Verizon Device Wall, Mall of America, Bloomington, Minn. Verizon Wireless Destination Store, Mall of America, Bloomington, Minn. What Works: The interactive device wall shows in-stock products. Devices can be compared and contrasted, tested and felt, while features and benefits are brought to life on the large array. What Doesn’t: Maintenance and content management. The complexity of hardware configuration makes this difficult to maintain. While not easy to deploy across a la

Rebecca Minkoff, SoHo, New York Courtesy of Rebecca Minkoff, New York What Works: Rebecca Minkoff has built her brand squarely with the customer at the center. The store leverages customers’ digital lifestyles to inform a high-touch in-store experience. The mobile app makes it easy to let the store know when you’ll be there and what you’d like to try on. The staff sets up a connected fitting room with your choices. What Doesn’t: The large mirror in the main showroom can be a

We are in the early days of a tectonic shift in retail. Consumers are harder than ever to understand. The role of the store is in flux, and old reliable metrics aren't telling us the whole story. What hasn’t changed and what I believe will not change – is that moment when we capture the customer's attention, and they like what they see. But how do we do that? How do we compete with the visual cacophony and create something that customers like? I believe blending proven, tradi

Social media has similarities to, but is not the same as shopping with others in a social way. The content and context of social media in its present form is way up the purchase funnel; disassociated from the notion of purchase. A product or brand's presence in social media serves to perhaps influence and maybe inspire, which puts it squarely in an old advertising model. Not much social, really, about that. Do I attribute higher value to a product because my friends are credi

This is a unique category and opportunity. If Target can succeed in being the translator of the noise of innovation for the average consumer, they'll win this emerging category. Can I trust them to tell me how this could work for me in my daily life?Knowledgeable staff and innovative displays showing how these items work together for consumers' benefit is the win. IF they can pull this off at scale, they could really own this category. Why Best Buy isn't all over this is beyo

We find ourselves again considering the state of retail and predictions of its demise. This time around, it's hard to not think all hell is breaking loose. We are at an inflection point. We are in flux. The social, political and economic forces that bear down on each of us (and in aggregate–millennials, boomers, etc.) are resulting in fragmentation like we’ve never seen before. This is exposing attitudes and behaviors that can seem puzzling. I expect there is nothing predicta