.

The vivid yellow colour scheme and full window animated screen suggested something a little different to a standard H&M experience.

Walking inside, the bold concept continued throughout two floors, as the Move promotion was presented in all it's glory. The store was full of striking shapes and displays, coupled with a workout room upstairs where visitors can book sessions.

This is the second concept that has appeared in the store, each one lasts for six weeks before everything is changed for the next campaign. When I say everything, I mean everything. All of the fixtures and fittings come out, as well as the product and messaging. The store closes for three weeks for a comprehensive refit after each promotion.

This is a unique store for H&M, located in one of the most progressive and stylish retail locations I have ever visited. I hope it continues to surprise and delight with each iteration.

fishs eddy

One of my favourites stores in New York was Fishs Eddy , one of those delightful experiences that leaves you with a huge smile.

They sell upcycled crockery and an assortment of odds and sods.

Stacks of product fill the store in an eclectic browsable way, supported by fabulous messages and a real sense of fun.

How shoppers don't send the products flying as they browse is a mystery to me.

We need more stores like this please.

With huge thanks to Ian Scott, NWA Contributor

Extracted from Ian Scott's LinkedIn trip diary posts

https://www.ianscott.net

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-scott-0534694/recent-activity/shares/

Looking Forward at Retail, Web3 & the Metaverse in 2023

Mon, 16 Jan 2023 17:11:00 GMT

Looking Forward at Retail, Web3 & the Metaverse in 2023

Original content to be found on Retailbrew.com & LinkedIn

Written By Maeve Allsup & Claudia Pilgrim

So what is Web3 & the Metaverse?

Web3 reconceptualises retailing with an ultra-personalised shopping experience. Shoppers get an immersive experience, thanks to augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).

“Imagine being able to virtually try on clothes or test out furniture in your own home before making a purchase. Wear that watch to see if the dial fits into your wrist or if the strap colour looks good on you,” says Ravi Chamria, the CEO and cofounder of Zeeve, a blockchain infra-automation platform.

Further, AI and machine learning have personalised product recommendations based on individual preferences. Personalised product recommendations help retailers to provide the right products, thereby boosting sales.

Retailers are quickly learning how to approach Web3 users and win their business. They are now aware of Web3 users’ willingness to pay for various goods by looking at their digital footprints.

Advantages of Web3 in retail includes:

Empowering consumers with more privacy than ever before which also gives them more control over their shopping experience

offering new ways for retailers to connect directly to consumers instead of through third parties

improvements to customer service

building new forms of brand value by enabling ultra-personalized shopping experiences

offering greater transparency into product sourcing and manufacturing (I mean who doesn't like a good behind the scenes)

rewarding customers for sharing information about their purchases with friends and family

The idea of a decentralized web (Web3) seems to have a strong grip on the hearts and minds of the retail world, from fashion to food. While adoption rates in the general population are still fairly low—earlier in 2022, a National Research Group report found that only 13% of consumers say they know what Web3 is—many brands are betting big on it as a new channel, and spent 2022 experimenting with projects that ranged from futuristic to nostalgic. Brands ranging from Nike to LVMH have demonstrated their belief in and commitment to this next era of the internet, and they didn't show signs of slowing as 2022 drew to a close.

Part of retail’s desire to join the elite group of early Web3 adopters likely stems from the industry’s still-painful memories of being late to social media, and its struggle to create online experiences that are as engaging as their brick-and-mortar offerings, Olga Dogadkina, co-founder and CEO of VR platform Emperia, said.

“It really makes sense for an industry that has been struggling…when it comes to digital channels versus the beauty of their physical channels,” she told Retail Brew. “That’s why there’s this kind of natural appeal.”

The technology hasn’t reached peak usability , but that’s not stopping brands from placing their bets that Web3 is coming for retail—in 2023 and beyond. And the rapid movement in this space means the last 12 months have been packed with learnings and improvements as the retail world finds its Web3 legs.

So, is 2023 the year one platform rises above the rest as the best “metaverse?” Is it the year Apple finally releases its much anticipated AR/VR headset? Is it the year RetailBrew readers surprise us with their EOY thoughts on Web3?

Retailbrew asked a range of experts to take a look into their crystal balls and tell us which way the digital winds will blow in 2023.

Metaverse Manoeuvring

There’s an important distinction between Web3 and the metaverse: Some virtual worlds are built on the blockchain and are considered Web3 metaverses, but not all virtual worlds are built with Web3 technology. And Web2 gaming platforms like Roblox, which isn’t built on the blockchain, are likely to hang onto their popularity with brands in 2023, said Conor McNamara, marketing manager at metaverse-focused SaaS company GEEIQ.

“It’s those traditional gaming environments that are really where brands are investing time and money into at the moment,” McNamara explained. “And that’s obviously because [there is] a huge audience in those spaces already.”

Web2 gaming platform Roblox, for example, had nearly 60 million daily users as of Q3 2022. By comparison, Web3 worlds like Decentraland and the Sandbox reportedly have under 1,000 daily users.

Despite the low traffic, McNamara expects to eventually see a rise in the blockchain-based environments, because brands can mint NFT collections within them, and collect better data about those who engage with them.

But today, brands that are activating in open metaverses are sacrificing user experience, said Nitin Kumar, CEO of software company ZBlocks. “The Web3 metaverses have work to do,” Kumar told Retail Brew. That’s why, he said, so many brands are opting for Web2 virtual worlds: “They just don’t want to associate their brand with a suboptimal experience at this point.”

Doubling Down on Decentralisation

An important thing for brands to understand is that Web3 is both a set of technologies, and a mindset, said Timmu Tõke, founder of Ready Player Me , which creates animated avatars that can be used across virtual worlds.

“There’s a whole new generation of developers that say: We are Web3-minded, we want to have the open metaverse…We don’t want to live in one big world that one company built,” Tõke explained. “That’s the mindset that really pushes us towards a more open and connected and decentralized metaverse.”

And the current *ahem*...downturn in the crypto market, isn’t necessarily a bad thing for metaverse innovations, Tõke added. In fact, it might mean a wealth of exciting projects in 2023.

“When the market is down…they’re focused on creating interesting user experiences. They’re focused on creating real retention,” he said.

Don’t write off NFTs

Jamie Burke, founder and CEO of Web3 VC firm Outlier Ventures, said NFTs are top of mind for him moving into 2023.

“I think one of the big [trends] is moving away from one-off drops with NFTs into subscription-type models, where you are subscribing to digital brands,” Burke told Retail Brew. That shift is forcing brands to think about managing the life cycle of their digital goods, and about managing relationships with token holders, he added.

GEEIQ’s CEO Charles Hambro refers to NFTs as “the new CRM,” McNnamara said, because of the engagement rates within their audience compared to emails.

That high value is fueling a trend McNamara said GEEIQ is already seeing this year, and expects to take off in 2023: the emergence of Web3 and metaverse-focused hiring.

“Where traditionally this would have been a marketing exercise, there are now specialists coming in…and I think we’re going to see more and more of that,” he said.

All eyes will be on community engagement

Loyalty programs will be one of the top use cases for NFTs in 2023, said Kumar, pointing to projects like Starbucks’ Odyssey and Nike’s .Swoosh. “By definition, a loyalty point is a token of your loyalty and your reward,” he explained. That, he added, makes NFT-powered rewards “pretty intuitive.”

“What Starbucks and Nike are doing is they’re taking the audience and converting it to the community,” Kumar said. “If you’re sitting on social media, you have all these people in the audience but they’re not a community, they aren’t connected with each other.”

Impact of Web3 on brands and retail in the future

The possibilities of Web3 blockchain technology are exciting. The data, insights and transparency that it can provide for both brands and retailers will no doubt lead to the creation of more effective marketing campaigns, which will ultimately lead to higher satisfaction levels among customers.

The fundamental shift taking place with decentralized technologies like blockchain and cryptocurrency is going to take a while to play out. The use cases we’ve covered in this article will take time to develop and reach mainstream adoption (if ever).

However, there are already signs of a transformation in how brands interact with consumers — and vice versa — taking place. It’s easy to see how these trends can cause disruption in retail, marketing, and loyalty programs.

While it may be too early for a retailer or brand to start adding crypto payments or implementing blockchain-based loyalty programs, getting involved with the latest tech developments is essential for those companies looking to keep up.

Power of Health and Well-Being in Food Retail

Mon, 02 Jan 2023 09:00:07 GMT

Power of Health &

Well-Being in Food Retail

This is a condensed version of a recent Food Industry Association (US) Article written by The Food Marketing Institute Foundation. The full report and footnotes can be found on the Food Industry Association website here .

THE NEW CONSUMER, HEALTH, AND RETAIL

Health is a much more important topic in food retail today and for good reason: Consumers

have placed it front and center. Consumers are passionate about embracing health in many

aspects of their lives, and food is a big part of this. However, shoppers are often confused about

how to improve their health, and typically can’t even agree on how to define it. A report from

the Food Marketing Institute Foundation takes a multidimensional view of consumers, health,

and retail. The Power of Health and Well-Being in Food Retail leverages insights from a wide

range of industry thought leadership, articles, and data.

TODAY’S CONSUMERS ARE MOVING TARGETS ON HEALTH

A quick online definition lookup of the word “health” returns the following: “The state of being free from illness or injury.” That may be accurate, but the reality is far more complex when

it comes to consumers. Health often means different things to different people, varying by generation, income, and other demographics. Consumers often don’t agree on what kinds of foods or lifestyles will keep them well. Many are confused because of conflicting advice from a wide variety of sources.

“Wellness” vs. “well-being” : Speaking of definitions, let’s take a look at wellness. The overall topic of health and wellness is gradually expanding into “health and well-being.” Wellness is still a highly relevant term and is used in many places throughout this report. However, well-being has a broader definition, including aspects such as emotional health, energy levels, and sleep behaviors. That is why the term “well-being” is used in this report’s title. Susie Ellis, chairman of Global Wellness Institute, said in an online post that wellness will be increasingly associated with health and prevention, whereas well-being will be linked to happiness. David Portalatin, vice president, industry advisor, The NPD Group, said in a blog piece that today’s consumers are focused on aspects ranging from physical to mental health. He added that consumers are “embracing a lifestyle centered on health and wellness and future well-being.”

New expectations from retail: Consumers look to food retail as an ally in supporting their health, and retailers have stepped up with impressive and exciting initiatives. However, even as they build a positive story, retailers face ongoing challenges in understanding the changing expectations of shoppers.

KEY REPORT INSIGHTS

Moving target: Health and well-being is a dynamic topic at food retail today. Consumers are moving targets on their needs and perspectives. They have new wellness expectations from food retailers. This represents an opportunity for retailers to further advance their efforts to engage shoppers.
Food as medicine: Consumers broadly eye food as “medicine” to boost health. However, the details play out differently by consumer demographics, including with different generations. So it’s crucial to avoid generalizations when interpreting consumer behaviors.
Social benefits: It’s not only about the food itself. Consumers believe in the health and social benefits of eating meals at home with family. They also seek out meal attributes such as enjoyment and connection, which are wrapped up in the concept of “eating well.”
Free-from and organic: Shoppers exhibit strong opinions about food labels, health, and transparency. They are embracing free-from products with simpler ingredients lists. They are moving along a path that is somewhere between “clean label” and “clear label.” Many consumers are drawn to organic, even if their reasons vary. Organic, in fact, is a bright spot for supermarkets, but other retail channels, including supercenters and club stores, are proving to be quite competitive in this segment as well.
Transparency imperative: Consumers are increasing their requirements for transparency, both for ingredients within packages and information about sourcing, animal welfare, and other factors that go beyond ingredients. This will have big implications for how retailers connect with consumers in the future.
Trust factor: Consumers trust their primary store as an ally in health. They also trust guidance from retail dietitians and other health professionals. Millennials in particular are advocates of retail private brands, and these brands are embracing free-from and organic strategies.
Total-store wellness: Consumer feedback indicates that retailers have a big role to play in advancing total-store wellness strategies, both in bricks and mortar and online. Moreover, consumers look to specific store departments for different wellness solutions, from produce to center store to foodservice.
Retailers step up: Retailers recognize the crucial importance of health and wellness to their businesses, and they’ve already made significant investments, from hiring health professionals to providing health-focused recipes and classes. However, there is more they can do, including digging deeper into consumers’ unmet needs and getting an early handle on the behaviors of younger generations.
Advancing to the next level: Retailers can advance health and well-being by tailoring efforts to their individual customer bases. They should give special consideration to a range of strategies that have worked well across food retail. These include pursuing total-store wellness strategies, advancing consumer education, embracing local marketing, building health partnerships, and further enhancing consumer trust.

