Understanding changing customer behavior is crucial to sustainable retail success.

June 1, 2021

AS RETAILERS NURSE their wounds after struggling to survive the economic ravages of the pandemic, it’s incumbent upon them to look introspectively, in an effort to not only promote the wellness of their businesses, but also to promote the wellness of the communities they serve. Wellness is not a luxury or a privilege, but rather a necessity that should be readily and universally attainable. The effects of Covid and our collective response to the hardships that it brought have made it clear that fatigue and anxiety have become debilitating afflictions across the country. With that understanding, every post-pandemic retail design program must include a commitment to environmental constructs that address issues of physical, social and emotional well-being.

While we stare into the face of retail’s new reality, companies must determine how their physical presence impacts the well-being of the community. It’s imperative that they look beyond the store footprint as merely a matter of square footage. They must examine the impact of their physical presence on the neighborhoods where they plant their flag.

Are they a welcomed part of the community and do they embrace the culture of the local demographic? Are customers welcomed into their stores? John Wanamaker, one of the venerable “merchant princes” of the early 20th century said, “Have no impediment for customers entering the store.” In short, the store must be welcoming in a manner that is akin to inviting the customer into your living room.

While people in every socioeconomic group are eager for some semblance of normalcy, or a return to the real world as we once knew it, they are restrained to a large degree by an unnerving uncertainty that can only be ameliorated through trust. Going forward, the cornerstone of all customer relationships will be grounded in good faith.

As retail moves into the post-pandemic age, store design is more important than ever before. Although digital engagement has become an integral component of the customer journey, people are yearning for the physical experience, they want to be out and about, they want to physically kick the tires on everything they’ve researched online.

And though it’s clear we’ve reached a level of digital penetration beyond any reasonable expectation, it is clear that the physical experience will gather steam in the short term while online drops back a bit. This has already begun. As vaccines become more readily available, there will be an insatiable desire to hit retail’s main aisles once again. Going forward, we must seek a healthy balance of the two.

Understanding changing customer behavior is crucial to sustainable retail success. Even though today’s consumer is totally wired and connected, they’re ready to spread their wings in environments that promote wellness. Use this to your advantage. Customers will continue to engage and communicate through multichannel dialogue. Be sure that your physical environment is a healthy one. Make sure it’s part of the conversation.

How Short-Term Pandemic Strategies Can Turn Into Long-Term Successes

Regaining customer loyalty begins with establishing trust

April 20, 2021

By Eric Feigenbaum

IN JUST ONE short and unimaginable year, retailers have suddenly seen their roles change from purveyors of dreams and fantasies to frontline workers providing essential goods and services. Arguably, redesigns and innovation have traditionally been at the heart of retail, always adapting to the ever-driving charge of change – never has retail needed to innovate as it does now. Facing the maelstrom of the pandemic, retail was thrust into the role of first responder for the critical needs of the community, but in a safe and effective way. No small task.

It’s been said that necessity is the mother of invention, and after 2020, it is clear that an existential ordeal is the architect of transformation. While retailers stared into the face of the storm, long range strategic plans were scrapped. These were survival-driven decisions that called for a new approach to new challenges. As the health, safety and welfare of both individual consumers and diverse communities were at stake, retailers responded by putting long-term growth on the back burner in deference to short-term soundness, safety and security.

Prior to the COVID-19 assault, retailers thought they were navigating through the most disruptive time in retail history as the debate over e-commerce versus brick-and-mortar/in-store experiences raged on. That struggle now pales before the challenges of today, and yet, it is these challenges that will define and perhaps settle the long-raging debate.

As a dim light begins to flicker at the end of the dark tunnel, it is becoming evident that brick-and-mortar will maintain its important role and position in the omnichannel hierarchy. Soon, weary consumers will be eager to shed their cabin fever for some good, old fashioned in-store shopping. That being said, they will also continue to embrace the convenience, safety and accessibility of e-commerce. Before the pandemic, retailers were beginning to acknowledge that e-commerce and brick-and-mortar needed to work hand in hand. Now, they recognize with crystal clarity that e-commerce has become the backbone of business, and it and brick-and-mortar are inexorably connected.

