INSIGHT: Innovation Inside the Box

Innovation in its purest form is about limitless possibility with no barriers, no walls and no excuses. Innovation at retail, however, requires some boundaries.

Say that you dig up a long-buried Egyptian city. You would easily be able to identify those places where retail activity took place. This is because the fundamental components of the retail experience have remained much the same since their inception.

As we seek to innovate at retail, it’s critical to understand and respect this established space – the “box” – within which smart commerce has always functioned.

Let’s look at the six dimensions that comprise the conventional – or day-to-day – “box” of retail:

• In-Store Communications and Cues
• How the Space Works
• How the Space Looks
• The Merchandise
• The People Factor
• The Economics

Despite being established cornerstones of traditional retail, these dimensions are flexible and leave room for fresh approaches. Innovation within this box can range from rethinking the way your economic resources are used at the point of sale, to redefining the ways in which in-store communications are developed, produced, and deployed, to creating – and sticking to – long- and short-term plans.

Plus, realigning the proportion of any one factor relative to the others can make huge changes in your customers’ experience and engagement at point of sale.


For more retail perspectives, please contact Therese Daves.