SHIFTING CONSUMER APPROACHES TO EATING AND SHOPPING

A time traveller from decades ago probably would not recognize today’s shoppers. Consumer perspectives on wellness have changed dramatically, and the shifts continue. Food is now identified with a wider variety of health benefits and concerns. However, the story isn’t uniform because consumers range widely in their attitudes and behaviours, based on variables that include age and income level.

TAKING STOCK OF HOW MUCH CONSUMERS HAVE CHANGED

Sometimes a good place to start is by looking back. Consumer perspectives on health and wellness have shifted dramatically in the past few decades. A good barometer of that change is FMI’s annual, comprehensive U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends report, which surveys consumers on their views each year.

1980s-Economic focus: Consider that in 1981, health and wellness was not an emphasis of the report. Front and center for consumers were high food and gasoline prices, unemployment, economizing, and “consumer activism.”

It wasn’t until 1983 that FMI even felt the need to include questions on consumer concerns about nutritional content and food safety.

1990s-Manufacturer claims: The 1990s was a decade when government focused more on nutrition labeling, and the Nutrition Facts panel was born. By 1990, Trends was exploring consumer perspectives on reading food labels and on statements manufacturers make about health benefits and risks associated with food products.

Some of the findings might seem surprising today. For example, in 1990, younger shoppers were the ones most likely to believe manufacturer statements about health benefits and risks associated with food products, a scenario that doesn’t seem to ring true with today’s skeptical Millennials.

By 1995, Trends was asking for the first time about awareness of biotechnology/genetic engineering, and the majority of consumers—65 percent—had heard little to nothing about this.

2000s and Beyond-Ingredients lists: According to research conducted by the Hartman Group, shopper perspectives in the first part of this century have shifted markedly over a 10-year period. In 2007, only 11 percent of consumers were looking for food and beverages with the shortest list of ingredients. That rose to 20 percent by 2017. Similarly, only 13 percent of consumers sought locally grown or produced foods in 2007, compared to 21 percent in 2017.1 Some consumers believe local indicates healthier or more sustainable products, but that is not necessarily the case. FMI Trends research showed an increasing consumer focus on nutritional content of foods between 2005 and 2010. Fat content often led the focus in the early years of this century. For example, in 2005, the top concerns, in order, were fat content, cholesterol, trans-fat, calories, chemical additives, and sugar/artificial sweeteners.

FOOD EYED AS “MEDICINE” TO BOOST HEALTH

Consumers today increasingly look to specific foods for health benefits, against the backdrop of rising health care costs and a growing attention to self-care strategies. About two-thirds of shoppers view foods as “medicine for their body.” Range of benefits: Cardiovascular health ranks highest on the list of desired benefits from food, followed by weight loss/weight management, energy, brain function, and digestive health.

In addition, most consumers believe that fresh produce has positive health benefits:

Many consumers identify produce as a category that supports health. About two-thirds of Americans believe fresh produce is a crucial part of a balanced diet.

More than half closely link fresh produce to heart health, healthy weight, and essential nutrients in diet.

Consumers hope to benefit by increasing fresh produce consumption across day parts, from dinner to snacks.

However, the awareness that food is linked to health only goes so far. About six in 10 consumers are unable to connect a top health issue to a food, indicating the need for increased education to reduce confusion.

DIFFERENT LENSES FOR DIFFERENT GENERATIONS

In assessing how consumers view health and wellness today, it’s important to consider how trends differ by generation. For example, a lot of comparisons are made between Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and the mid-1960s, and Millennials, born between the late 1970s and mid-1990s.

Boomers are more likely than Millennials—51 percent to 36 percent—to look at calorie/nutrition icons and graphics.

Boomers also more frequently check expiration dates, ingredients lists, and brand name.

Younger adults, on the other hand, are more likely to embrace nontraditional attributes such as transparency about a product’s improving impact on the environment and humane treatment of animals.

Younger adults show more trust than older consumers in technology-based sources

of information about which foods to eat, which includes fitness apps, bloggers, and TV personalities.

It’s important to avoid generalizations about health and wellness that paint all generations with the same broad brush. It’s also useful to recognize that even as Millennials have exhibited some nontraditional views on health and wellness, many of their perspectives influence older consumers over time.

IDENTIFYING NEXT RETAIL OPPORTUNITIES

No matter how comprehensively one looks at consumers, health, and well-being, the ultimate findings can only represent a snapshot, a point in time. That’s because consumers are moving so quickly on this topic. Nevertheless, it is possible to make highly educated guesses about future opportunities based on evidence to date.

DETERMINING WHAT ELSE CONSUMERS WANT

What are the best ways for retailers to see where the wellness puck is headed? The best approach is staying attuned to shifting consumer desires. Consumers may not always be able to identify their unmet needs, but they can help provide clues to retailers. It helps to ask shoppers directly about how to better meet their wellness needs. Shoppers usually will respond honestly. For example, here are shopper verbatim comments about what they want for the meat category, based on responses in FMI’s Power of Meat report.

“Carry a full line of healthy, organic, sustainably-raised meat/poultry and sustainably-caught wild (not farmed, ever) fish products all year round.”

“Carry locally raised, free-range meat and poultry.”

“Need healthier selections that are cook-ready or heat-and-eat.”

Another consumer-expressed need is a bigger variety of portion sizes, as with this comment: “Please remember that there are those of us out here who don’t have a ginormous family. We cook for one. We need healthy, nutritious options for us to prepare for ourselves. We are a very underserved demographic.”

These are useful comments that demonstrate the importance of asking consumers about unmet needs.

PREPARING FOR MOVING TARGETS: GENERATION Z AND BEYOND

Figuring out consumer needs will not get any easier. Retailers have managed to gain insights into the behavior of Millennials, but they need to stay on top of changes as these younger consumers progress in life. Even as the industry better understands Millennials, retailers are now gearing up for the next consumer group, Gen Z, whose oldest members are now transitioning from college to the workforce.

Many of the unique traits of Millennials will accelerate with Gen Z, such as the need for variety, the embrace of omnichannel and technology, the insistence on convenience, and the imperative for transparency.

In fact, this generation will put its own unique stamp on wellness. It’s just too early to know exactly what that will look like. The target for retailers will keep moving when it comes to consumer health needs.

STEPS FOR ONGOING RETAILER COMMITMENTS

Retailers have made impressive strides, but it’s important to keep adapting solutions for a range of needs, including food safety, health and wellness, social good, and inspiration and discovery.

Retailer strategies need to be based on knowledge about individual markets and customer bases. That said, a number of strategies have been widely successful and are likely to grow in importance. FMI’S Best Practices and Excellence in Fresh Department Health & Wellness Programming34 is one of the many FMI reports that outline successful strategies. Here’s a brief look at some proven retailer strategies that will be useful as consumers continue to raise the bar on health and wellness.

Emphasize food as medicine: Consumers realize categories such as produce are healthy, but retailers can further educate shoppers on how specific items can address various disease states.

Embrace transparency: Retailers should make efforts to satisfy consumer transparency needs, including through a digital transparency initiative such as SmartLabel®.

Play up convenience: Consumers are embracing both convenience and health, so offering creative solutions to both needs can produce winning solutions. These could include, for example, “pre-seasoned meat, poultry and seafood, or pre-made kabobs with fresh vegetables.”

Prioritize portions: Shoppers sometimes want to indulge in a department like bakery, but they also appreciate options for smaller portion sizes. Retailers can be an ally by offering a range of pack sizes.

Promote local: Consumers are often interested in the sources of food and sometimes prefer items from local producers. Retailers should accommodate this need and explain how local is being defined in their marketing.

Explore partnerships: There are many partnership opportunities to enhance retailer wellness efforts. A comprehensive list of partnership opportunities and resources appears in FMI’s Best Practices and Excellence in Fresh Department Health & Wellness Programming.

Educate on food safety: It’s important to enhance food safety practices and education, from farm to fork. For example, the FoodKeeper app is a useful resource to provide guidance to consumers about using products at home. It includes information on shelf-life and handling. The resource was created through the work of FMI, Cornell University’s Department of Food Science, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Encourage Togetherness: Retailers can build on the existing consumer momentum for eating more meals together with family (whatever one’s definition of family). This can involve participating in The FMI Foundation’s National Family Meals Month™ campaign.

Boost Private Brands: There’s a big opportunity for store brands to further embrace wellness trends. These brands already have a strong head start on the organic front, and they have gained the attention of Millennials.

Enhance Trust: Shoppers already trust their primary store as an ally in health. Retailers have the opportunity to further advance that status, using a range of solutions that enhance the proposition of total store wellness.

Four Innovative Retail Collaborations that Work

Mon, 12 Dec 2022 09:00:02 GMT

Four Innovative Retail Collaborations that

Work...

Content idea from article written by Georgia Wright from Retail Gazette

Brand collaborations are more popular than ever in retail, from beauty and fashion to homewares, as businesses use partnerships to widen their consumer bases.

Popular tie-ups such as Louis Vuitton and Supreme, or Gap and Yeezy may make sense due to their as they both complement each other, some of the latest tie-ups are more eyebrow-raising.

Here are some unusual retail collaborations that you may never have seen coming…

Ebay & Morley’s

A chicken shop is not where you would expect to host a footwear pop-up but in June this year, eBay partnered up with Morley’s, the iconic London-based chicken shop, to open up a temporary store for rare retro trainers!

The store opened it's doors on 18 June 2022 and visitors were given the opportunity to purchase the original versions of sought-after retro shoes at the price they held when the model first launched.

This innovative pairing took place inside Morley’s Brick Lane store, which had been re-fit specially so the walls of shop featured a display of rare trainers, rather than Morley’s infamous chicken wings!

The collaboration may have raised eyebrows but it worked because of the cult following, particularly among Gen Z and millennial shoppers, that unifies both Morley’s chicken shops and retro trainers.

Primark & Greggs

One of the strangest tie-ups of the year was back in February, when Primark teamed up with Greggs to launch a clothing range in homage to the pasty specialist.

Yes you heard right, this innovative pairing was very successful. The high ly anticipated 11-piece clothing range sold out almost immediately and featured sliders, underwear, hoodies and a tracksuit and continues to be a feature line in Primark even now.

The unusual pair even opened up a pop-up boutique on Dean Street in London’s Soho ahead of the launch with only 300 slots for those lucky enough to gain entry.

Like the eBay and Morley’s tie-up, Primark has smartly chosen a brand partner that has a cult following and is much-loved by younger shoppers, again aiming at a consumer which is common to them both.

Off-White & Ikea

The Swedish homeware brand is synonymous with cookie-cutter furniture and flat pack storage at purse strings-friendly prices, but in the last few years it has worked hard to align itself with some of the biggest names in fashion.

Luxury streetwear label Off-White and flat-pack furniture specialist Ikea launched a limited-edition UK collection, which saw the Wembley Ikea store take on the signature quotation mark design synonymous with the luxury brand’s CEO and artistic director, the late Virgil Abloh.

The design was used across a range of products, from rugs to bags, and was a huge success, with items selling out instantly and queues forming outside Ikea. Many products from the collaboration were reselling for thousands of pounds more than their original price point.

IKEA’s “KEEP OFF” rug’s resale price is now almost ten times it’s original retail value. At the time of his collection’s release in the US, Abloh told High Snobiety, “No one wants to look exactly like anyone else. It’s like streetwear where everyone styles themselves with their own sensibilities.

Primark & Selfridges

For years, the Primark concessions have been established in the luxury department stores of Selfridges leaving many wondering why.

The collaboration does surprisingly make sense considering that the Weston family, billionaires who owned both retail giants before selling Selfridges to Signa Holding at the end of last year.

Since 2011, when the partnership first started, shoppers heading to Selfridges can leave with their Primark goodies wrapped up inside one of the premium department store iconic yellow shopping bags.

The collaboration not only work due to the shared ownership, but also both brands are seen as places where the fashion-conscious head to pick up the latest styles.

4 Examples of Team Building Activities

Thu, 24 Nov 2022 10:30:24 GMT

4 Examples of Team Building Activities

Team building activities can have a positive impact on the productivity and creativity of an employee base as a whole. But if you are unfamiliar with the process of developing successful team building activities, it can be impossible to know where to begin. Continue reading to find out which team building activities you should try for short-term as well as long-term business success.

1.The Great Egg Drop

If you are looking for a problem-solving team building activity, The Great Egg Drop is a great, albeit messy, solution. It involves dividing the workforce into two distinct groups and assigning each group the task of constructing a vessel that will protect a raw egg from an eight-foot drop. A variety of tools and materials can be provided such as balloons, cardboard tubes, plastic straws, scissors, an egg carton, wooden sticks, tape, paper, and a pen or pencil. Each team must then explain why their invention is unique and is likely to succeed before putting it to the test. This activity has been performed in schools, colleges, and workplaces for decades and can be a great way to teach groups to not only communicate but work together to source a solution to a common goal.