Quick-thinking retailers have already developed short-term strategies, but they will be wise to realize that changes in consumer behavior brought about by the pandemic will be long-term if not permanent. As retailers, suppliers and consumers all recognize that it does in fact “take a village” to contain and mitigate the spread of the virus, they are respectively adjusting their shopping behaviors and supply chain, fulfillment and customer engagement strategies. The silver lining, if there can indeed be one during these disastrous and tragic days, is that reevaluation in the face of the crises will foster positive change and promote new economic growth.

As we move deeper into 2021, it must be noted that the road back to some semblance of normalcy and economic stability will be a steady trek in the slow lane rather than an open throttle in the fast lane. As retailers rebuild, it will be studied and decisive actions that pave the way to a solid recovery instead of risky, uncertain initiatives. All strategic planning should be centered around the customer and building relationships with a weary and cautious community. Regaining customer support begins with establishing trust. In the past, retailers appealed to a different set of wants and needs. Today’s customer wants sustainability, transparency, safety and empathy. If strong relationships are forged now, long-range success will be built on a foundation of loyalty.

Play Ball

Hope springs eternal as retailers throw out the first pitch

April 16, 2021

By Eric Feigenbaum

T. S. Eliot poetically opined that “April is the cruelest month.” And while a sense of despair may grip our hearts amid flagrant harbingers of false hope, the first blooms of spring seem to belie our anguish. In addition to a perceived rebirth, it must be noted that April also brings the cry of “play ball!” Hope springs eternal in baseball stadiums across the country as the calendar turns from March to April. Much like the crocus and the robin, opening day is a much-anticipated ray of sunshine after a long cold winter. There is an undeniable yearning for the fragrance of the freshly cut grass and the crack of the bat on the ball. Baseball’s spiritual mystique looms as a reference to treasured memories of yesterday, the possibilities of today, and the hope and dreams of tomorrow. No, baseball will never die as long as it gives us hope, as long as it lets us dream.

Hopes and dreams are also fundamental to retail, much like the hopes and dreams of the hometown faithful as the first pitch of the season is sent hurtling toward the plate. And now as retail is faced with a hopeful and anticipated reawakening, a tantalizing excitement is blossoming in communities across the country. There is a newfound enthusiasm akin to the delight of walking into the stadium on opening day, an excitement as palpable as seeing the green grass and the hometown heroes decked out in their game day whites. And as we begin to see light at the end of the long, dark tunnel, we should take comfort in the knowledge that much like the national pastime, retail will never die.

As I look out of my window onto the once bustling streets of New York City, I feel a new pulsation, a stirring and a buzz. I see signs of life. Oh sure, the daffodils are in full bloom but there’s something more. After our cold hard winter of despair, open-air restaurants are lining the streets and avenues, theaters and museums are turning on their lights, and storefronts across the city are opening their doors.

The brutality of this one unseemly winter during the throes of a pandemic has brought many years of change to an industry that thrives on change; customer behavior has been altered forever. And while retail’s timeless and unrelenting charge has fostered an unimagined sense of desire and an unmitigated lust for consumption, the industry is now faced with a new reality. The data is in and the numbers have been crunched. To be sure, customers will return to shopping, but most definitely in very different ways and at a very different pace. Once energetic retail corridors and city centers are beginning to lose their gravitational pull as local retail hubs begin to materialize in neighborhoods everywhere. A contradictory economy is also emerging, some consumers having faired relatively well economically in the midst of the tempest while others have suffered emotionally, physically and financially. Flexibility and adaptability, from supply chain to in-store or online delivery, is now an integral part of the retail equation.

While it’s generally recognized that downtown city centers will struggle mightily in the short term to regain their positions in the retail hierarchy, local centers will begin to establish themselves as shopping destinations. Months of isolation have fostered a new pride of neighborhood and community. Through hybrid office arrangements, people have been working, meeting and conferencing from the comfort of their homes. Local communities have banded together to provide essential products and services, and commuting has been redefined as a trip to the corner store or a luncheon at a local open-air sidewalk cafe. In short, people will be spending more of their time in the communities in which they live.

