All I’s on Retail: Day One of NRF’s 2012 BIG Show

The Brand Show joined 22,000 retailers from around the world in New York City today for the kick-off of the National Retail Federation’s 101st Annual Convention and EXPO, better known as The BIG Show.

This year’s theme is “Retail’s New Rules: Engage and Evolve.” Retail heavy weights and rising stars are sharing priceless secrets and strategies for delivering better value and meaning to the shopper.

Immediacy is the underlying theme of day one. For the past three years, the concept of shopper control and shopper demand dominated the minds, mouths and boardrooms of the retail industry. It looks as though 2012 will be a year of transformation. The retail industry has now begun leveraging the enormous stockpile of data that consumers have generated online – free for the taking – in new ways with new results.

Investment and impact was the focus for Kenneth Cole as they spoke of a new frontier of CRM strategies and software systems that leverage social content. It was suggested that retailers who don’t make this transition in shopper preference insights within 2012 will be left behind. Why? Shoppers’ expectations of service, interaction and personalization are portable.

Identifying the technology preference of its core customer was the key takeaway of Aeropostale’s session. They demonstrated the power and value of going beyond understanding shopper demographics. By aligning operations, sales-force strategies and infrastructure systems with the technology preference of its shopper (mobile), the company was able to strengthen their brand.

Investing in relationships was Coca-Cola’s hot topic, urging brands and suppliers to focus on collaboration with retailers versus negotiation in 2012. By concentrating on the needs of retail partners, brands can better create shopper success in-store.

Innovative people and ideas are what Harrod’s is bringing to retail in 2012. With the belief that the next generation of big ideas is going to come from new people and places, Harrod’s stated that retailers are hiring smart people and contracting with smart agencies to build functionality that does not come in a box.

Success stories and previews of how to evolve in 2012 were only two elements of today’s content. Engaging with shoppers via social media has turned into a successful new way to cut out the fulfillment and buying roles within the industry. This trend is proving both intriguing and threatening to retailers.

Immediacy, impact, identity, investment and innovation. The five I’s of retail in 2012.

Quote of the day:
“The risk of being irrelevant is far greater than the risk of losing some money.”
- Frederico Trajano I. Rodrigues, Chief Marketing and Sales Officer, Magazine Luiza

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