2. Sneak a Peak

‍ Sneak a Peak requires 10 minutes of your time and no more than a set of children’s building blocks. The instructor will kick things off by constructing a small sculpture and hiding it from the rest of the group. Participants should then be divided into teams of three or four with the shared goal of attempting to rebuild the structure from memory. One team member can revisit the sculpture but for no more than five seconds and only at intervals stated by the instructor. This activity is a great way to foster communication between employees, promote listening skills, and aid memory retention. These solutions can then be transferred to real-life problems at work or at home. If you are looking for a fun team building activity for your business, a leading provider, such as Team Tactics, can provide a wide range of exercises guaranteed to suit organisations regardless of size, industry, and niche.

3. Picture Pieces

‍ Picture Pieces is another popular team building activity. The instructor must select a widely recognised cartoon character. It must then be printed and cut into as many pieces as there are participants in the activity. With the pieces distributed amongst participants, the goal is to construct a replica of the original version but considerably larger than the copy of the piece they have been given. With only their own piece of the picture to work from, they must consider how it will impact the larger picture as a whole. Tools and materials required include pencils, pens, markers, paper, and rulers. As the activity comes to a close, each individual portion should be pieced together and compared against the original picture. This problem-solving team building activity can teach employees how to work together towards a shared goal despite a lack of information or shared resources. It also demonstrates what is known as departmental working, or the understanding that the individual efforts of a single person can contribute to a larger, aggregated result.

4. Classification

Classification can be a quick ice breaker or part of a larger, complex activity. The workforce should be divided into teams of four before explaining the definition of pigeon-holing. Participants should then introduce themselves to their fellow team members before classifying themselves, as a team, into two or three subcategories. This can nurture professional relationships and allow employees to get to know one another on a personal level.

Team building activities can be a great way to nurture a positive working environment. Popular examples include The Great Egg Drop, Sneak a Peak, Picture Pieces, and Classification.

by Isabella Goode

UK Careers Fair

How to Maintain Strong Leadership in the Remote Working World

Mon, 14 Nov 2022 11:32:08 GMT

How to Maintain Strong Leadership in the Remote Working World

Whether a newly promoted manager or whether you have years of management experience, navigating leadership and smooth management of a remote team can undoubtedly be daunting and stressful. Here are 5 ways you can maintain your position as a strong leader and manage your team effectively, without feeling like you are either micromanaging them, or being rather disconnected from them.

1. Communicating effectively

It is important to ensure that the message you are sending to your team is unambiguous and not interpreted in a different way. This is particularly different when working remotely as employees feel more hesitant to email or hold a video meeting if they are unsure. In your communication, you must ensure if verbal or written communication is most appropriate. If verbal, you will also want to document all communication so that employees have a record of what was communicated. Moreover, it is important to consider communication with staff who are in different time zones and ensure that they understand the correct deadlines and urgency of tasks.

2. Get to know your team members as you would in the office

It is much easier to know your team members and build a relationship with them when you are physically in their presence every day. Virtually, this could be a challenge which results in a lack of team spirit and morale. It is therefore important to be proactive in getting to know your team and organising video calls to catch up with work unrelated topics. Not only could you spend time at the beginning of meetings talking personally to colleagues, but you could also organise one on one calls with team members to casually discuss their progress professionally and ask about their goals, any challenges and training opportunities they could get involved in.

3. Set goals and priorities

It is important to make team goals, deadlines and priorities extremely clear in a remote working environment. This could be done, for example, by setting a task and following up with a quick call to emphasise the importance of it, which translates better with tone of voice, body language and cues, and simultaneously gives you the chance to address any questions regarding the task. You could also create a system where tasks are marked with different priority levels to avoid any confusion or tasks getting delayed.

4. Check in on employees and any challenges they are facing

It is important to get a realistic understanding of whether you are approachable to employees at all different levels, and addressing any obstacles where employees do not feel comfortable speaking about professional struggles. It is crucial to make employees aware that you are not too busy or unwilling to help, or you must communicate the appropriate hierarchy to make clear who they should refer their queries to. Be proactive in checking in on a regular basis and asking if they need help with any task, big or small.

By focusing on clear communication and building good team spirit and cooperation, you are certain to build a team who not only delivers high quality and timely work, but a team who is likely to stick around in the long term when returning to working in the office.

by Anisha Vaswani

The UK Careers Fair

Why You Should Care About Phygital Retail?

Tue, 01 Nov 2022 09:00:03 GMT

Why You Should Care About Phygital Retail?

The retail industry sure has its share of buzzwords.

The big one right now is phygital retail .

But what exactly is phygital retail? Is it something new or a retail rose by any other name? Should retailers be paying attention? And who is doing phygital retail well already?

Read on for the answers to all these questions and more.

What is Phygital Retail?

Phygital retail blends the physical and digital to provide a cohesive customer experience.

This approach ensures that customer journeys are smooth and uninterrupted, with the shopper having the ability to combine a variety of in-store and online options to best suit their needs.

Ordering online and collecting in the store? Phygital retail
In-store staff accessing a customer profile that includes their online purchases and wishlists so they can recommend products? Phygital retail
Buying a product in-store and having it shipped to your home? Phygital retail
Looking at make-up in a store and virtually trying on different shades via AR? Phygital retail
Visiting a store, trying on a shirt and then going home and ordering it online later? Phygital retail
Customers self-scanning products in a physical grocery store and then checking out on their smartphone? Phygital retail

What is the Difference Between Phygital and Omnichannel Retail?

With many retailers having already adopted successful omnichannel experiences , you may be wondering what the differences are.

After all, omnichannel retail integrates all of the elements of digital and physical channels to give customers a better buying experience. Sounds pretty similar to phygital retail, right?

That’s because essentially omnichannel and phygital retail are the same thing . Some marketers believe that phygital goes further than omnichannel, which they see as focusing more on purchasing elements of the customer journey or simply bringing digital elements to physical stores.

This is just splitting hairs though.

But if it makes it easier, you could think of it as like this;

the omnichannel customer – eg someone who shops using both online and offline channels
the phygital experience – the strategy/operational combination of digital and physical to support that customer

Or you can just use your preferred term between omnichannel and phygital (we won’t tell you which to pick).

Why Does Phygital Retail Matter?

Phygital retail matters because anything else is frustrating for the customer.

People don’t see retailers’ different channels as separate. To them, whether it’s the store, the website, social media, the app, it’s all just the brand or retailer. So when retailers treat their stores like their own entity that is separate from their website which is then separate from their social media etc, it doesn’t meet the customer’s expectations.

It also makes economic sense to adopt a phygital retail solution.

Lightspeed undertook a survey of the retail industry and discovered that the largest growth was among those retailers who offered a phygital experience to their customers, with 50% of UK and 61% of US retail businesses seeing this increase. The picture among those who only offered either physical or digital was less impressive, with only 29% of physical and 16% of digital retailers seeing such growth.

The report makes clear that while e-commerce is growing in strength, many customers still have a strong preference for shopping in physical stores. They are also after more interactive and immersive experiences too, with some retailers now offering fully experiential concept stores.

Afterall, traditional physical stores offer many strengths. For example, many customers like to shop in-store as they get to touch the items, or maybe test them (sitting on a chair or trying on a dress).

Physical retail is also more personal – the customer will get to “know” the people serving them, and trust their recommendations. They also get the item immediately.

However, e-commerce offers convenience and a larger range of options than a physical store could hold in their stock. It provides the ability to compare between different items and also read customer reviews. Customers can get their products delivered to them right at home, without having to travel to a physical location.

Phygital retail gives customers the best of both, which is a pretty compelling offering.

For example, incorporating more digital elements in stores allows consumers to see available stock options and book deliveries to be sent to them at home. Equally, online sites could include video sessions with a personal shopper, provide an interactive live stream showcasing their stock, or incorporate buy online, pickup in-store (BOPIS) to cater to those customers who want their items immediately.

3 Brands Who Are Nailing Phygital Retail

What does phygital retail look like in reality? What do you include in your phygital offering?

Here are 3 brands who have already embraced phygital and how they have done it. Perhaps they will inspire you to think of ways to make phygital work in your retail business.

Lego

Lego discovered that its customers like the physical experience of playing with Lego bricks (who doesn’t!), but are looking for more interactive elements. The brand was also keen for visitors to stores to have a fun and exciting experience.

When shoppers walk into Lego’s New York store, they are greeted with huge Lego displays that represent tourist monuments (such as the Empire State Building) but also other popular brands, like Marvel, to immerse customers in a Lego world.

This is enhanced through complementary digital elements, such as a virtual space called Brick Lab where customers can add physical Lego builds and then interact with them in the story. Shoppers are also offered a range of personalisation options, including the ability to design their own mini-figures and have them imitate their faces at an interactive area called Lego Expression.

Nike

Nike has been at the forefront of the phygital trend with innovative digital and physical elements throughout their New York store, which is now seen as a place for sports enthusiasts to gather.

Visitors have access to an impressive basketball court, which can record on-court activity and games. Special treadmills also allow people to test their clothing for the outdoors and measure their gait for personalised shoe recommendations.

All footage taken in the store is shared to the customer’s Nike account for them to use on social media if they wish. The app also allows customer preferences to be saved for future visits meaning that they can get back on the treadmill, for example, and seamlessly pick up where they left off.

Charlotte Tilbury

The iconic beauty brand recognised that many people see shopping as a shared experience with friends, driving them to visit physical spaces.

Charlotte Tilbury wanted to offer something similar to its digital customers, while also attracting younger customers. Developing a game-like virtual world, but for beauty, allows shoppers to invite their friends and use video to be able to interact while they all look at products together.

Charlotte Tilbury also offers online and offline tutorials and other events, mimicking social media aspects of the beauty world.

The brand also pioneered the use of ‘magic mirror’ technology in its stores that uses augmented reality to let customers virtually try on new make-up looks with the touch of a button. This has now been rolled out online so that digital shoppers can virtually try on looks before they buy.

What You Need to Remember

Phygital retail allows you to offer consumers all the benefits that they currently get from their physical and online shopping journeys, but as one holistic experience .

It benefits customers by increasing the level of choice, personalisation, digital and interactive elements, while providing retailers the opportunity of increasing brand awareness and customer loyalty.

And it also makes you more money. A phygital retail offering makes it easier for customers to find you, to be inspired by you, to buy from you. Businesses that adopt a phygital approach grow faster than those who don’t because it’s easier for them to find, convert and keep customers.

Can your business say it’s one of them?

by Jack Stratten

Insider Trends

3 Immersive Customer Experiences Using Augmented Reality

Mon, 03 Oct 2022 08:00:04 GMT

3 Immersive Customer Experiences Using Augmented Reality

When the mobile game “Pokémon GO” made a splash in 2016, global audiences got their first taste of just how engaging augmented reality experiences could be — and brands took notice.

Augmented reality, like the filters and lenses found on Instagram and Snapchat, transform the passive experience of being served a piece of content into an immersive one. From a marketer’s perspective, this gives you the opportunity to blur the lines between native content and branded advertisements. These experiences are the newest flavor of social commerce that is redefining the retail shopping experience — both online and in-person.

Global social commerce sales are expected to skyrocket from $492 billion in 2021 to $1.2 trillion in 2025, and this growth means that AR experiences will “have the potential to change the social commerce game for brands targeting tech-savvy consumer demographics,” according to a recent TIME report.

When you consider that only 1% of retailers currently use AR, but 71% of consumers say it would help them make more confident buying decisions, the opportunity to create a profound impact on the market with augmented reality becomes very clear. That’s why these immersive experiences need to be a near-term goal, and not part of retailers’ five-year plan.

But while augmented reality shopping experiences are still in their infancy and may sound complex, they really don’t need to be. We’ll take you through three unique ways you can use augmented reality to, well, augment your retail advertising strategies.

Face Effects: Digital Fitting Rooms

The best part about in-person shopping? The tactile experience of being able to physically hold, inspect and feel the product you have your eyes on. This is especially true for clothing and beauty products where how you look using the product is of the utmost importance. But the worst part about in-person shopping? Having to try on those clothes in a cramped room with a line of people waiting for you to hurry up!

There’s where augmented reality “try-on” effects come in. This experience gives brands the ability to give their customers all the benefits of in-person shopping from the comfort of their own homes. These effects allow customers to superimpose a product — whether it’s shoes, eyewear or makeup — on themselves through their front-facing mobile phone camera. Now you don’t have to leave your house just to see how a pair of hipster glasses look on you; you can open your phone and see how those frames fit your face instantly.

Try-on effects are some of the most concrete examples of why AR has proliferated in the shopping experience. It’s simple, easy to use and the benefits are ridiculously evident — even if you’ve never used one of these filters before. Being able to get an on-demand visual representation of what you will look like allows the online customer to make just as informed of a buying decision as the in-person shopper.