Successful retailers will adapt to this new reality by establishing smaller and more nimble footprints in local communities. They will respond by bringing their message to the doorstep of the consumer, whether online or in-store. They will meet the customer where they are. Empathy means understanding the needs and challenges of the consumer. It’s the empathetic retailer who will understand that much like the baseball player rounding third base, people just want to be “safe at home.”https://vmsd.com/play-ball-2/

Great Expectations for the Year Ahead

Retail is the science of reality and the art of possibility

January 14, 2021

By Eric Feigenbaum

The phrase, “The sky is falling!” has been permanently burnished into the vernacular by Henny-Penny, also known as Chicken Little, when she was struck in the head with a falling acorn. So sure that disaster was imminent, she cast an ominous warning. And while it is undeniable that huge shards of firmament cascaded to the ground in 2020, it’s time to face reality, pick up the pieces and rebuild.

Over the course of 2020, many businesses went under, the economy weakened, there was a steep rise in unemployment, various cities went into lockdown, people were confined in isolation, and even more heart wrenching, lives were tragically lost. That is the reality. We can’t change the past, but we can mold the present and define the future. There have been all too many societal, and even existential, challenges in the past, and it’s been the light of optimism that has brought humanity back from the precipice to even greater heights.

Optimism isn’t a magic potion or simply a wishful mindset. Rather, it’s a perspective and assessment of the state of being and a positive approach to both challenges and successes. And while we just turned the pages of the calendar, the challenges that beset us have not spontaneously evaporated, we already see that the new year brings new challenges.

Retailers who have accepted the science of reality, are now turning to the art of possibility. Art is not only a reflection of the times, but also a response to the times. And it must be noted that if you were to hold a mirror to the face of retail, the reflected image would also be our response to the events of the day. In assessing the reality of the times, many retailers and suppliers have responded by flexing their creative muscle.

With a bit of retooling, a large dose of empathy and caring about the health, safety and wellbeing of the community, many retailers, suppliers, and brands large and small, have been making masks, producing hand sanitizer and other equipment needed to protect the safety of the public.

For example, the braintrust at Dyson focused their creative energies and technologies on developing portable ventilators, and a family-run, disabled veteran-owned sign company on Long Island, one that services the visual and wayfinding markets, reacted to the needs of the community by quickly reengineered their processes and machinery to manufacture essential PPE to healthcare institutions, educational facilities and offices throughout the country.

While it’s encouraging to see so many step up in our collective struggle, it’s also important to recognize the positive light that will help guide us in the aftermath of the pandemic. First and foremost, and perhaps the most gratifying, is the newfound respect that retail employees are now receiving. They were among the first essential workers who put their wellbeing on the line to ensure that the supply of goods and services reached the consumer. In addition, retailers and consumers across the board are reevaluating the cycle of consumption: Retail brands are beginning to eliminate wasteful practices and reducing physical footprints and consumers are supporting more local businesses. And what mustn’t be minimized is the fact that retailers are turning their focus to enhanced levels of customer service. Retailers will move forward by forging strong relationships with their customer base and by recognizing not only their dreams and desires, but also their challenges, concerns and needs.

Clearly 2020 is a year that we’re all happy to leave behind. And while the two-week free trial to 2021 has many wanting to cancel their subscriptions, let’s go forward with positive expectations and optimism. After all, retail has always been built upon the great expectations of what lies ahead.

Leadership Begins With Empathy: New directions in challenging times

February 12, 2021

By Eric Feigenbaum

Retailers have always anticipated the latest trends in fashion while consistently being inspired by great movements in design. Moreover, they’ve always embraced cutting-edge advances in technology. The hallmark of retail has traditionally been a quick and effective response to change with progressive new directions and strategies. It’s disappointing, however, that retailers remain stagnant in their approach to leadership, employing theories that are relics of the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s. As we move deeper into the 2020s, we are still suffering from outdated business models that are harmful to people and, quite frankly, bad for business.

Today, “empathy” is the buzzword being bandied about by retail executives across the industry. “We have to care about our customers,” is the rallying cry of retailers struggling to compete in today’s challenging environment. Though the concept of empathy is heartfelt, it is almost universally misunderstood and largely misdirected.

There is a misconception that the biggest concern for great retail leaders is their customers. The reality is that most retail execs never interact with their customers. Rather, they lead a team of dedicated associates who are assigned the task of interacting, servicing and caring about the customer. Therefore, it’s the responsibility of great retail leaders to care about the people they’ve entrusted to interact with the public. An effective leader knows implicitly that its these associates who are vital to the health and well-being of their company. Empathy shouldn’t only be directed toward customers, but also toward the partners, associates, team members and employees who man the front lines. Leadership begins with empathy for the team members that get it done.

