Four Epic Retail Touchdowns from 2017

If you know BDSmktg, then you know we thrive on competition. We play in one of the largest, most competitive industry arenas, and because of that, we’re all about winning at retail for our clients. After watching two great teams duke it out in an amazing Super Bowl this year, it made us think about the brands that busted out new moves, called successful plays, and pulled out all the stops on the retail field in 2017 so that they can win in 2018. In the spirit of the Super Bowl, here us our list of epic retail touchdowns from 2017 that we know will propel brands to the top of the leaderboard in 2018.

 1. Augmented Reality Scores for IKEA

We love IKEA for its stylish offerings, extremely low furniture prices, unique showroom experience, and tasty Swedish food offerings, but assembling purchases is no easy feat! With IKEA’s new app though, IKEA Place, we don’t have to worry anymore if all that assembly effort will go to waste. The app uses augmented reality (AR) so you can “try before you buy” and see how a piece of furniture would look in a space right in the comfort of your own home, essentially eliminating buyer’s remorse. Michael Valdsgaard, Leader Digital Transformation at Inter IKEA Systems, perfectly summed up their new app by saying, “Now, technology has caught up with our ambition. AR lets us redefine the experience for furniture retail once more, in our restless quest to create a better everyday life for everyone, everywhere.” We’re pretty sure we’ll be seeing more AR soon at retail if this app continues to be successful for IKEA.

2. Target Launches into the End Zone with a Smaller Footprint

Last Fall, Target not only announced that they are planning to remodel 1,000 of their current stores by 2020 after testing a variety of innovations in 2015 and 2016, but also opened a handful of new small format stores in select locations across the country. These smaller format stores, designed to seamlessly fit into urban spaces and college campuses, bring in almost double the sales per square foot compared to the regular store format. With a CVS Pharmacy, a regular-sized beauty section, a smaller-than-normal electronics section, curated apparel, grab-and-go food and 16 self-checkout stations, these stores provide the right mix for a perfect Target run.

3. Amazon Intercepts for the Grocery Win

It should come as no surprise that when Amazon enters a business sector, they innovate. This trend held true when Amazon entered the grocery industry in 2017 and piloted their first AmazonGo store in Seattle last year. The store features revolutionary technology that allows shoppers to simply choose the items they like and walk out through doors surrounded by vertical scanners. These scanners then sense which items the shopper took and charges the appropriate Amazon account. Now that the store has officially launched to the public, we’re curious to see how consumers react to this new way of grocery shopping.

4. Bloomingdale’s Trades Up for a New Beauty Player

In 2017, Bloomingdale’s piloted a new beauty shop, Glowhaus, inside their stores to attract a new crop of millennial shoppers and compete with fast-growing beauty retailers, Sephora and Ulta. Featuring unique makeup and clothing brands, each product has been carefully curated and displayed to allow shoppers to test different looks and share them on social media. The shop also features iPads, where shoppers can learn more about products and find inspiration for specific “looks.” Interestingly, Glowhaus also boasts non-commission, brand-agnostic staff, allowing shoppers to freely engage in the space without a sales pitch. We have a feeling more department stores will start to follow this trend in 2018.

While 2017 was incredibly exciting for the retail industry, we can’t wait to see which brands bring big plays to retail this year. Are you itching to test a new experience at retail for your brand? Our experts are here to score the winning touchdown for you. Contact us today to learn more about our custom designed solutions at retail and beyond.