World Effects: Digital ‘Feng Shui’

If you sell home décor, you can use AR effects to place products — be it furniture, appliances or pieces of art — virtually into a user’s home through their regular mobile phone camera lens. Think of it as “digital feng shui” where the customer can get a vibe check for how a new couch or television will look and feel in their space before hitting that “buy now” button.

These are called World Effects, as it is augmenting the physical environment around the user, rather than just their face or body. According to Snapchat , one of the leading social platforms that has helped to popularize AR effects, “world lenses impact those in the middle of the journey and result in higher purchase intent (+8%) and build relevance for the brand (+7%). Front-facing AR lenses help lift brand image for those closer to purchase, with a 5% lift in brand uniqueness and 4% lift in relevancy.”

These effects are another immediate example of the incredible benefits augmented reality provides retail marketers. While you can “try-on” clothes and make-up both virtually and at-home with similar benefits, you can’t really tell how that new loveseat will look in your reading nook when you are in a brick-and-mortar store. But with augmented reality, you have the opportunity to help your customer make an even more informed purchasing decision than ever before.

Experiential Effects: Give Your Customers a Gift

We have a saying at QuickFrame whenever we discuss augmented reality effects: you want to give your audiences a gift, not an ask.

What does that mean? Your advertising creative needs to give your audience — in this case your target customers — something they find valuable. With augmented reality effects, you are providing an inventive, entertaining customer experience that doesn’t feel like a brazen sales pitch to grab their attention — even if that is ultimately what you are doing.

These “gifts” are often wickedly interactive, which is what makes them so engaging. Everyone’s favorite DIY decor brand IKEA created a wildly fun AR experience on Snapchat that was designed as an escape room. Users had to reorganize many of IKEA’s familiar pieces of furniture to solve the puzzle and escape, while also getting a good idea of how those same pieces of furniture might look in their own home.

For another example, Smartwater, one of the leading CPG brands in the bottled water space, wanted to drive engagement for an influencer-focused brand refresh on Instagram and Facebook. Rather than employing a traditional influencer campaign, Smartwater partnered with QuickFrame by MNTN to develop a custom AR effect tailor-made for the push. The selected influencers were asked to use the custom lens when unboxing the new products for their followers, driving more eyes to not only the filter, but their brand in general.

We were always moving toward a future where online would inevitably usurp in-person retail as the preferred shopping experience, but this redefined landscape was exponentially accelerated over the past two years. If you don’t match pace now, you may never be able to catch up. Retail brands must evolve just as fast as consumer buying behaviors to ensure they are delivering the experience modern audiences crave. And now more than ever, the experiences they crave are found within augmented reality.

As VP of Customer Success, Michael Block leads the Client Success team that manages QuickFrame’s largest Fortune 500 clients. In this role, Block advises customers on how to transform their content production approach so they can unlock more audience-targeted content, more frequently. Previously, Block founded and led a sales and business development consultancy and was an executive at Sony Music Entertainment (which certainly helped Michael achieve the milestone of seeing over 1,000 concerts).

Download Retail TouchPoints Special Report here: The Ultimate Guide to Connected Commerce

Written by Michael Block, QuickFrame by MNTN

Experiential marketing: How to appeal to online shoppers

Mon, 19 Sep 2022 08:00:00 GMT

Experiential marketing: How to appeal to online shoppers

Everyone — and, we really mean everyone — regularly shops online these days. Brands and retailers have won over shoppers by offering more products, fast shipping, and opportunities to shop anytime anywhere, including on social media. But, now consumers want more. That’s where experiential marketing comes in.

What is experiential marketing?

Experiential marketing is a marketing strategy that engages consumers through participatory experiences. Shoppers are looking for brands and retailers to offer enhanced rewards programs, gamification, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), NFTs, and the chance to shop in the metaverse one day. They want an experience that’s unique, memorable, personalized, and most of all, positive.

To understand what online consumers are looking for when it comes to experiential marketing, we surveyed over 10,000 global shoppers. And 93% of them say a positive shopping experience is important to them, and 98% say they’d shop based on experience over price.

We asked what brands can do to deliver the positive experiences that they crave. Here’s the current top experiential marketing trends to watch out for based on what they said.

Add gaming elements to online and in-store shopping

Games like Wordle and Candy Crush are popular for a reason. They grab players’ attention, give them bragging rights when they win, and keep them coming back. 70% of shoppers want gaming elements incorporated into their online shopping sessions — and, they’d like to see gaming with in-store and in-app shopping, too.

Gamification marketing can include things like racking up points, earning badges, or progressing to different levels. Using visuals like leaderboards, progress bars, or countdowns gives shoppers an exciting visual to keep up with how they’re doing.

Half of shoppers want gaming features to unlock a discount. Others want to join brand- or product-related communities. Adding gaming features brings a wealth of benefits:

72% of consumers spend longer on apps or websites if they receive points that translate to discounts
77% will submit user-generated content (UGC), such as a review or photo or video of them using the product, to earn a reward

Starbucks’ cup-flip game encouraged shoppers to share their results on social media and awarded winners with in-store vouchers. The campaign led to 30-second dwell time, 90% engagement, 60-second engagement per user, and exceeded its voucher download target by a massive 110%.

Incorporate live shopping, AR, and VR

Experiential marketing is so critical because a main takeaway from our survey is that shoppers want you to take online shopping experiences to the next level. In a separate survey Bazaarvoice recently undertook, we found:

Source: Bazaarvoice survey of over 14,000 Influencer members

And when we shift back to this survey, we see these are clearly still hot topics. Livestream shopping for example is something shoppers are especially excited about. Live shopping sales are predicted to account for about 20% of all e-commerce by 2026, according to McKinsey .

VR, AR, and the metaverse (more on that later) are other online shopping experiences consumers are looking forward to. But 59% of shoppers want AR and VR in physical stores, too. Over a third of shoppers have already used AR and VR while shopping:

39% have used virtual furniture tools
32% have used virtual fitting rooms
26% have used virtual makeup tools

Shoppers are more likely to purchase clothing, electronics, and health and beauty products via AR and VR. They’re accessing the tools most often via their smartphones (63%), laptops (52%), and tablets (41%). And they want to use the technology on social media too, so they can:

Unlock rewards (65%)
Shop live (46%)
Try on products with AR/VR (38%)

Sephora is one brand that has already found success with AR through its Virtual Artist tool that lets shoppers find the perfect eyeshadow shade. The mobile app uses AR and facial recognition to enable shoppers to compare products and try them on before purchasing.

Tap into the NFT trend

You’ve surely seen the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. McKinsey predicts that NFTs will become mainstream for fashion brands and retailers in the coming year.

Shoppers are paying attention to NFTs, too. 59% of consumers know what an NFT is and 22% kind of know what one is, our survey found. Admittedly not the most reassuring responses. But nearly half of shoppers do plan to buy an NFT in the next year and 27% plan to buy one at some point. So it’s worth paying attention.

Source: From malls to the metaverse

Some major brands, like Nike and Gucci , are already jumping on the NFT trend. Finding ways to incorporate the digital assets into your shopping experiences will help your brand stand out and build a following of loyal shoppers among NFT enthusiasts.

Move into the metaverse

Everyone has heard of the metaverse , but only about half of consumers say they truly understand it. Still, it threatens to become the ultimate experiential marketing tool because it offers opportunities for brands to connect with shoppers on a deeper level. Shoppers have big hopes for the metaverse, and plan to use it to:

Try a new experience (53%)
Discover new products (45%)
Have greater personalization in shopping (70%)

Many shoppers think the metaverse won’t be widely used for at least three years, though. When it does become more mainstream, nearly 40% think they’ll spend about the same amount of time shopping in the metaverse as shopping online or in stores.

Several brands are snapping up space in the metaverse already. P&G’s BeautySphere is a metaverse world where consumers can enjoy games, panel discussions, and live content. The world emphasizes responsible beauty, and visitors can complete an Herbal Essences program to plant real trees.

P&G’s metaverse BeautySphere

Despite the excitement, shoppers have a few concerns about the metaverse, which you should keep in mind as you develop strategies for the virtual world. Specifically, they worry about the safety of their personal data. They’re also concerned about not understanding how to use it, how to return metaverse purchases, or that they’ll be able to try things out in the world.

Use rewards programs to deepen relationships

Rewards programs aren’t new, of course — 69% of shoppers have participated in a brand or retailer’s rewards program. But they’re an effective tool to engage shoppers on a personal level. 66% of consumers say “ great personalization ” in shopping interests them.

Here’s what shoppers say most encourages them to join a rewards program:

Discounts (64%)
Free samples (58%)
Early access to sales or new products (47%)
Their love for the products or services (41%)

65% of shoppers are more likely to buy something if they can participate in a rewards program. And, 80% have spent more money — as much as $30 — than planned to unlock a reward.

Most shoppers are likely to create an account to participate in a rewards program. Many are also aware of the ability to watch an ad, refer friends or family, or sign up for a newsletter to unlock a discount. Yet, only about 30% to 40% of shoppers have actually tried these things.

Expand ratings and reviews with shopping innovations

Gamification and experiential marketing are amazing tools for growing your review count . Reviews are still one of the strongest motivators for shoppers to purchase.

Our survey found that 40% of shoppers think ratings and reviews are the most important factor in helping them decide what to buy. Shoppers are especially excited about leaving a review when asked by a brand and offered something in return:

56% leave reviews if they’re entered into a sweepstakes
40% leave reviews after receiving an email from a brand or retailer after a purchase
37% leave reviews if the review will be included on a brand website or in a marketing campaign

Experiment with your experiential marketing strategy

Online shopping is ubiquitous. So, you need to take action to keep wooing these shoppers into the future. Launching an experiential marketing strategy is how you do it.

Because the key takeaway is that shoppers want online (and in-store) shopping experiences enhanced with new technology. Gamification, AR, VR, NFTs, and the metaverse — there’s multiple ways to do it. Some will work better than others. But until you get started, you’re not going to know.

This is just the beginning. Check out the Bazaarvoice Shopper Preference Report here .

Written by Lauren Venticinque, Bazaarvoice

Is Sustainability Sustainable in Retail?

Mon, 05 Sep 2022 08:00:10 GMT

Is Sustainability

Sustainable in Retail?

Written by Greg Petro in Forbes, Founder of First Insight

Well, the results are in…according to a recent First Insight study, on average 75% of ALL generational groups from Gen Z to Baby Boomers care about retailers being sustainable and offering sustainable products.

The same report shows that consumers are not willing to pay enough more for sustainability to cover the costs.

Further, the information indicates that the industry has not done a great job educating consumers on what sustainability means or how to identify it properly so that a consumer can correctly relate to the initiative or product.

Does this come as a surprise? Not really.

What it does do is beget the question that if consumers are not willing to ante up the money to pay for sustainable products, do retailers and brands have the intestinal fortitude to maintain a path forward into a sustainable future or is it just another interesting trend to go by the wayside?

In order to understand what might occur, I think it best to look at what might happen if a retailer or brand were to invest (or not) on a sustainable future and how customers are likely to react given how the competitive landscape may respond. What does that mean? Let’s look at an example.

If Brand A decides to move forward on sustainability and absorbs a cost of 5% more to bring a more sustainable product to market and consumers simply continue to buy from them at the same rate, they have lost 5% gross margin. This assumes nothing changes in the competitive landscape. But let’s say their competitors follow. Likely the overall cost will come down and then everything falls back into the same equilibrium that previously existed assuming advancements in manufacturing, etc., that typically occur. The difference is consumers and society as a whole have benefitted.

However, if their competitors don’t follow, they could potentially gain market share and the gross margin percentage may go down, the revenues and customer acquisitions grow. Long term they win.

If the company chooses not to follow the sustainability desires of the customer, while they may in the short term gain the 5% gross margin, they risk losing to competitors who do adopt and they also risk losing long-term customer base and revenue.

Given this conundrum, what should a retailer, brand, or manufacturer do?

It seems clear that understanding and anticipating how consumers are likely going to react through testing the strategy would be far superior and more risk-averse than executing on either side and then responding.

That said, many executives still say that consumers don’t know what they want, and it is their role to determine that for them. While I do agree that it is an executive’s or decision maker’s responsibility to make those decisions completely – and they should – my point of view is that we should arm them with the best possible facts and data to make them. Test, test and test…it is the best form of listening and seeking to understand. The alternative is a competitive disadvantage and far more risky.

The Future of Online Shopping: The E-commerce Trends that Shape the Retail World

Mon, 15 Aug 2022 08:00:00 GMT

The Future of Online Shopping...

The E-commerce Trends that Shape the

Retail World

By Oren Inditzky, Vice President of Online Stores at Wix

Globally, online’s share of total retail sales was 16.4% in 2020, with e-commerce accounting for more than three-quarters of overall retail growth, and 57% of global shoppers’ spend is now online, and this momentum will only continue to drive the retail industry forward.