When climbing the professional ladder, most up-and-coming executives reach the next rung in the corporate hierarchy because they have a solid education, they work hard, and they’re good at what they do. As they get promoted to positions of leadership, they no longer do the job that brought them to their lofty responsibilities. Rather, they supervise and hopefully motivate and energize the people now assigned to do the job that they excelled in. And while the upwardly mobile professional knows the intricacies and nuances of the job that propelled them forward,  many have never been trained to be an effective leader.

In the 1970s, renowned economist Milton Friedman argued that the only social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. It stated further that shareholder interests should be assigned first priority relative to all other corporate stakeholders. If one follows this logic (and many do), the natural deduction is that a corporate leader works for the shareholders.

It is high time for courageous retail leaders to stand up for more noble causes. It is high time for major employers to invest in their workers and contribute to their communities. Not only is this a long-term strategy for success, but it is arguably the moral thing to do. The corporate purpose must be further defined to not only serve the shareholders, but to also better serve the family of company supporters including employees, communities, investors, suppliers and, of course, customers.

Middle management and sales executives have long been called on the carpet if their numbers were down, or their general performance wasn’t quite up to expectations. Is this approach inspirational? Shouldn’t the approach be to motivate rather than intimidate? At some point in life, we all face issues that may affect our performance. Perhaps it’s a sick child, an ailing parent or marital issues. Empathy is being concerned about people in your charge, not just about their output.

Leadership isn’t defined by the overarching ability to criticize failure, but rather the all-encompassing capacity to create environments that foster success. Establish a sense of anticipation in the workplace rather than a sense of dread. Instead of having people hide their mistakes, create an open and free dialogue where team members are not afraid to ask for help.

Leadership is a skill that has to be cultivated and developed. It isn’t about winning or losing, it’s about nurturing and letting one’s natural talents blossom. It’s about empowering people so they can rise to the occasion and perform at their inherent best. Leadership is giving credit to others when successful and accepting responsibility when unsuccessful.

In a 1965 article for The Readers Digest, President Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote, “My own conviction is that every leader should have enough humility to accept, publicly, the responsibility for the mistakes of the subordinates he has himself selected and, likewise, to give them credit, publicly, for their triumphs. I am aware that some popular theories of leadership hold that the top man must always keep his ‘image’ bright and shining. I believe, however, that in the long run fairness and honesty, and a generous attitude toward subordinates and associates, pay off.”

In short, be a leader, build a sense of trust and an atmosphere of cooperation. Relate to the people in your charge. Empathy is where true leadership begins and success follows.

Building Walls and Breaking Barriers

The design world loses a giant presence

Inspiration is everywhere, just look and you will see. What differentiates the great visionaries from all the others, however, is the ability to see the beauty in things that others don’t see; finding the exquisite in the mundane, the everyday and the pedestrian. Of course there’s inspiration to be found in the fantastic, the extraordinary and the unexpected. Zaha Mohammad Hadid, the Iraqi-born British architect, was a master of all three.

With the passing of Hadid on March 31, the design world lost a giant who inspired not only through her design solutions, but also through her drive to challenge the norm. I often tell my students to dare to be different, but with one caveat: You can’t be different for the sake of being different -- it has to work, and it as to make sense. In Hadid’s case, it not only worked, it paved the way for an architectural idiom that’s relevant to a new modernity.

Hadid, born in Baghdad in1950, was indeed different in both her aesthetic sensibilities, and her blurring the professional and cultural lines of social constraints. As such, she was the first woman, and the first Muslim, to receive the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2004. In 2015, she became the first woman to be awarded Britain’s top architecture award, the RIBA Gold Medal. In her chosen profession, and in her/our culture, this is quite an accomplishment. Hadid’s work stood for itself, never defined by her gender or ethnicity.

In terms of design, she didn’t follow trends (not another Frank Gehry-inspired twist of aesthetic sensibilities) she defined her own directions. Her mellifluous flowing lines belied the bounds of rectilinear thinking, bringing a flora-like fantasy to line, mass and form. She transformed the hard edges of brick, steel and concrete into a tactile experience defined by the softness of curvilinear lines and numerous perspective points, as she defied the typical directives of architectural geometry.