With this growth, three trends are shaping the industry and will continue to do so over the next five years:

Democratization of e-commerce: E-commerce platforms are making advanced capabilities accessible to everyone. Fewer barriers for professional e-commerce, coupled with the increased popularity of social media, lead to the rise of micro brands, and as a result, the number of online merchants will grow exponentially and will lead to increased competition and higher customer acquisition costs.
Hyper personalization: Merchants’ critical necessity to increase conversion and customer repeat rate, combined with higher customer expectations, and improvements in AI will lead to shopping experiences that are tailored specifically to each customer, exposing them to the right product at the right time.
Hybrid shopping: While online shopping has continued to explode in popularity, in-store shopping is here to stay, and a new hybrid retail model is emerging.

E-commerce has proven to be a force to be reckoned with and will only drive more change within the retail industry. It’s important to keep in mind the three drivers in retail: the democratization of e-commerce and domination of social media leading to increased competition and higher buyer expectations; improvements in technologies such as AI, data processing, and mixed reality will lead to immersive and personalized shopping experiences; and advancements in logistics, supported by cloud computing connectivity, which will reduce friction between customer intent and product delivery to a minimum. These three drivers work together to create shopping experiences, both online and in-store, that will be more immersive and instantaneous than ever.

Retail competition will continue to grow and drive perfection. Nowadays, advanced e-commerce capabilities are no longer exclusive to corporate retail. Anyone who wants to build a retail brand can do so by utilizing e-commerce platforms to create a professional-looking branded online store, and establish brand recognition and awareness via social media. With the ongoing domination of social networks and democratization of online shopping, led by e-commerce platforms removing barriers for newcomers, online creators, and micro brands, the number of online merchants will continue to grow exponentially and with it competition and customer acquisition costs.

With the increased competition, customer retention and repeat buyers are becoming more important than ever. Existing customers are 50% more likely to buy from a seller again and existing customers spend an average of 31% more than new customers. The same study shows that, at the same time, it costs 6-7 times more to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one. This cost gap between new customer acquisitions and returning buyers will also continue to grow as competition rises, and with it the need to provide personalized and seamless shopping experiences. Advancements in technologies such as machine learning and augmented reality coupled with superb logistics are key components of this zero-friction, personalized shopping experience. The critical necessity to increase conversion and buyer repeat rate along with improvements in AI and data processing technologies will drive hyper-personalized shopping experiences. Online merchants will use datification and machine learning to adapt their products and services in real-time to generate personalized shopping experiences, catalogues, and even promotions for each customer to increase the likelihood of a purchase. Utilizing cloud computing connectivity and advanced logistics, content publishers, e-commerce platforms, device manufacturers, retailers, and logistics companies will collaborate to shorten the time and reduce friction between customer intent and product delivery to a minimum.

AI and AR, coupled with image and voice recognition, along with higher customer expectations for seamless shopping experiences, will continue to evolve retail. Soon, everything will be shoppable anytime, anywhere, whether it is on a screen or out there in the real world. Shoppable videos, visual search, and voice assistants will make shopping even more instantaneous. Buyers will soon be able to watch a TV scene with a character whose outfit they like or simply look at a stylish person walking down the street, and in real-time, be able to purchase the entire look – including the clothes, shoes, accessories, and even the makeup – on any of their connected screens or wearable devices after ensuring it looks perfect on them via a virtual AR fitting room, and receive it to their doorstep within a couple of hours.

Even though online shopping surged in popularity throughout the pandemic, brick-and-mortar shopping isn’t going away. Hybrid retail means combining both online and offline shopping possibilities and experiences while adding extra convenient options for shoppers. One in four consumers chooses hybrid shopping as their preferred method, and the current growing trend of shopping online and picking up in-store, or browsing in-store and completing the purchase online will continue; however, in the future, we should expect more digitalized and personalized in-store experiences. For example, shoppers will be able to walk into a local department store and enjoy virtual styling services tailored specifically for them via their AR glasses. The glasses would guide them on which shoes to match with the pants they just picked and to which aisle to go and try them on. Their glasses and voice assistants would even offer them special promotions crafted specifically for their needs.

The overall shopping experience is becoming more immersive and instantaneous than ever. The zero-friction purchase flow of seeing a piece of desired clothing, or any other good, virtually trying it out, buying it, and receiving it in real-time is just around the corner. These e-commerce trends are driving the retail industry forward into new unforeseen spaces that bring shoppers new and seamless personalised experiences both online and in-store. It’s safe to say that e-commerce has become, and will continue to be, a disruptive force in the retail industry.

Ian Scott's Trip to Paris's Retail Delights

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 08:00:30 GMT

My Trip to Paris and It's Retail Delights...

Extracted from Ian Scott's LinkedIn trip diary posts

Ian Scott - NWA Contributor

https://www.ianscott.net

Now I can immerse myself in the Paris retail scene for two days. And the whole experience will be enhanced exponentially by the generous hospitality of Chris Igwe. He has cleared his diary for the two days and has curated a tour of the wonderful and unusual of his adopted city.

While the Nike House of Innovation has been on my to do list since I visited the Shanghai store, I must say top of the list is La Samaritaine, the beautifully restored LVMH department store.

Fleux

When Chris Igwe  arranged my two day tour of Paris, he managed to find several fascinating concept stores, and Fleux proved to be one of the most interesting.

Started in 2005 by florist Gaetan Aucher and architect Luc Moulin, Fleux started as a stylish home decoration store, located on Rue Sainte Croix de la Bretonnerie in Marais. The store quickly became a popular destination for Parisians looking to add some flair to their homes.

Now in 2022, Fleux has grown to become 6 separate stores, all clustered together on the same street. Each one has a slightly different feel, curated and merchandised in a range of styles from Anthropologie to a bric-a-brac store. A sign in one of the stores sums up the product range on offer:

Design, Decoration, Lighting, Tableware, Lifestyle, Fashion Accessories, Jewellery, Nothing Too Serious

And they all work wonderfully. The level of detail in the accessorising and display is top notch. Walking around a corner you find beautiful products combined creatively in each store. I particularly like how simple items like hanging hooks and wall decorations are creatively displayed.

These stores are well worth a visit, and allow plenty of time, because there is so much to see and enjoy.

CITADIUM

CITADIUM was one of the biggest surprises on my wander around Paris last week. Yet another concept store on Chris Igwe's hit list and it proved to be fascinating.

Set over four floors, this space showcases fashion and sport brands, in what appears to be a very free reign to express themselves. A stripped out old Renault 5 is used to present 4 shoes. adidas has created an Originals logo shaped seating unit, as well as recreating the same logo on a wall using bits of old skateboards.

I have never seen Asics look so hip and cool as in this store too. Each floor introduces recognised brands in fascinating new ways. The store designers must have had a field day working on this project.

La Samaritaine

Here is a video of me rabbiting on about this amazing store, helped by Chris Igwe and his skilled questioning techniques. Many thanks to Vicki Lynn for suggesting we create this video.

Undiz

Another store from my recent Paris trip - part of the Etam group,  Undiz is a lingerie brand, targeted squarely at the Gen Z audience.

The store that Chris Igwe took me to has a large open entrance, allowing shoppers to clearly see the bright appealing interior. The front area of the store has fairly traditional black metal framework to display products, although there is also a liberal use of clear acrylic panels above units, with a striking boob graphic.

This boob graphic becomes a major feature further back in the store, with the rear area having boob carpet - not sure that's how the brand describes it....

More boobs cover the walls and ceiling, creating a surreal but not unappealing effect, because the graphic is subtle enough to be just a design feature.

Another striking feature is the yellow stairwell, with its yellow wall and ironic yellow messaging. I assumed this yellow is the corporate colour, but Chris assured me it wasn't. I like the contrast with the monochromatic store interior.

Overall, this is a striking and memorable store, perfectly pitched to it's youthful target audience. I would love to see more of their stores to see how some of these features are replicated.

STATION F

Chris Igwe started me off at this incredible innovation centre at the start of our second day in Paris. STATION F is the world's largest start up campus.

Housing 1,000 start up businesses, the 34,000sqm space is vast and runs 600 start up programmes. A large number of international businesses invest in the programmes, many of which are targeted at female entrepreneurs.

Further support for the businesses is Flatmates, a flexible, affordable housing development that offers accommodation for up to 600 entrepreneurs, located nearby.

It costs an exorbitant amount of money to tour the work area, so Chris and I focused on Felicita, the huge eat and work space at the south end of the vast structure. There are several cafes and restaurants offering a wide range of food and drink.

There is a huge array of flora and fauna throughout the space, offering relaxing areas to sit, eat, chat and work. I was pleased to see USB charging ports where we enjoyed a coffee, having brought a Chinese plus adaptor for the trip, rather than a European one. I managed to squeeze a bit of juice back into my phone, ready for the days photographing. I am such a hardened international traveller...

There is a raised mezzanine area offering further workspace, and fabulous views across the whole space.

Finally, Chris told me I had to visit the toilets. Rather than being concerned for my bladder, he wanted me to experience the eclectic washroom concept. Starting with the best toilet sign I have ever seen, I was treated to cubicles with individual designs. One with deer heads and a rotating warning light. The second had a clear tubular cistern, allowing you to watch like a little kid as it empties and then refills. Cheap thrills.

Station F is a huge venture, in a huge building. It is mightily impressive as a statement about supporting and nurturing start ups, with vast resources, corporate sponsorship and resources to help entrepreneurs focus on developing their ideas.

UNIQLO

Next we are off to visit the Uniqlo store in Marais, Paris. I thought I had seen everything  UNIQLO  had to offer, until I saw how they have developed this stunning space.

The store was originally a forge, and much of the character and history of the building has been thoughtfully embraced.

The entrance is an innocuous if stylish Parisian façade, into which you transition through a courtyard type space. After this the true majesty of the space opens up before you, and it's breath-taking.

The main space is a vast open space with a mezzanine walk around above. The focal point is a vast red chimney that rises from the rear of the store and pierces the skylight. The effect is immense, the natural light and impact of the industrial origins combine for a breath-taking experience.

The Uniqlo products have been thoughtfully presented, merging with the architecture in a way I haven't seen in their other stores.

The history of the original forge is acknowledged with two glass fronted rooms that contain some of the original foundry equipment and information about the building's history.

This is one of those delightful surprises you stumble across when wandering around a large city - or in my case, a must see on the wonderfully curated tour list from my host  Chris Igwe.

Louis Vuitton  experience

The very last store Chris Igwe took me to on Friday was this Louis Vuitton experience, on the Champs Elysee. And what a sign off it was for the two-day trip.

I gather it is a pre-launch promotion for a new range, and the creatives were given free reign to go bonkers, in the most wonderful way.

The white mannequins used some fabulous poses - check out the young man copying one pose... Interestingly, Chris noted that all of the mannequins are either Asian of Afro-Caribbean. The pale blue carpet is a brave choice, I dread to think what it might look like on a rainy day.

Set over two floors, the surreal experience translates into more conventional retail areas in the basement space.

A fabulous way to create some noise for a brand well know for bold retail displays.

With huge thanks to Ian Scott, NWA Contributor

Extracted from Ian Scott's LinkedIn trip diary posts

https://www.ianscott.net

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-scott-0534694/recent-activity/shares/

What is World Product Day?

Mon, 18 Jul 2022 13:00:19 GMT

What is World Product Day?

NWA are excited to follow the events of World Product Day which returns tomorrow on 19th July 2022, and this year Mind The Product are celebrating “Product firsts”! They want to help those who are taking their first steps, whether into a new leadership role, a new industry, or simply starting their first job as a product manager.

They will be spending the day hosting discussions about “Product firsts” on all of their social media platforms, as well as hosting multiple ProductTank events from around the world.

They want to hear from you on World Product Day! Here are just a few of the things happening on 19 July:

Product discussions on Mind the Product’s social channels

They will be all over their social channels, celebrating the craft of product management and product growth. They want to hear how you first got into product management – and there are bonus points if you have pictures! They'll be recollecting insights, stories, and lessons learned from our experiences to help those of us starting out in Product. Be sure to follow their social channels and get involved in these discussions (don’t forget to use

#WorldProductDay so they can find your posts):

More info about what is available on social media channels can be found here .

A full day of ProductTank events from around the world

That’s right, it wouldn’t be a World Product Day without ProductTank! This year, you can finally go out and experience some of these events in person as well as stream them digitally! One of the best ways to grow as a product person is to find your tribe and get stuck into some product therapy. You will be in a room full of people that not only understands what a product manager does, but you will be able to find and contribute to your local product support network.

To find your local ProductTank meetup click here .

The return of the ProductTank awards!

Speaking of ProductTank, Mind the Product are bringing back the ProductTank awards, which debuted last year on World Product Day. All of their ProductTank organisers are volunteers and are dedicated to improving the product community in their city, and each of them do an incredible job getting people excited about the craft of product. If you have attended a ProductTank event in 2021 and heard an incredible talk, or met an amazing speaker, please vote in the ProductTank awards .

A wealth of product content

Mind the Product will be highlighting useful content for new product people and people starting in leadership roles, including their “How I got my job in Product” series. If you would like to include your story in this series, please complete this form .

Gather with your team to celebrate

World Product Day doesn’t have to be a solo event – take 30 minutes, get together with your team, and discuss how each of you have improved since you first started in Product. Look at your journeys, and any lessons you’ve learned along the way. It’s a great way to learn from each other. And of course, share your selfies with us using #WorldProductDay!

About World Product Day

In short, World Product Day is an annual celebration of all things Product. It began in 2018 when Mind the Product celebrated the eight-year anniversary of the first ever ProductTank meetup. ProductTanks in 90 cities across 43 countries took part, and they all had fun highlighting the craft of product management with their communities. All those talks from all those cities really emphasised the different perspectives that different cultures bring to the craft of product management. It was a no brainer – the anniversary event became an annual event. Today, World Product Day brings people together to celebrate, connect, and learn.

Celebrate

All work and no play? No thanks. This day is a celebration of all things Product – what product people do, how they do it, and who they do it with.

Connect

Product management can be a lonely job, but World Product Day serves as a reminder that you are not alone. There’s a backlog of product people around the world facing the same challenges as you on this day, now you can come together to share insights and hone the craft.

Learn

At Mind the Product, their mission is to help product people to become more successful by pushing forward the craft. As an incredible day of product learning, World Product Day helps this happen.

World Product Day will be an exciting 24 hours, where you can all discuss what you love about Product with people from around the world! We can’t wait to see how you will be celebrating on 19 July.

Full details and article can be found on Mind the Product website.

Captivating and Embracing Professionals in A Post-Pandemic World

Wed, 09 Mar 2022 20:25:30 GMT

Covid has accelerated the demand for continual development and learning and development teams must now look at how they can prioritise growth in order to retain talent, says Nicola Amiss.

The post-Covid world seems to be a concept on everyone’s minds as we start to emerge from our pandemic-induced bunkers. In this respect, one thing is certain, we are still in a time of momentous change. This does, however, bring certain pressures to bear upon businesses that are having to adapt at ever-increasing speeds to a different world.Changes in ways of working, how products and services are sold and underlying consumer values have come about as a result of the pandemic. For learning and development (L&D) departments and people developers everywhere, this means an accelerated demand for lifelong learning. 

The shift to lifelong learning was happening anyway, but the pandemic has sped it up massively. A generational shift has certainly been a part of that, with the younger generation likely to move frequently rather than going into a ‘career’ job for life. With these changes, they expect (and demand) varied and continual learning experiences. This, coupled with the pandemic pressures, has resulted in a need to not only continue to learn new things, but doing so at an ever-greater pace. 

Gone are the days of qualifying to do a job for life and only tinkering around the edges of existing competencies.

The lifelong learning manifesto

The concept of lifelong learning has existed in the world of education for a long time. This was spurred on by the development of iconic institutions like the Open University and the University of the Third Age (u3a) in the late 60s and 70s, which came about in response to a democratisation of knowledge and skills. 

But lifelong learning has gone mainstream in the last decade – career models have fragmented, easy access to low/ no-cost online learning has become the norm, and the desire to cultivate a growth mindset has increasingly gripped school age students, early career professionals, returnees to the workplace and more mature learners alike. 

In part, this also acknowledges that the pace of technological innovation and the cross-functional nature of roles means line managers must often coach across domains they may not be technical experts in and that for the learner, approaching how they learn is as important as what they learn. 

Organisations especially recognise continual development as a way of gaining a market advantage and maintaining relevance in an increasingly competitive world. Data shows that cultivating a learning culture generates engagement, helps to retain talent and boosts productivity. 

The future has arrived

An organisation’s five or ten-year plan in 2019 will look drastically different to their plan today, and that’s a direct result of the pandemic. It has caused individuals, teams and whole organisations to pivot their business-as-usual model into a much more responsive and agile approach.

For many, it has increased the speed with which certain projects need to be moved forward. If you work in the retail industry, for example, all of a sudden, online delivery is no longer “simply nice to have”. Companies don’t have three to five years to get to grips with going online. The future is very much now (and sometimes feels like yesterday). 

It’s a brutal equation – there is more to know and do in a lot less time. In this context, months-long learning and development timelines become increasingly redundant. Instead, organisations need to equip employees to learn fast and become architects of their own learning, with a little help.

The ‘quaran-teen’ generation forging a new path

It is predicted that the biggest wave of lifelong learning is still to come. Our institutions of learning, our education system and the way we support people going into work have also seen a huge change throughout the pandemic – the next generation of employees will view lifelong learning as the default.

This generation has grown up in an ultra-fast-paced, ever-changing world, and will arrive in the workplace with the expectation of having to adapt quickly and continually. While they embrace and prize the virtues of self-responsibility and autonomy, they also increasingly expect their chosen workplace to be as serious about their personal and professional growth as they are. 

Therefore, any organisation which seeks to attract and retain the brightest talents, with the greatest learning agility and growth mindset, need to make good on their promise to enable ambitions of perennial growth, or risk losing such talent to those competitors that will. 

There is no better demonstration of fast-paced, constantly evolving social learning than what goes on every second of every day on the web. The learning industry has sought to mirror the best of the web in surfacing personalised content quickly and easily and going social wherever possible. And much of this has been enabled by a revolution in data analytics and digitisation, only made possible by the application of AI. 

All this is positive and frankly timely; the ability to learn continually is a prerequisite of the post-Covid world. The sooner organisations catch up, the better. For those that commit to that challenge, the prize is significant – to be at the forefront of the post-pandemic revolution in employee and customer experience. 

Nicola Amiss is client director at Capita Learning. People Management .

ISO 45003: A new approach to (mental) health and safety, in 5 powerful steps

Tue, 15 Feb 2022 12:54:32 GMT

The pandemic, plus new ISO guidelines, is sparking a global rethink of employee wellbeing. Want to deliver lasting change at your organisation? Then read on.

Here we will lay out the strategic tips that will help get you there.

What is ISO 45003, and why does it matter?

It’s a best practice bible for occupational health and safety. Drafted by a team of workplace experts, the framework outlines a bold (some would say belated) new world – one that covers not just physical factors, but mental ones too.

These ‘psychosocial risks’ are super broad. Inside the three main buckets – how work is organised, working environment, and social factors – there are endless individual stressors. Some are low-key (think dim lighting), and others obvious (like bullying or violence).

Evidence backs up the need for ISO 45003. Recent HSE data found the two biggest spikes in mental health-related absence come from increased workload and lack of managerial support – psychosocial risks by anyone’s measure. There’s also the wider, annual bill for poor mental health at work: £45 billion.

A whole-organisation approach to safety

Psychologically safe workplaces aren’t for sale. While minimising psychosocial risks will require money, this also needs time, and genuinely involve every employee – from the shop floor to the boardroom.

Done well, this provides a whole-organisation approach to health and safety. The sort that spreads to every inch of the business, and creates something that’s at once powerful and priceless: a psychologically safe culture. One where employee wellbeing, both physical and mental, is hard-wired.

Achieving this isn’t easy. And goes way beyond just cut-and-pasting ISO tips into company literature. But it can be done.

To get you started, below you’ll find five must-haves for a mentally healthy workplace culture.

Five strategic musts for a psychologically safe workplace

1. A whole-person, whole-organisation approach

ISO 45003 is clear: “The successful management of psychosocial risk calls for a commitment throughout the organisation.”

Though the standard notes company leaders bear the most responsibility from the start, it takes a whole organisation to ensure psychological safety.

The guidelines drill into each step in detail – such as launching a new occupational health and safety (OH&S) policy, how to consult and include workers, and the actions needed to prevent any risks you’ve spotted.

Daisy Abbott, Unmind’s Head of Client Solution, takes this further. To make a whole-organisation strategy stick, you’ve got to stitch this into your culture.

“Culture isn’t simply decided by the board and rolled out,” Daisy says, “it’s a company-wide experience and therefore we should take a similarly company-wide approach to addressing it."

2. A focus on measurement and data-driven outcomes

The ISO framework’s no fan of fuzziness. It urges organisations to “establish and implement a systematic approach for monitoring and measuring activities related to managing psychosocial risk and the performance of the OH&S management system.”

Put another way – don’t let psychological safety become a game of opinions; prove it with facts. We agree, of course. A favourite line at Unmind is ‘If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it’.

“Key to addressing psychosocial risk is first assessment, then effective intervention,” says Daisy. “This could be at the personal level (say, the Unmind Index) or at the organisational level (a workplace index).”

3. Personalising wellbeing programmes to reach every employee

The 45003 guidelines have a whole section devoted to ‘Support’, and within this is the recommendation to “take into account the needs, experience, language skills, literacy and diversity of individual workers.”

It’s true, but we’d suggest going beyond this, and getting personal. Daisy: “Support needs to be relevant to wherever an employee’s at with their mental health.

“Not everybody needs to work on sleep, not everyone suffers from anxiety. Personalised interventions provide companies a tailored and adaptable way to manage psychosocial risk, avoiding a blanket approach to wellbeing."

It’s this bespoke approach (don’t forget – whole-person, whole-organisation) that can nudge a company towards lasting change. Why? Because you’re empowering staff to engage with your wellbeing programme in a way that works for them. And if it works for them, they’re more likely to engage with it. Obvious, right?

4. Leading early, with empathy

Psychological safety starts at the top. Yes, it flows to every staffer – and real change requires top-down and bottom-up effort – but without committed leadership, it’s over before it begins.

ISO 45003 spells out 11 recommendations for business leaders – encouraging things like open communication, proper resources and worker protection. One thing we’d add to this list is empathy. And there’s maybe no better way to foster this than expert-led learning.

"People Managers are highlighted in the ISO as a key variable to address, but today most approaches fall short,” says Daisy. “Traditional classroom-based training isn’t fit for the hybrid world of work and point in time learnings are forgotten months later.

“Training for people managers should be proactive, scalable, expert-led and evergreen – to account for the ever-changing needs of the workforce, and continually evolving conversation around mental health."

5. Championing psychological safety

The ISO standard points out every company “should establish, provide and maintain the resources needed to achieve its objectives with respect to the management of psychosocial risk.”

While 45003 doesn't name-check wellbeing champions specifically, we’d say there’s no better way to spread the word about psychological safety than with these in-house influencers.

Daisy says: "When thinking about creating psychosocially safe environments, champions can play an integral role.” It’s true – in a recent Unmind survey of 1,500 HR leaders, 8 in 10 said wellbeing champions will play an important role in 2022.

When you roll out a psychological safety strategy, it’s these internal advocates who’ll brandish the baton for cultural change. Wellbeing champions help colleagues understand what mental health is (and isn’t), what the organisation offers to nurture employee wellbeing, and serve as a friendly (un-corporate) face to signpost towards expert help.

The first line of defence against psychosocial hazards, any organisation that wants to successfully apply the ISO standard – or a wider culture of psychological safety – would be smart to empower wellbeing champions to lead the way.

Getting started with your ISO 45003 strategy:

Apply a whole-person, whole-organisation approach to wellbeing at work.
Measure and manage mental health within your organisation.
Offer the right support, at the right time, for every employee.
Train managers in empathetic leadership to create psychological safety.
Build a network of wellbeing champions to ensure lasting change.

Need more info, advice or support on ISO 45003? Keen to roll out an employee wellbeing strategy at your organisation? Or want to learn how Unmind can help you understand, nurture and celebrate mental health at work? Then book a chat with an Unminder today. They would love to talk you through all this and more.

Written by Sam Musguin-Rowe of Unmind

From: https://blog.unmind.com/iso-45003-blog-series-part-three

5 Retail & Consumer Products Trends to Watch in 2022

Wed, 19 Jan 2022 12:54:30 GMT

5 Retail & Consumer Products Trends to Watch in 2022

Retail struggling!? Not quite in 2021 according to IHL Group. US Retail growth in 2021 through November was $831 billion. The growth for November alone was $91 billion. Total retail growth year to year is 18.2% and that is a $5.5 trillion market growing at 18.2% for the year. Even taking out c-stores and gas stations, the growth was 16.5%. And growth is accelerating.

What about the consumer-packaged goods (CPG) industry? The pandemic was a game-changer for CPG in 2020. According to BCG, following a modest 1.8% compound annual growth rate from 2016 through 2019, the industry grew last year by an impressive 10.4%. Large and midsize companies saw revenue gains of 7.5% and 9.5%, respectively. Small companies excelled with 15.4% growth, while extra-small companies fared even better, averaging an 18.3% revenue increase across the board. Private-label brands grew by 11.9%, and they gained market share, though at a lower rate than in years past. These trends continued in 2021.