Zaha Hadid will be missed not only for her design sensibilities, but also for her humanity; creating a new social aesthetic for interaction and equality.

Every Day is Show Day

Recognizing the past helps us embrace change as we move forward

In 1895, while still at Marshall Field’s, Harry Gordon Selfridge hired Arthur Fraser for “display work.” Now we all know who Harry Gordon Selfridge was. Some of us because we’re retail aficionados, some because we’re history buffs and some because we watch television and love the series “Mr. Selfridge.” As for me, who knows how or when I first learned of Selfridge? But I do I know how I learned of Arthur Fraser, and I also know that we in the visual merchandising industry owe him a debt of gratitude.

I discovered him when researching the enticements employed by the pioneers of the industry to attract people into stores. He, along with folks like L. Frank Baum (author of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,”, and the founding editor of The Show Window, later to become VMSD magazine) elevated, if not started, the visual merchandising profession (known as “display” in those early days).  Selfridge provided Fraser with a grand canvas – the first show windows in Marshall Field’s, reportedly the largest plate glass windows in Chicago. Selfridge also provided an enduring philosophy: “Every day is show day in this establishment.” Like-minded, Fraser spoke of his convictions, “We would dramatize our merchandise, really stage work. I derived more from theater than anything else.”

The merchant princes of the day: Selfridge, John Wanamaker, Henry Cooper and Hugh O’Neill; and the great display artists Baum, Fraser and Herman Frankenthal, to name a few, were on the cusp of a new beginning. The turning calendar would bring progress and an age of enlightenment, offering broader educational opportunities, greater access and mobility and extended avenues of communication. Sound familiar? A hundred years later and we too are on the cusp of a new retail beginning.

The only difference is today’s change is exponential. The industry’s evolving faster than ever before. And like the early industry pioneers, we too must recognize that embracing change is a vital ingredient for success. But some food for thought: In order to move forward, we sometimes have to look back. Although the argument grows weaker with every new technological advance (augmented reality, and the like) stores are not going away anytime soon. But retailers must raise the bar. While retailers may recognize the physical store as their most valuable asset, they still must provide a reason for customers to return. And so perhaps the words of Harry Gordon Selfridge must ring true today: “Every day is show day in this establishment.”

Eric Feigenbaum is a recognized leader in the visual merchandising and store design industries with both domestic and international design experience.  He served as corporate director of visual merchandising for Stern’s Department Store, a division of Federated Department Stores, from 1986 to 1995. After Stern’s, he assumed the position of director of visual merchandising for WalkerGroup/CNI, an architectural design firm in New York City. Feigenbaum was also an adjunct professor of Store Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology and formerly served as the chair of the Visual Merchandising Department at LIM College (New York) from 2000 to 2015. In addition to being the Editorial Advisor/New York Editor of VMSD magazine, Eric is also a founding member of PAVE (A Partnership for Planning and Visual Education). Currently, he is also president and director of creative services for his own retail design company, Embrace Design.

Let the Show Begin

NYFW showcased a barrage of trends on the horizon for menswear

The lights dimmed, the music began. There was a buzz of excitement, which was only transcended by the new buzz about American menswear. In fact, it hasn’t been this exciting since the British Invasion of the 1960s brought men’s fashion across the pond, straight from Saville Row and Carnaby Street. In early February, the Council of Fashion Designers of America launched New York Fashion Week: Men’s. Held at the Skylight Clarkson Square, the show featured fall/winter 2016 collections.

I was delighted to receive an invitation to the Joseph Abboud 2016 fall/winter runway collection showing. As I waited in anticipation for the show to start, I thought of the often-quoted line by Coco Chanel: “When women go out, they should look in the mirror and take one thing off.” I was hopeful that what I was about to see would confirm the opposite – that when men go out, they should look in the mirror and put one thing on.

And then, with the flick of a switch, the lights came on and the show began. The stage was set against a herringbone-textured backdrop; the overarching message was texture, layers, fine tailoring and a bit of irreverence.

All visual merchandisers should take note. We’re all in the business of fashion, and fashion is change and innovation. This show demonstrated both. It was about luxurious fabrics, painstaking attention to detail, patterns and the intermingling of colors, from grays and browns to rust, olive and ebony.