Store closures have been a theme for years, but 2021 may turn out to be the year that trend finally changed. Store openings are on pace to surpass announced store closings for the first time in five years, according to Coresight Research.

Looking to 2022, here are five retail and consumer products trends to watch!

#1 Shifts in Channel Demand

As has been well documented, the pandemic accelerated technology investments for both retailers and consumer products companies as each was forced to “find” a way to meet consumer/shopper demand outside the traditional store. For retail, the omnichannel concept moved from cool buzzword to reality for most traditional retailers in the last 4-5 years so were relatively prepared from a channel perspective. Most had never had to close stores or use stores as shipping warehouses and for many traditional retailers, the ecommerce channel grew separate from the traditional retail POS channel fueling operational challenges during the pandemic.

Many digital-native ecommerce retailers were positioned to quickly take on additional demand. What most were not prepared for was the scale, scope, and demand for personalization capabilities, new analytics views and insights, and supporting infrastructure to handle excessive volume and demand shifts. Also, for many in the grocery sub-segment, technology investments in ecommerce were behind those of traditional retail – and were forced to quickly accelerate as well as leverage partners like Doordash, Shipt, and Instacart.

What about CPG? In 2021, direct-to-consumer investments were top of mind allowing CPG brands to market to and sell directly to consumers. From a P&L standpoint, many CPGs don’t find their DTC channel to be highly profitable (e.g., the cost to ship a two-liter of diet soda vs. revenue from the sale). This dilemma usually occurs because the brand hasn’t designed products specifically for the ecommerce channel. Instead, they sell existing retail channel products in the DTC channel, and high packaging and shipping costs erode margins. In 2021, the DTC interest decreased, or shifted, back to a hybrid of in-store and online/ecommerce and forced many CPG brands to reconsider the costs of handling small quantities to meet DTC demands. Investment in ecommerce increased as CPG brands continued to look for new channels to drive volume.

In 2022, count on increased CPG investment in ecommerce, personalization, service (e.g. customer contact center), and new technology to support channel go-to-market logistics. For retail, expect retailers to accelerate investment in harmonizing disconnected operational systems, customer experience (linking online and in-store), and omnichannel fulfillment as shopping across various channels continues to grow and evolve.

#2 Shifting Consumption Occasions

With many employees working from home and more employers embracing hybrid work models, breakfast and lunch are becoming important innovation battlegrounds for CPG and grocery retail as highlighted recently by Nestle. Building on this idea, a report from Acosta found that 47% of adults have eaten breakfast and lunch at home every day since the pandemic began, compared to 37% for breakfast and 26% for lunch pre-COVID. As a result, consumers are looking for greater at-home breakfast and lunch options. Also, remote work is “stirring up” coffee routines, powering an interest in at-home coffee products and experiences; also a new set of retail products for grocery in the self-service coffee category.

What about snacking?! According to a report from The Hartman Group, more than 35% of consumers report snacking more often now than one year ago, with snacking occasions accounting for 48% of all food and beverage occasions.

And for many younger consumers, they are looking for plant-based, dairy-free, better-for-you options – at home.

If you consider the consumer “schedule” shifts in breakfast, lunch and snacking, retailers must be prepared to offer products to meet these growing consumer occasions by setting the store to appeal to the shopper looking for these products (including rack placement, merchandise planning, bundling, advertising, shifting space away from traditional brand laggards, and promoting on shelf).

In addition, CPG brands must shift as related to price, package, and even core product to meet these demands (in addition to traditional shopping patterns). With these shifts, there are new occasion sizes and formats (e.g. bundles, grab-and-go, deli buy-withs, and impulse). These trends are opening the door to new food and beverage brands that are digital natives and focused on these consumption occasions as consumers are eager to test/sample and find new brands (e.g. oat milk, dairy-free creamer, cauliflower pizza, etc). In some ways, these entrants are creating new food and beverage categories. Expect M&A to pick up in CPG in the next 12-18 months as legacy brands look for new growth through these new category entrants.

#3 AI in Retail and CPG

A Juniper Research study found that investments in artificial intelligence (AI) in the retail sector are growing with each passing year, so much so that global retail spending on technology will reach $7.3 billion annually by 2022. It’s easy to see those investments trending upward during this year as retail businesses accelerate their AI implementations to catch up with new consumer habits. AI can be used for predictive analytics and allows retailers to offer customized experiences both online and in-store. AI can help with data analysis to better understand customers and provide the experiences retail clients are now demanding. Furthermore, in retail, AI is driving new methods of inventory optimization, workforce management, planogramming. and price compliance.

On the CPG side, AI is out of the lab and being used by CPGs to enhance consumer experiences, media buying, forecasting, and smart products. AI works by combining large amounts of data and computing power to automatically learn patterns and solve otherwise intractable problems like image recognition. AI allows CPG manufacturers to manage contract compliance, convert in-store shelf images into data and insights, enable category planning, and price/package/promotion execution. Other examples of where you can expect to see AI investments in 2021 include product/content recommendations, fraud in e-commerce, ad creation/programmatic, contact center (chatbots, transcoding, translation), document analysis and search, demand forecasting, inventory optimization, predictive maintenance, and manufacturing defect detection.

#4 Supply Chain and Operational Resilience

When you read “supply chain,” depending on whether you are a retailer or CPG manufacturer, and depending on your role in the organization, your definition of the supply chain problem, operational resilience opportunity, or digital enablement capability will differ.

Regardless of your role, supply chain is in focus for both retailers and CPG manufacturers. In fact, in 2021, digital supply chain and manufacturing capabilities are the top solution priority for the vast majority of worldwide customers I work with followed closely by ecommerce, and analytics (including AI/ML).

Areas of focus for 2022 for both retail and CPG include new forecasting methods leveraging additional data types and advanced analytics, leveraging Internet of Things (IoT) in store, on shelf, and around the store; and on the manufacturing side in consumer products, manufacturing facilities, warehouses, and distribution centers. 5G will indirectly influence both industries with greater adoption of IoT. These always-connected sensors relay huge amounts of information, which can be processed, analyzed, and used to develop better processes, products, in-store inventory, and customer engagement.

Expect continued system and technology investment in this space – from big tech and small niche boutique tech providers in 2022 — and look for new industry opportunities for data sharing and collaboration between CPG manufacturer and retailer. This collaboration will enable better planning, improve forecasting, facilitate trade program execution and compliance, enable better in-stock conditions, improve communication between retailer and CPG manufacturer, and bring new innovation faster to the digital or physical shelf.

#5 Sustainability

According to the 2019 UNGC-Accenture CEO study , 99% of CEOs from large companies think sustainability issues are important to the future success of their business. Thus, retail and CPG companies are setting (and most have already set) their own sustainability strategies. Sustainability is also important to company employees, 86% of whom say they will more likely work for a company that stands up for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues.

So where does sustainability fit into the concept of ethical commerce in retail and CPG? To define ethical commerce, we need to look at the history and variety of terms used. The four key concepts are corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainability, fair trade, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG). The first response to business ethics was CSR, a self-regulating business model designed to be socially accountable to stakeholders. CSR often resembles philanthropy, giving to worthy causes on a large scale.

Sustainability focuses on meeting the needs of the present without compromising future generations’ needs. However, the term sustainability is often attributed to environmental issues.

Another concept is fair trade which helps producers in developing countries receive a fair price for their products. The goals of fair trade are to reduce poverty, treat workers ethically, and promote environmentally sustainable practices; however, the term is often used to describe social, or human rights, issues.

ESG is an evolution of CSR with a metrics-driven set of standards. Environmental criteria protect the natural world; social criteria protect employees, suppliers, customers, and communities where the company operates; and governance includes company leadership, executive pay, audits, internal controls, and shareholder rights. A Harvard study shows that companies achieve the highest stock returns when they focus on material ESG issues, defined as industry relevant and directly related to operational and financial performance. ESG is not a philanthropic effort of “doing good” with leftover profits but a metrics-driven approach with long-term business strategies, or “doing well by doing good.” For retail and CPG, ethical commerce is a practice that focuses on both environmental and social issues directly related to operational and financial performances.

Demand increases for enterprises through earning consumer preference by achieving ethical commerce goals. Research shows a correlation between ethical commerce and financial performance. A Harvard study found that firms that adopted ethical commerce policies earlier than their peers outperformed over the long-term in the stock market (23% higher stock price over 17 years). Enhanced ethical commerce performance often leads to better financial resources, higher-performing employees, better marketing of products, and reduced consumer price sensitivity. Additionally, costs are reduced through positive factors such as innovation, waste reduction, economies of scale, and qualification for government credits or tax benefits.

For example, a Harvard study on pollution reduction attributed the link between environmental and financial performance to future cost savings by increasing efficiency, reducing compliance costs, and minimizing future liabilities.

Companies that are not taking an aggressive ethical commerce approach will continue to face more significant risks. Research from the Journal of Applied Corporate Finance says, “companies with a weak ESG proposition saw double-digit declines in market capitalization in the days and weeks after missteps came to light.” Companies that do not have a strong ethical commerce stance face the risk of new costs and constraints, such as emissions or single-use plastic regulations, and will have to catch up.

In summary, incorporating ethical commerce has become table stakes and successful retail and CPG companies moving forward will need strong ethical commerce strategies in 2022.

Written by Justin Honaman is Head, Worldwide Consumer Products at Amazon Web Services, jhhonama@amazon.com .

5 Reasons Why Talent Pipelining is a Win for You and Your Company

Tue, 28 Dec 2021 12:54:27 GMT

5 Reasons Why Talent Pipelining is a Win for You and Your Company

“Taking Intelligent Risks” is...valuable advice for anyone in the talent acquisition space. When you hire someone it’s kind of a leap of faith (a risk) regardless of the rigor of your interview process.

As recruiters, our role is to help put “intelligent” in front of those risks when making hiring decisions. Talent pipelining is one way to do this.

What is talent pipelining?

Talent pipelining – or as I like to call it, “relationship recruiting” – is building long-term professional relationships with passive talent for future opportunities. This means getting to know the talent landscape, the actual people, regardless of whether or not they are looking to make a career change immediately.

Developing a talent pipeline requires a shift from reactive recruiting to proactive recruiting. Your mindset should switch from recruiting to fill an open position to thinking about who your company will want and should hire in the future. Talent pipelining isn’t a short term strategy and takes time to develop and nurture, but in the long term the benefits worth the investment.
What are the benefits of talent pipelining?

1. It allows the recruiter to be a consulting business partner vs a req filler:

To be successful at pipelining, the recruiter needs to do a deep dive into the company’s business and the industry. You must understand your company’s long term plans, current talent in the organization and potential talent gaps. The recruiter must also quickly come up to speed on the competitive landscape, understand who the key players are, and follow the trends in your market. Having this strong industry knowledge, will allow you to engage in more meaningful conversations with the business to help make smart hiring decisions and also gain respect and trust from the talent in the industry.

2. It can open up a flow of quality candidate referrals, eliminating the need for cold calls:

As you start to develop relationships with people in the industry, they will often feel comfortable referring your way co-workers or other professionals that have great potential and experience. This way your talent pipeline itself becomes a source of trusted referrals and warm introductions - cold calls and getting past the gatekeeper might even become a thing of the past.

3. It shortens the time-to-fill for open positions:

Talent pipelining allows you to be two steps ahead in the hiring process and saves time in actively sourcing and narrowing down the ideal candidate profile. This gives the recruiter valuable time to develop a customized strategy to attract and hire key individuals. You will already know the talent and what is important to them in order to consider making a career move.

It also allows the recruiter to better influence strategic hiring decisions for your business by educating the hiring managers on the talent landscape. This will help boost the hiring manager’s confidence that they are making an intelligent hire vs. cycling through many candidates to try to figure out who is the best available candidate.

4. It allows you to measure culture fit, long before the candidate’s first interview:

Even the best talent won’t be successful in the long term if they don’t click with the company’s culture and values. By getting to know the talent in advance, you have more time to gain deeper insight into their personalities and helps you confidently detect how the candidates will fit culturally vs. just how strong an interviewer they may be.

5. The candidates also see big benefits from pipelining:

Developing relationships with the recruiter is a benefit to the candidate as well. Often times, individuals that are top performers and those passionate about their work, don’t have time to look for new opportunities.

Having trusted recruiter relationships gives the individual a career advisor, and ensures there is someone keeping them in mind when it’s time for the next career move. Having an open conversation with a recruiter, also gives the candidate a better view into the company and ensures they are taking an intelligent risk when considering their future. Last but not least, thanks to talent pipelining the candidate knows who to reach out to when they are ready to explore opportunities.