As the models strode across the runway, words and phrases describing the trends, as though in a stream of consciousness, surged across my mind: texture, gray and black, tweed; a feathered lapel pin; oh, that fedora; double-breasted vest, appliquéd ascots, elbow patches, tone-on-tone plaids, striped pants, overcoat slung over shoulder; hats, hats, hats everywhere, knotted scarf, flag shawl in charcoal grays, corduroy, earth tones, vests over jackets, vests over sweaters, scarfs under vests; and how about the paisleys? Layers, layers, layers; upturned collars, shawl collars -- and is that velvet?

Much like the latest men’s fashion line straight from the Joseph Abboud studio, visual merchandising is about layering to bring a presentation or environment to life, textures to provide customers with a tactile experience, splashes of color, and of course attention to detail.

I’m stepping out now. Going to a meeting; something about visual merchandising. I think I’ll look in the mirror and put something on.

Eric Feigenbaum is a recognized leader in the visual merchandising and store design industries with both domestic and international design experience.  He served as corporate director of visual merchandising for Stern’s Department Store, a division of Federated Department Stores, from 1986 to 1995. After Stern’s, he assumed the position of director of visual merchandising for WalkerGroup/CNI, an architectural design firm in New York City. Feigenbaum was also an adjunct professor of Store Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology and formerly served as the chair of the Visual Merchandising Department at LIM College (New York) from 2000 to 2015. In addition to being the Editorial Advisor/New York Editor of VMSD magazine, Eric is also a founding member of PAVE (A Partnership for Planning and Visual Education). Currently, he is also president and director of creative services for his own retail design company, Embrace Design.

The Well-Being of Retail

We must recognize technology as a communication tool in retail environments

If you hold a mirror to the face of retail, the reflected image would be us. As our society and cultures evolve, retail is always quick to respond. Visual merchandising and retail design are bookmarks of our times, and as such, the effective retail designer must have their finger on the pulse of our society and the rhythm of our culture. 

While it may seem technology rules the day, it’s merely a tool to help us realize the things we really want, and on top of that list of wants, needs and desires is a sense of well-being. While trends may come and go, well-being is not merely the inclination of the moment, but has instead become a way of life for today’s enlightened consumer. 

As the relentless march of technology pushes the reach of the digital world into our physical environments with enhanced levels of connectivity through social media platforms, search engines and an infinite number of photos captured and shared every second of the day -- technology is supporting, and in fact, fueling our desire for heightened levels of well-being.

Retail design, and any design endeavor for that matter, must take its cues from our surrounding environment: from art, music, current events, fashion, and of course, the latest and greatest technologies. And it must be noted that advancements in technology and product innovation have also given us new materials and enhanced building techniques. With this in mind, today’s designers are better equipped to respond to lifestyle choices such as an increased desire for well-being.

A sense of well-being revolves around a secure and comfortable physical space, healthy sources of sustenance, embellishment of body and soul and a vibrant and energetic lifestyle.

Even as spectral digital images and information feeds engage our physical realities, designers must continue to create positive and uplifting consumer experiences within processed retail environments. Today there is a fine line between digital and physical realities. By recognizing technology and the information highway as tools of communication and ultimately engagement, retail spaces can be designed for human consumption and human interaction at the human scale. Through textural experiences, surface treatments, appropriate color palettes and the integration of art, designers can create environments that support consumer yearnings for a sense of well-being that transcends all ages and socioeconomic demographics.

Eric Feigenbaum is a recognized leader in the visual merchandising and store design industries with both domestic and international design experience.  He served as corporate director of visual merchandising for Stern’s Department Store, a division of Federated Department Stores, from 1986 to 1995. After Stern’s, he assumed the position of director of visual merchandising for WalkerGroup/CNI, an architectural design firm in New York City. Feigenbaum was also an adjunct professor of Store Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology and formerly served as the chair of the Visual Merchandising Department at LIM College (New York) from 2000 to 2015. In addition to being the Editorial Advisor/New York Editor of VMSD magazine, Eric is also a founding member of PAVE (A Partnership for Planning and Visual Education). Currently, he is also president and director of creative services for his own retail design company, Embrace Design.