I have to admit, that pipeline /relationship recruiting is some of the most fun and rewarding recruiting I have done in my career. The bottom line is this: relationships matter! This person may or may not join your company; regardless it is worth the investment and can often be a connection point to your next hire and that is an intelligent risk worth taking.

Written by Heather Parrot - Executive recruiting @ Slack and taken from the article '5 Reasons Why Talent Pipelining is a Win for You and Your Company' on the LinkedIn Talent Blog.

A New Year’s Resolution For 2022: Deploying Your Skills To Lead Through Change

Mon, 13 Dec 2021 12:54:24 GMT

A New Year’s Resolution For 2022: Deploying Your Skills To Lead Through Change

“Change is no longer a project with a defined start and end. It is continuous, and accelerating … Being able to lead through change is no longer an optional skill.”

I wrote those words in early 2019 in an article called “ Change Is Changing .” That article focused on the ways traditional change management approaches need to evolve to match a world of ever-increasing and faster change.

Then came the Covid-19 pandemic and a level of simultaneous change that was previously unimaginable.

Leading through the pandemic has been hard, exhausting, and sometimes terribly sad. But executives are entering 2022 with a fortified tool kit of experiences, starting with the ability to measure—and increase—their organization’s capacity to change.

The power to change

I’ve spent much of the last two years studying companies that are exceptionally good at managing change and what sets them apart. With Kevin Murphy and our colleagues at Bain & Company, I’ve learned that an organization’s “ Change Power ” is comprised of nine different elements: three leadership elements ( purpose , connection , and direction ), three organizational elements (development, flexibility, and action), and three teaming elements (choreography, scaling, and capacity ).

Our research across multiple industries and geographies suggests that each company seems to have its own distinct balance of the nine factors. When it comes to their overall power to change, however, they typically fit one of four archetypes.

Which of these sounds like your company?

In search of focus (37% of companies). This was by far the most common archetype. With great energy and constant innovation, staff can take on a lot, but, similar to young children playing soccer, everyone seems to be chasing the ball. These companies lack direction, purpose, and connection. Their leaders need to focus on the big picture, connecting company activities to purpose and strategy, and prioritize, saying no to some good initiatives in order to stay focused on the best.

Aligned but constrained (24% of companies). This group works well as a unit in lockstep, yet often lacks the people needed to manage greater amounts of change and disruption. That leaves them feeling as if they’re running a race in the mud, struggling with capacity, development, and connection. These organizations need to identify and address their capacity bottlenecks, reorder their priorities, and add resources where most needed.

Stuck and skeptical (20% of companies). Companies that fit this archetype have good ideas and a history of success, but too much of their change gets stuck at the local level. They are weak in scaling, action, and connection, and they are unable to spread innovation across the organization. That leaves their people impatient, skeptical, and even at times a bit hopeless. Moving forward will depend on reigniting the enthusiasm of teammates and convincing them that success is possible.

Struggling to keep up (19% of companies). This group is similar to a team of cyclists in the Tour de France, battling a grueling race with many stages. They’re great athletes with a single-minded focus and an action orientation, and they have delivered results. But as the race wears on, fatigue sets in, and their weakness in flexibility, choreography, and scaling becomes a liability. Companies in this category need to better anticipate what’s around the corner and change their plans accordingly, evaluating whether their strategic direction is still the right one.

Purpose for the long term

Of all the elements of change, purpose may have been the hottest topic of conversation among executives this year. In an article titled “ How To Build a Corporate Purpose That Will Help Navigate Change ,” I highlighted a survey Bain had done of nearly 1,000 people around the world. Conducted during the early months of the pandemic, the study found that, among employees whose satisfaction with their company had increased during the crisis, 86% said their employer has a purpose that its people are passionate about and find meaningful.

At its core, purpose is the reason a company exists―the thing that gives meaning to employees’ everyday work. It’s important that it support the CEO’s vision and strategy, but it is a notion that is best considered over the long term, far beyond the retirement date of today’s leadership team. The pandemic has given leaders the opportunity to reignite their corporate purpose by studying what the organization has learned about itself during recent crises. What brought employees together, made them proud of their organization, and deepened their engagement?

A clear purpose is critical to making change that lasts. As change becomes more pervasive and companies’ employee bases more diverse, there’s a strong need for a unifying anchor that provides context and focus. Purpose creates an important sense of belonging and attachment. It’s not a slogan, but rather the thing that defines and guides action. During periods of crisis, purpose proves its worth, but it’s a competitive advantage whatever the business cycle.

Thriving in the new hybrid world

Hands down, one of the greatest changes leaders have had to navigate this year is the revolution in how we work. From Zoom fatigue to the “new normal,” Covid-19 seems to have accelerated a decade of behaviour change into one year.

While we miss one another and the deeper, more substantial interpersonal connection and impromptu interactions of in-person gatherings, virtual formats have their own advantages. The greatest is the ability to scale the number of participants, no matter their location, at incredibly low cost and minimal carbon footprint. The less obvious advantages include the ability to customize experiences for subgroups of participants, to gather and analyze data in real time, and to create together in large groups. If you want your top 1,000 people across the globe to jointly refresh your company’s mission, values, or purpose, the right virtual design can make that not only possible, but fairly easy.

Like the centre of a Venn diagram, hybrid work seeks to bridge the virtual and physical environments and capture the best of each. The conversations and content that benefit most from nonverbal communication and eye contact can be executed in person, and the material suited to the scale, transparency, and visibility of virtual interaction can be covered via Miro, Trello, Zoom, etc.

As you think forward into 2022, whether setting up regular leadership meetings , scheduling steering committee sessions, or planning bigger events or workshops, hitting the proper hybrid balance starts with asking the four Ws.

Why: Why are we gathering? What is the purpose?

Who: Who are the participants, and what are we trying to achieve with them? Think of this as casting. External parties, facilitators, your own front line—almost anyone can parachute in virtually from anywhere in the world.

What: Which of the many virtual tools we’ve tried over the past year could help us meet our goals? Where can we benefit from in-person interaction, and where can we benefit from virtual?

How: How can virtual and in-person intersect, and for which participants? What new possibilities are opening up?

For a much deeper dive into the new ways of working and the future of work, please see this trio of articles:

What Meetings Will Look Like In The Future
Building The Executive Meeting Of Your Dreams
Connecting The Disconnected: Overcoming The Hybrid Work Dilemma

In with the new

December is a time of reflection. A moment to sit back and look at what went well in the year before, what could have gone better, and how this insight can help us kick off a successful new year. Covid-19’s economic and societal jolt has ignited a rethinking of many of our traditional assumptions about work and leadership. It’s also given us an amazing opportunity to reach new levels of leadership.

I’m looking forward to finding out what changes 2022 has in store.

David Michels

Writing as a contributor in Forbes

Seven things bosses should do to make brilliant staff stay

Mon, 15 Nov 2021 12:54:26 GMT

When “retention” becomes a buzzword, you know something has shifted in the world of work. You hear a lot about retention – and its shiny cousin “incentivisation” – at the moment, often coupled with the word “talent”...

...But the UK staffing crisis is deepening: more than a quarter of firms surveyed last month said a lack of staff was affecting their ability to operate. ....This new economic landscape, for all its real horrors, offers scope to do things differently. Employers need us; although we still require food, shelter, wifi and Netflix (the 2021 pyramid of needs), we seem to have entered a period of existential reckoning about the role of work in our lives. The Chinese protest movement against a frenetic working culture that treats employees as expendable, profit-maximising units, is becoming a reasoned philosophy and gathering momentum.

Of course, the thing about [potential employees] not caring quite so much is that it is the perfect negotiating position. For once, we have an opportunity to exercise our bargaining power, so what do we want? Justice, yes, but here are some more specific suggestions.

The basics

Unless and until all employers are prepared to pay workers a living wage, ensure working conditions are safe and healthy and hours are humane, there is no point in forming focus groups to discuss whether employees would prefer subsidised sandwiches or meditation classes. Newsflash: they would prefer work to provide them with enough money, and enough free time, to live. This applies across the employment spectrum. A Goldman Sachs internal survey from February painted a damning picture of analysts working absurd hours to the detriment of their physical and mental health.

Be flexible (don’t just say you are)

A survey by the Trades Union Congress revealed last month that 50% of mothers who had requested flexible working had been at least partly refused. That is half of those asking for the ability to meet their caring responsibilities being told it isn’t possible. No amount of wellbeing seminars or gong bath sessions can make up for that. This is entry-level stuff: if you don’t let people look after their loved ones, they will not want – indeed, will not be able – to work for you.

Old-school perks

Food for thought – and productivity.

We got wise to the tendency of 90s and 00s employers to dress up facilitating never leaving the office – showers, chair massage, nap pods – as corporate largesse. But let’s not dismiss all traditional perks. Food is still good. I know of no more reliable workplace mood booster than the appearance of employer-funded cake. In my City lawyer days, we traced the firm’s fortunes by the baked goods it provided. Still-warm lemon drizzle: the managing partner is considering a yacht. Three pack of bourbons: P45s incoming.

New-generation perks

When will employers realise that what we all want is someone to track down the best deal on home insurance, find a cheap emergency plumber or spend 53 minutes on hold to the council to request a new bin. A work concierge service that takes away tedious life admin would have me racing back to full-time on-site employment faster than a ferret can get up a trouser leg.

An ‘always be recruiting’ mindset

Employers should treat existing employees with the kind of seductive, assiduous attention they bring to hiring new staff. Yes, it’s a bit like those corny relationship therapists who tell you to treat your long-term life partner as if you are still “courting” when you have harvested enough of their plughole hair over the years to knit a thoroughly unpleasant jumper. But it would be nice to see more employers commit to bringing us flowers (by which I mean cake, extra money and more annual leave) year after year, rather than having their heads turned by some flighty young LinkedIn profile.

Human connection

Microsoft announced this week it will be joining (or fighting) Mark Zuckerberg in his dreadful “metaverse” with its Mesh service, offering AI-enabled immersive meetings with 3D avatars. So, not only do I have to do my job, but I have to look like a Sims character while I am doing it? This is a resigning matter.

No one wants another awkward away day, but unless your job has intrinsic value (none of mine have fallen under this heading), human connection is the real draw to work. Can I roll my eyes at a workmate in the metaverse? Would I be summoned to a meeting with Paula from HR’s avatar? My happiest office memories are the moments of collective hysteria, gossip and daftness; shared rants behind my superiors’ backs. Employers with the confidence to give us space and time to bond by complaining about them are the ones that deserve our “talent”.

Pets

Dog ownership soared in lockdown, making bringing your pet to work one of this year’s “hot perks”. I would, however, suggest that employers keen to retain staff extend this policy to any animal an employee wants to bring in. Snakes, yes. Goats, absolutely. A pony, sure. Imagine the recruitment video potential: big corporates could lure us in with something that looks like one of those heartwarming animal friendship videos your aunt shares on Facebook. Given the choice between lying flat and petting my co-worker’s chinchilla, I know what I would choose.

Taken from 'The great resignation is here! Seven things bosses should do to make brilliant staff stay' by Emma Beddington, The Guardian.

10 Good Reasons to Choose a Recruitment Company

Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:54:23 GMT

10 Good Reasons to Choose a Recruitment Company

You know how it can be time-consuming and expensive to get the right person in the right place in the right job? Believe me, you’re not on your own.

That’s why we have recruitment all set up super-efficient so that you can relax and get on with your own job instead, saving you a huge amount of time and…money!

Take a look at how we do this.

First and foremost we combine our understanding of the industry with outstanding service and a real focus on your needs.

We make all the arrangements from advertising the job, through to mutually convenient interview arrangements, negotiate the terms and even offer an after care package to help you with the early days of employment. We don’t want to see you employing the wrong person and incurring yet more costs trying to replace them.

Then about advertising, we all know it’s expensive but with NWA-Search we have all that covered at a much more cost-effective rate for you with no hidden extras.

We have a highly-skilled marketing and communications team. What is the point of being a writer or a designer if you’re not one? Let us present the creative solutions for your adverts that will have extremely effective results across many different print and digital platforms. Our consistent to approach to marketing means that people come to us over and over again as they know we can be trusted to provide the information they need.

Every single day we are talking to people in the marketing, retail, POP and POS industry so we know these jobs inside out. It also keeps us up to date with the latest thinking, trends and specific talents you may be seeking. We are also talking to those seeking their next employment move and have plenty of candidates already known to us and stringently checked over. We match their skills, experience and suitability to secure job satisfaction for them and, for you!

Finally, one thing we do that you might not want to do, is to ask any other awkward questions, jumping that hurdle for you too.

Yes, we do all of that. So, I make it at least 10 good reasons to use a recruitment company like ours to get the right person, in the right place, in the right company.

If you are currently looking to hire for your team or for a current job opportunity, do get in touch with us. Let’s talk.

NWA Search blog which covers latest news and trends from the retail and POS and fit-out sectors

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Industry Insights: