#makingretailhappen

Often the latest colours with matching shoes. One can wear it walking the kids to school, over coffee with friends, in the supermarket, doctor’s surgery, practically anywhere - and it can even be worn until school pick-up, which seems quite unhygienic to me. This uniform is one of the key drivers to the cool and ever growing category of Athleisure.

Yes, the parody on YouTube might cut a bit close to the bone (I did go grocery shopping in my activewear), but the burgeoning Athleisure category is hot with everyone from Kmart to Louis Vuitton wanting a piece of the action.

Elly Strang from The Register wrote a great piece covering some of the driving factors around the category which has driven the likes of Lululemon’s share up 20% in the last few months and spawned collaborations such as Beyonce and Toyshop.

But who are the rising retail stars here and abroad beyond Lululemon?

 Athleta

Owned by Gap Inc, Athleta is one of my “go to” retailers whenever I am in the US. Athleta has been about since 1998 and was acquired by Gap in 2008 and has been delivering clothes that are versatile and fashionable for a “life in motion.” Gap, which has been struggling with sales for some time has high hopes for Athleta with over 120 stores throughout the US and more to open this fiscal year.

Athleta stores are not dissimilar to the layout of a Lululemon but I find the functionality and depth and breadth of range far more extensive, with team members who are a little more real and less “chi” than their Lululemon counterparts. On a recent trip to the US, I was delighted to see that whatever your size or shape, you could easily access cool, functional athlesiure wear at about 2/3 of what you would pay at Lululemon.

Image: Fillmore Street, San Francisco

They also recognize that often your shopping partner might need a rest and have created a seated area adjacent to a community area. A place where you can find out everything you need to know about activities and lifestyle related stuff in your area.

Image: Fillmore Street, San Francisco

Athleta has also recently hitched its brand to the girl power bandwagon. Called “The Power of She,” the campaign includes a 15-second TV spot, a longer version for digital, as well as display, mobile and social. “The frenemy is finished. Undermining is over,” which is such a lovely now message to engage your brand with, as it shows girls and women swimming, surfing, fencing, kickboxing, dancing and running. It also coincides with the launch of its Athleta Girls range which promotes activity for pre-tweens to teens.

The Power of She

Stirling Sports Woman

Image: Inside Retail

A little closer to home Stirling Sports have recently launched a flagship women’s store at Sylvia Park. And I have to admit, on every visit I have purchased something. What I think this store has been able to do is curate a tight, well presented range of product which is on-trend and is not too expensive.

The beauty of the selected range is that you are not going to see everyone else wearing your look and the stories are brought together well in-store to take the guess work out of creating “your look”. As well as your typical Nike and adidas, there is a great selection of Under Armour, Lorna Jane and adidas StellaSport.

I do hope they open more of these stores. Located in a mall or a high street it is such a pleasurable experience to wander a dedicated woman’s section that looks, feels and smells better than your standard sports store. It’s no Lorna Jane (I’ll cover that another blog), but it is a great start. My one criticism. They do need to start building their community however, sooner rather than later.

Stylerunner

Founded in 2012, Stylerunner has shown triple-digit year-on-year growth and has managed to firmly establish itself in the highly competitive activewear market. 

Australian-based, this business is a pure-play retailer selling brands from 2XU to Camilla & Marc. What drives the Stylerunner business is they’re  adept at understanding their audience and as such, connect incredibly via digital media. 

There is not a morning I open my Instagram, that I’m not lured to purchasing another cool product that will make me look the part or feel like a supermodel athlete.

Image: Stylerunner

Stylerunner has also adopted a cult following, who purchase purely off the Insta posts. Again women like me with a dream or hard out Aussie chicks who actually look amazing in the product (I’m not the latter).

Wouldn’t I look this amazing and cool if I had these shoes?

Stylerunner co-founder Julie Stevanja was just last week named Young Retail Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2016 World Retail Congress in Dubai. The award recognises young retail entrepreneurs who have harnessed new technology’s ability to question existing retail sectors and products, and to re-think ways of delivering to customers or opening up new niches. Testament to the powerful retail offering.

Kit and Ace

In a league all of its own, Kit and Ace, the technical luxury apparel retailer that has its roots in Lululemon, is on its way to New Zealand.

Image: Kit and Ace, Lolita

A Canadian apparel brand, Kit and Ace was founded in 2014 by the former lead designer of Lululemon, Shannon Wilson and her stepson JJ Wilson. Their inspiration….after spending years dressed head to toe in stretchy performance wear, they were looking for clothing that offered the same functionality but met their desire for sophistication, style and luxury. Since they couldn’t find what they were looking for, they created it.

This isn’t gear you would really want to work a sweat up in. These products are like being placed into a cocoon of silk to simply exist. Wax-lyrical I may, but until you try these products, you have no idea what you are missing out on. Kit and Ace is based on the idea of comfort, but takes it out of the gym.

Image: Kit and Ace, Melbourne

This brand lives and breathes its spirit and culture. On a visit to the Melbourne outpost of Kit and Ace I was escorted on a journey by the Junior Shop Director Kate. She knew the technical detail of every product and how it would make my life just that little bit better.

The store fit-out was clean, sharp, well curated and easy to navigate, with stories of inspiration and art throughout.

Image: Local art you could purchase from the Kit and Ace store, Melbourne

More recently Kit and Ace have introduced pop-up stores in chic hotels across the globe. Called The Carry-on, the stores are open for just a few days in San Francisco, L.A, Melbourne, London, Sydney and New York, and offer a pared-down collection of the company’s travel-friendly clothes. Based on feedback from shoppers on just how amazing the clothes are to travel in, the idea became a reality.

Kit and Ace have now more than 60 stores and growing, with NZ on the cards soon. They focus on building local communities and where possible the store fit-out is both designed and made locally, crediting each artisan’s work.

Image: Local artisan craftsmanship credited - truely hyper local

Each store compiles something called The List, which might include anything from restaurant and club ideas from its influencers, to cool hotels in the area. In Melbourne we found a couple of retailers we may not have trudged further up the road to find nor the hole in the wall amazing coffee.

Their content play; The Brief, are well curated editions of important, need to know stuff as part of this tight knit community. Everything from health, culture, lifestyle and wellbeing and how to make it a part of your daily life.

What each of these retailers have done, which makes them worth mentioning, is they have gone beyond the act of simply stocking product to appeal to woman who want to work out or be comfortable within their active leisure.

Yes, retailing is about selling goods. However, these brands have built an art around the offer. A balancing act and perfect combination of:

Giving you reasons to believe: product delivering what it proclaims - and that can be making you simply fit in with the mummy-brigade

Telling you those stories with authenticity: being curated and presented in a way that actually appeals and propels you to covet - a picture tells a thousand-words; and

Making you feel like a part of a community: a special group of you who know better than anyone else what this brand/product does for your wellbeing. Sometimes simply mental wellbeing.

And whilst I agree with his thoughts on why these Microtowns are becoming an increasing part of our retail landscape, I also think they have been borne from other emerging retail trends including hyper-personalisation, hyper-localisation and social community consciousness.

So what is a Microtown exactly? Well Howard tells us……

The term Microtown was originally coined to describe a place that had near bled to death because its citizens abandoned it to work elsewhere, so that it became a tiny, broken version of its former self; a kind of pre-ghost town.

Howard’s now hijacked the term to describe something far more significant: the nuclei that is the genesis of new communities. Those edge-of-town micro-brewers and food artisans; pioneers building our future, have re-awakened our shopping streets, and in the process, redefined retail itself. They have already shifted the centre of gravity away from the mediocrity at the heart of so many towns.

Read more about Microtowns from Howard Saunders

http://www.22and5.com/forget-the-high-street-microtowns-are-where-the-action-is/#!

It is very exciting that in Howard’s top picks of his favourite Microtowns, Auckland’s City Works Depot is the first mentioned; and this guy travels the world! He was quite smitten with it (and apparently not impressed with much else on offer in town).

I however was smitten with the Proxy

On a recent trip to San Francisco, we fell upon a precinct that is a portable microtown in Hayes Valley. This little container village was a pop of excitement on a dull, wet day; essentially a cohort of experiences “which seeks to mobilize a flexible environment of food, art, culture, and retail” according to the website.

PROXY was born as a response and a solution to the ever-changing urban lifecycle, “existing as a temporary placeholder and an instigator of evolving cultural curiosities in art, food, retail and events.” The design embraces the diversity of a city and encourages the rotation of new ideas and businesses as well as innovative public art installations which come and go like new visitors at the site.

PROXY is home to ultra cool retailer, Aether Apparel which is a technical clothing for men and woman with a clean modern aesthetic. They built a concept space constructed from 3 shipping containers with a custom glass-encased cantilevered lounge and the ultra-cool feature of a belt-driven dry-cleaner style conveyor system for stock (yes I get excited about the strangest things). But the design and experience makes for a truly unique, local store.

Super cool dry-cleaner style conveyor system for stock

True&Co

On the day we were visiting, we got to experience the launch of the True&Co Try-On Truck. True&Co started as a lingerie etailer who wanted to create “a live version of our personal fitting experience, inspired by the 'tiny homes' movement. We wanted women to feel at home in our mobile shop," according to Michelle Lam, True&Co.'s CEO and founder.

The customised space is meant to evoke a boutique filled with "the breezy warm feel of California sun on weathered wood," according to a press release, featuring four fitting rooms for sampling a selection of True&Co.'s well-curated bras. These bras are selected based on the fitting as well as a five-minute Fit Quiz that you take at the start of your process. You can book a free appointment here; any bras you buy will be shipped to your home.

After the launch in San Francisco, the Try-On Truck was off through Northern California and then heading on to Los Angeles. After that, anywhere……

Smitten

Smitten originally started as a truly mobile experience before setting up sticks in the PROXY

What got me super-excited; Smitten, on this day, was a cute little dessert shop, like no other dessert shop you have ever seen. With swirls of fog billowing out of mixers, a Hogart’s style concoction of sheer delight was being crafted inside.

Smitten was the brainchild of founder Robyn Sue Fisher, who really didn’t like how ice cream was made today. The baffling ingredient listings of unpronounceable names compelled her to make an ice cream “closer to the cow” or “new, old-fashioned ice-cream.”

The centre of this experience is the Brr, a proprietary ice cream maker that churns out the good stuff. Made to order, using liquid nitrogen at a super-cold temperature, means the ice cream is far smoother than regular ice cream (a whole science behind it).

The Brrr ice cream machine

This is a wonderful experience as a shopper. From entering the inviting store, to your “Brrister” explaining the process, then handcrafting your ice cream to order, this is the ultimate in perfection.

 What makes this “from scratch” ice cream so delicious is the love and care given to the highest quality ingredients. Partnering with the best-of-the-best local farms and purveyors, they seem to find the freshest and most flavourful ingredients.

Seasonal Flavours

Be smitten yourself http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/13/tech/innovation/smitten-ice-cream/#

We continue to grow our appetite for retail with more culturally enriching, harder to come by experiences. We seek authentic stories and search for greater meaning and depth to brands, products and shopping experiences.

Those doing really well in this space in the market where customers understand exactly, “why we do what we do.” They tend to offer experiences that are localised providing a sense of worth, ownership, belonging and wellbeing within a community. These are frequently peppered with sensory experiences and a touch and feel tangibility that takes the brand experience from selling to a sense of pride and purpose.

Demand for retailers to provide ethical products, demonstrate leadership in sustainability and social responsibility and create positive associations for their brand has grown in recent years. Shoppers are smart and see through authentic association vs the cheap talk some brands attempt to deliver as contributing to a better being or worthwhile cause.

Neilsen has reported that beyond the heart space, this is a positive head space for retailers  with 55% of people around the globe prepared to pay more for ethical and good product. 

On a recent trip to Brooklyn, I wandered the streets with a colleague seeking out the new flagship Whole Foods Market store committed to driving innovation and sustainable solutions.

Alas, we couldn’t find what we were looking for as it wasn’t yet open and if we are honest we were actually attracted to the descriptions of views of Brooklyn and Manhattan skyline with Pub Grub at their rooftop restaurant called The Roof.

But some close friends have and I now have an excellent report - At over 5200sqm, the new flagship offers the incredible array of high-quality natural and organic foods synonymous with the brand. But then it takes it up a notch, literally, with a rooftop greenhouse built in partnership with New York’s Gotham Greens.

The store stocks hundreds of locally sourced products with a staggering 200 items locally sourced specifically for this store. Bringing Brooklyn and local to life the store has a café with seating for 250 and a rooftop space for 100 which means it is a true heart of the community, way beyond just a good grocery store.

With its sustainable point of difference centre to the offer the 200sqm garden grows greens, tomatoes and herbs, which are sold instore as well as partnering with local Gotham Greens to run the greenhouse and plans to harvest 150 tons of produce per year.

This is also a Zero Emissions store with six solar canopies providing shade for cars as well as generating 25% of the store’s energy. With wind turbines, grey water reuse, CO2 refrigeration and building materials from reclaimed and repurposed materials, it ticks many “good boxes”.

Image: InsideRetail.com.au Gotham Garden’s The Greenhouse Rooftop Garden

To top it all off there are a couple of speciality sections: a large section of artisan, hand-cut cheeses, a Yuki Ramen bar, a made-to-order juice bar, upscale coffee bar, a rooftop bar with 15 different types of beer on tap and a further 25 more in bottles, a growler station with 10 varieties of beer and an enormous selection of craft beers. My ideal store really.

Whole Foods continues to lead in innovation redefining the meaning of local, experiential and green.

Shopping without waste

Closer to home in Australia, The Source Bulk Foods offers a smaller scale “good” experience.

Delivering a more authentic way to shop the founders built a business based on good healthy foods produced locally and organically. With an insight that health foods were heavily packaged, they knew in their hearts there was a better way. Moving products into bulk in gravity bins, they knew they could make a big difference if unpackaged foods were readily available for shoppers to come and buy as little or as much as they liked, and pack into their own containers.

Now Australia’s largest specialised bulk food provider, the business offers exceptional customer service in addition to their exceptional range. Offering non-food product alongside food, the store brings to life ideas and opportunities to minimise our footprint on this earth while still eating and using nutritious and good products.

I visited their Caloundra store on a recent trip to Australia and was delighted with their simple, clean, modern store layout. It is interactive and the team were fun, knowledgeable and engaging. I felt like I was getting quality food at great prices and doing good for the planet at the same time. Part of my tribe’s purpose really.

And rounding off our selection of doing the right thing, French grocery retailer Intermarche, sprang into action over the 100 million tons of fruit and vegetables thrown away worldwide simply because they are ugly. Intermarche launched the “inglorious fruits and vegetables” campaign to rehabilitate the imperfect fruit or humble vege, selling them in their store 30% cheaper to attract customer to change their ways.

This movement of goodness and doing the right thing is being embraced in a big, big way at every touchpoint on the path to purchase by retailers in response to customer demands and desires.

It is about delivering authentic, meaningful and personalised experiences for shoppers. Retailing with depth, provenance, head, heart and soul.

First up is retail subscription services, which can be a powerful offerings marrying together all of the key trends. From Dollar Shave Club and closer to home, My Food Bag, to the biggies of Amazon Prime and Netflix, it is proven that a compelling product and outstanding customer service, can result in an amazing business proposition.

I often hear retailers saying “if only I could figure out how to make a part of my offer subscription based, I wouldn’t have to work so hard as I would have a dedicated base of customers.”

However, the good things are usually balanced by the not quite so good.  Subscription services give shoppers a taste of something new and different, often tapping into an unmet need. However, if the product doesn’t ultimately cater, the appeal wears off. For me that was My Food Bag which, at the time, had no gluten free offer.

Subscription offers start with a bang and rise on a rapid wave of shoppers who are eager to try new things. After a while, interest wanes as customers realise they don’t actually need the new thing, or their life has not been improved. A massive sustained effort is required by the retailer to figure out how to reactivate lapsed shoppers and find new ones. Innovation and newness are key for evolution.

Vigga – what if clothes could grow with your child

I was delighted to hear from the founder of Danish brand Vigga at The Big Show who not only embraces many of the key trends in their offer but is also one of the hottest subscription service ideas in the world.

Vigga offers parents the opportunity to dress their kids in high quality, recycled designer clothing, made from sustainable materials, at the cost of only DKK 359 per month (US$52).

The start-up was founded by Vigga Svensson and was based on her values system and belief that we can take better care of our planet by sharing with each other and recycling as much as possible. She started out as clothing retailer for eco-friendly kidswear but realised she wasn’t solving the real problem, which is that using clothes only a few times incurs huge cost and resources. And if you have kids you know just how quickly they grow between the ages of 0-2 and how much life these garments can have beyond your child.

The subscription model ensures that outgrown clothes are reused in an eco-friendly manner.

Image: Vigga

Vigga’s clothing is produced in high quality cotton, in close collaboration with GOTS (the Global Organic Textile Standard) and are original. According to Ebbletoft Group who recently awarded Vigga with an innovation award, “With the aim of ‘closing the loop’, the brand keeps to a zero waste policy, with the idea that the clothes recirculate while remaining attractive and in good condition, thus the focus on high-quality cotton. Garments are always checked for faults and washed at eco-certified laundries when changing owners. Users are advised to handle the clothes in an eco-friendly fashion as well. Finally, when items are worn out, they are sent to recycling.” 

The collections are adaptable to suit children’s growth with trousers and sleeves that can be rolled up or down and necklines that can accommodate various head sizes.

This clever, earth-friendly concept offers parents a whole new way to consume and provides a high-end experience that brings the sustainable circular economy up to the next level. Vigga has ambitions to grow globally and I hope they achieve that goal.

http://www.vigga.us/in-english

Peloton Cycle – the first and only cycling studio streaming live into your home

Now this is so very, very cool and something which would be embraced in many corners of the world. In my youth (well pre-children) I used to be one of the Lycra clad pack of Auckland cyclists.  If you understand Auckland weather and traffic, this can be a less than an enjoyable experience, but a step up from the tedium of cycling alone at home.

I discovered Spin classes post kids which were great, but the timetable never really suited me. Enter Peloton Cycle a well-taught cycling class with trained instructors pushing you hard, in a group environment but in the comfort of your own home.

Founder John Foley developed this experience, available to riders anywhere through a touchscreen tablet mounted on a bike. Choosing from an on-demand service or a live streamed class you can see the instructor, hear the students in the room, ride to the music and monitor your performance. The leader board keeps you pumped to work harder.

Getting a signature Peloton bike will set you back $1995 (US) and a monthly subscription fee for on-demand content is $39/month. On top of that you can buy packs of classes that start with a first pack ride of $20 for new riders ($30 on-off ongoing) up to 20 pack at $650.

If you think about the sheer numbers of people who are moving towards riding a bike as a low-impact workout, then this is gold.

The glitter and the glamour

There’s a bunch of pluses to subscription experiences. They can drive frequency of use and hence increase consumption vs having to source from a bricks and mortar environment.

Being part of a “club” builds a wonderful sense of community and can increase a shoppers’ stickiness and advocacy, which is invaluable. Getting packages and engaging in the process builds anticipation and can make a shopper feel really, really special.

The best of these ventures tap into unmet needs whether it be convenience, exclusivity, being elitist, conscious consumerism, whatever.

So you think you’ve got the next ground-breaking product or service just ripe for the market? I picked up these 3 questions to use as a litmus test to determine if you are going to be the next Nespresso pods.

1. What kinds of products are ripe for change? In addition to existing categories such as nappies, what’s for dinner tonight, razors, what emerging product areas can adapt the disintermediation model? Any product that can support an experience that replaces the in-store experience, through a different channel has potential

2. Why and how shoppers are choosing you? Through online surveys, social media, apps and loyalty program data, you can tap into and assess why your best customers choose your product. Ongoing research can help you track how consumers purchase the products over time to identify the potential of other delivery methods. Don’t assume that an online channel is suitable for all categories. Shoppers are likely to grab their golf balls when checking out golf clubs.

3. What’s the real opportunity here?  So your insights are telling you your idea/product can be used to create a new service delivery approach. Great. But if I can get the products I want with the same quality experience from a retailer I already shop with, why would I switch to a new, unknown product or service?

Be clear on what the purchase process is and probe whether it needs to be reassessed each time it’s purchased.  (If so, it’s unlikely to be a fruitful opportunity). Timing is crucial (I can’t solve that one for you).

But if it passes those two qualifiers and if no one is, then perhaps you should.

This was a record-breaking show with more than 34,000 attendees, 540 exhibitors and days packed with presentations and a chance to meet some of the best retailers and understand a bit about what makes them great.

I returned with my mind full of ideas and opportunities and a chest full of flu, contemplating the power of digital, in particular our smartphones, continuously in hand.

Yes our ‘Smart’ devices ae all knowing. They know exactly where we are, our tastes in food, music, film and fashion. They follow our friends, family, finances, our secrets, our hopes and even our dreams. Yes the universe is in our hands. But while it was a good reminder, it’s not new news. So what else did I glean?

Juanita’s Top 5 Trends #makingretailhappen for 2016

#1 Total Retail

A nimble, seamless, holistic, fluid ecosystem; some are calling this Hybrid Retailing. A wave of exceptional operators are making beautiful things in this space. Some started as pure play or omni operators but have now carved out an exceptional space through their focus on quality, simplicity and connectivity.

Think Warby Parker, Shake Shack, Bonobos. Their physical stores take on a new and elevated role and gone are the days of “stack it high, watch it fly”. These brands understand that the journey is as important as the destination.

Photo: Warby Parker

The in-store experience is often built around the mobile and digitally-connected consumer and embraces the “on my terms” shopper who may research online and then purchase in the store, or “touch and feel” the merchandise in the store and purchase online later.

#2 Digital convergence

2016 is about emerging technologies and business models creating ways to attract, engage, and convert shoppers who live in a constant state of partial awareness. But technological solutions have to integrate to provide meaningful solutions and innovation driven by shopper’s needs and wants. Seamlessly.

For example, we’ve moved beyond the stand alone beacon and it is getting integrated into other retail hardware, such as lighting. And beyond that, the blend of social and digital networks creating new vibrant retail opportunities. Excellent examples include Peloton, Lowe’s, Sephora, and Walgreens.

Image: Peloton

#3 Enriched engagement

This trend is being embraced in a big, big way at every touchpoint on the path to purchase. It is all about delivering engaging experiences from selling to seduction. Authenticity, meaning, depth delivered seamlessly, personalised and with relevancy. Check out the great experiences offered up by Toms, Nixon, Found Muji and Mast Bros Chocolates.

Image: Mast Bros Chocolates

#4 Social community

Shoppers today are social souls seeking trust, meaningful experiences, and they want to feel proud of their tribe. This is about creating genuine connections, sharing and building a community. Eataly for example offer a wider range of beautifully curated product in an immersive experience where you can shop, explore, share, drink, dine and learn.

REI also demonstrates leadership in this space by ensuring shoppers get information and products where and when they desire without compromising on the ethos of the company. Take a look at their #Opt Outside campaign for example which shunned shopping at Thanksgiving and Black Friday and inspired people to get outdoors.

Image: Eataly, New York

#5 Useable Data

This year will be characterised by data and analytics. That’s a line you may well have heard before 2016 but I’m not talking big data. Instead this is the year of smart, useable, meaningful data with the tools and ability to deliver hyper-localised, personalised offers.

Retailers need to get a better handle on who is walking into their stores and to start gluing together the entire journey beyond their digital and loyalty programmes which only tell part of the story.

The North Face provided a demo at NRF show developed in partnership with IBM Watson which would appear to have a great future. After completing a series of questions, taking them through the decision making funnel such as “Where are you going?” and “What activities will this be used for?” shoppers were led to product suggestions based on the answers.  It’s a concept still in development and the next step would be connecting content and ideas back to shoppers, creating lifelong relationships enhanced by machine learning.

Image: The North Face / IBM Watson - www.fluid.com

Under Amour is exploring concepts of connected fitness, with apps tracking training behaviour, gear usage and overall health which will result in recommendations for products as well as building information around trends which could influence product innovation, inventory decision making and refining store curation.

Image: www.bidnestetc.co

But hold the line. They’ve brought to market a premium, tasty, personalised meal. It’s not new, it’s not innovative but hats off to a job extremely well done.

It provides the trifecta of customer experience - accessibility, choice and differentiation. They’ve taken the mundane, no surprises Maccas experience we love to hate and elevated it to something interesting, sensory, yet comfortingly familiar.  

How does it work?

On entering the store you find a line of large format digital screens with "Place your order here" emblazoned across the pixels. Then you start creating your own burger by touching the images and words on screen to select your ingredients. It’s really that simple.

Your creation in 5 simple steps

1.      Choose your bun - brioche, ciabatta, farmers loaf, etc

2.      Get saucy - a range of different sauces - BBQ, tomato, chipotle mayo, aioli, garlic, honey mustard, pesto mayo. The list goes on and on.

3.      Fresh'n it up - add your salad (rabbit food my mother used to call it) pineapple, beetroot, tomatoes, caramelised onions, pickles, lettuce, jalapeños, etc

4.      Turn up the taste - add bacon (crispy or rasher), eggs, mushrooms, tortilla chips and guacamole.

5.      Make it cheesy - Swiss, cheddar, mozza, Parmesan, whatever takes your fancy.

There’s even a diet and allergy requirements section and the touch of a button shows you what ingredients are vegetarian and gluten free.

You can choose to pay by EFTPOS at the kiosk or at the counter and then take your numbered docket and clip it to your chosen seat or you can watch your meal being created at an open serve-over with all the fresh ingredients displayed. The chefs wear “Create you Taste” branded black aprons and chefs caps, standing out from the regular staff. Your burger is brought by wait staff on a wooden board, piping hot with a flagged kebab stick.

What does it mean for Maccas?

More moola: The obvious difference is the price of the burger which is based on a base cost plus the ingredients you add to your creation. While a normal Chicken burger can set you back around $8 my burger was $13.50. For the sake of research I sacrificed my newly implemented diet plan and ordered a grilled chicken burger on a brioche bun with grilled pineapple, caramelised onions, lettuce, Swiss cheese and pesto mayo. Customers are enjoying this new experience, the store is increasing average spend per customer and new customers are being enticed in the door. Result.

Offer shift: I don't think a huge overhaul of in store systems would have been required to implement this new offering – a few more staff, increased stock orders and possibly different cooking techniques, but I bet they didn't need to change very much. The key parts were already mostly there.

Engaging experience: The real beauty lies in the fact that this isn't new news but McDonalds appear to be owning it. Think Tank, Pita Pit, Subway, Dominos, or just about any fast food joint you can think of, have been "making your meal” forever.  But take an existing concept - modernise it, make it just a little bit cool, stick it into a different category with a twist and hey pesto (I couldn’t resist), instant hit! The store was pumping for a late lunchtime mid-week.  I could barely find an open seat and at a guess 80% of the customers were ordering and feasting on customised burgers.  

If I had to be picky, my only critique would be that the experience was a little disjointed. It just didn't taste like Maccas. At all. Which I found surprisingly dissatisfying for this wannabe health junkie. 

If you’re an original Maccas aficionado then ‘Create your Taste’ might not be to your taste. But if, until now, Maccas has never been your thing, you should get right in and buy to try. Oh and of course rate your experience through their new ‘mymaccas’ app.

Post Blog Commentary from Juanita Neville-Te Rito

Kiosks have become all the rage in the QSR segment as I saw first-hand recently in the US. As Fiona has highlighted the self-service nature do provide a new “edge” to the existing offer and this has incredible appeal to digital natives who often don’t want to talk with the sales person behind the counter. They want to control the experience on their terms.

Kiosks are help manage demand in busy periods. I for one know that when I enter a Maccas with my kids the line often makes me want to weep. But this innovation has helped retain me rather than my quick negotiation with my kids that I will give them a pony if we leave and eat somewhere else.

From all the analysis I have seen it would appear that kiosks don’t actually reduce staff head hours. Remember that there is a significant amount of drive-thru that isn’t engaged in this offer to be served. But it does significantly heightens the experience especially in speed of service and perceptions around food quality. There is a cost to this customisation in preparation and food cost, but the enhanced offer should drive in more people, spending more, more often. The retail trifecta. #makingretailhappen

Over to you to make your mind up.

I have featured one of my all-time favourites at the very end as a reminder to retailers of what they should be aiming for when they are trying to capture the spirit of Christmas and engage me in their brand and offer beyond reason. The sweetest Christmas present of all.

John Lewis Christmas TV ad 2015 – #ManOnTheMoon

I follow a great blog “This is Retail” in Australia and they explain that “The Man on the Moon is given depth and edge thanks to its link with Age UK. The idea pivots on the heart-breaking fact that one million elderly people in the UK won’t speak to a single person in the month of Christmas.” There is merchandise again linked to the campaign including a mug, gift tag and card which will all be donated toward the charity Age UK.

Aldi Telescope TVC Christmas 2015

You have to check out the Aldi Parody of this TVC which highjacks the John Lewis creative and takes the piss basically through comparison of the price of telescopes. Genius.

Waitrose Christmas TV ads 2015 – What Makes Your Christmas?

Another homely good old Christmas ad which features celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal and a strapping jazz soundtrack exploring all the ingredients that makes Christmas special in your house.

Sainsbury’s Christmas ad 2015 – Mog’s Christmas Calamity

This is my least favourite of all the ads although it features the much-loved children’s book character Mog as the star of its Christmas campaign. It’s quite a production at 3.30 mins with a new book, Mog’s Christmas Calamity, on sale exclusively in Sainsbury’s stores for £3 alongside a £10 soft toy. Perhaps I have no taste as it has been declared ‘the best Christmas advert ever’ according to Twitter. Apparently.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuRn2S7iPNU

Harvey Nichols Christmas 2015 – Avoid #GiftFace

Harvey Nichols campaign this year is based on the premise and research which suggests “72 percent of U.K. adults have admitted to pulling “gift face” to save the feelings of a loved one—and 63 percent admit to wearing or using an unwanted gift after Christmas to keep up the pretense”.

Topshop Christmas 2015 – New Supers

Topshop has enlisted the help of eight fledgling supermodels dancing around for Christmas 2015 with a super soundtrack; Bella Hadid, Sophia Ahrens, Imaan Hammam, Malaika Firth, Ella Richards, Marga Esquivel, Grace Hertzel and Aneta Pajak. As each model sports a different style of dress highlighting the retailer’s key pieces for Christmas. I’m sure this will bring the young lasses running.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW0N15XBbHg

H&M Happy & Merry Christmas TV ad 2015

Katy Perry turns sexy Santa for a festive H&M campaign belting out “Every day is a holiday”. Katy first appears as a fairy before bringing to life a cast of characters, from life-sized gingerbread men, to oversized presents on roller-skates and giant teddybears. Throw in some gorgeous kids and a sexy male model apparently from Taylor Swift’s video. Katy catty side swipe? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E71sKFD-spQ&list=PLA2E182A856EF9C5F

M&S Christmas TV ad 2015 – #TheArtOfChristmas

Yes another snappy production of product, tunes and smiling, happy faces.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=OrYZEepTQ5M

Boots Christmas TV advert 2015: #DiscoverMore

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJqTd4L1UTI

A lovely bit of glamour but doesn’t pull on the heart string as much as the 2013 TVC which I still think is one of my favourites because of the music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nplrDHgjpQk

The Argos Christmas TV Advert 2015 – #JustCantWait For Christmas

Well just how many products can you swish into a 60 sec TVC. Great focus on same day and instore click and collect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBYDvRDlsrQ

But not a tear rolled down my cheek this year. Christmas fail? I wouldn’t go that far as there are still some lovely productions to try to capture the hearts, minds and wallets of shoppers. Nothing like good old family traditional values or show stopper glamour to make you feel good parting with you precious dollars.

Next blog I will explore the delights that our own backyard has served for us, but I’m happy and tearful to wrap up with a fine example of what a real Christmas ad should do to you. Apple Christmas 2013 gets me every single time.

Meanwhile, in a different part of the world, another hilarious piece of action was taking place, also playing in the pool of supposed single people, but this one was nothing to do with hooking up and all to do with spending up. It’s an annual unique celebration of singledom. And it’s huge. An orgy of sorts.

Hundreds of millions of people prepare themselves to spend billions of dollars in a shopping frenzy like no other. It is the single biggest shopping event in the world. As the clock turns to midnight e-commerce site Alibaba throws the world’s biggest shopping party, known as Double 11 or Singles' Day.

A large screen shows total gross merchandise volume, a measure of sales, exceeding 10bn yuan at 00:12am and 28 seconds during Singles Day 2015. 

Sales defy belief. This is like nothing we see.  It’s fast, furious and achieves $14.3 billion in a single-day of trading. And gosh do these guys have fun with it. Something that is not lost on me as the crap we antipodean retailers dish up to our shoppers  every Christmas is painfully absorbed. (When are we going to call time on that people?) 

It is a pure-play online event which Alibaba hosts at TMall. This is an immersive experience with games, contests, prizes scattered across the site. The visual delivery is fun. This year the event was marked with bidding on a Cadillac, and the first hundred people to put a down payment on the car also get to buy it at half price. A creative arts festival runs concurrently, entertaining shoppers for the full 24 hours of the event.

Alibaba launched this event in 2009 as a single’s e-commerce event. Legend has it the idea of a day to celebrate your single-status in China was conceived in the ’90s by young, single girls who wanted some fun, to have a party to celebrate your status (or drink yourself happy about it at one of the many parties). It grew legs and people started buying presents for their single friends. Enter Alibaba.

Now it goes well beyond the original idea and has become a shopping extravaganza, no matter what your status. An excuse to shop for oneself.

The driving force behind the success and growth is the smart application of insights derived from data. This has guided the expansion of the offer from cars, electronics, branded apparel, cosmetics right through to fresh fruit.

As a piece of genius, TMall secure participation upfront prior to the sale, enabling customers to shop early; or secure their part in the event. For example, making a down payment to get deals securing a deeper discount on the day. The continue engagement throughout the day with flash sales

In order to let people pre-shop and increase the gamesmanship, TMall lets consumers start shopping early in several ways. They can make a down payment to get deals, often as little as 10%. In some cases, doing so entitles them to a deeper discount. And there are flash sales. For example, one offered a 999 RMB bottle of Moet Chandon Brut Imperial, already on promotion for 399.80 RMB, for just 11.11 RMB. And then there are ‘red envelopes,’ coupon rewards for early shoppers, who can spend them like cash on the big day.

Daniel Craig helps kick off the extravaganza with Alibaba chairman Jack Ma

Many a seasoned retailer pulls the lever of inflating prices before the event to discount, so there are many products which aren’t much below the actual price. But frankly, who cares? There’s so much fun to be had.

Source: The Telegraph, UK

The results were insane. In just 17 mins sales passed the US$2 billion mark.  

But not everyone wins large. Spare a thought for the couriers. E-commerce has been a huge boost to the logistics industry, but the ever-bigger Singles Day exacerbates the industry's twin dilemmas of cut-throat competition and rising labour costs. With low barriers to entry, express couriers have proliferated rapidly, squeezing profit margins to about 5pc, down from 30pc 10 years ago, according to analysts. 

(Reuters/Jason Lee)

Storage house full of packages in Guangzhou, China

Some key stats:

- Mobile GMV account for 72% over total GMV

- The total number of mobile buyers was more than 27 million in the first hour

- The festival featured more than 6 million products

- More than 30,000 brands

- Over 40,000 merchants

- Approximately 760 million packages will be delivered from 5,000 warehouses

- Approximately 120,000 orders and 60,000 payments at peak per second

And key players:

 - Alibaba was strong on mobile; 70% of its sales happened on a mobile device

 - Zara led omnichannel, with online to offline (O2O) drivers as one of the few global brands to offer Singles’ Day deal in its stores

 - Huggies piggybacked off Tmall and sold 6 million diapers through its Tmall Global Shop

 - Lancôme preserved brand equity while taking advantage of the holiday. It offered gifts with purchase in lieu of discounts

Image source: Inside Retail Asia

The rest of the world is wading in to join this bacchanalian feast of retail – witness activity from Macy’s, Costco, Nike and Burberry.

I love this event and I love that fact that retailers think long and hard about how exactly are they going to engage shoppers beyond merely product and price.

At the time of writing it is the “morning after” Click Monday and I, for one, did not participate this year. The communications, the offers, the retailers were all a bit ho hum and I suspect the offers will be exceeded over the coming Christmas trading period. So why bother?

All this highlights the need for retailers, more than ever, to formulate an effective online to offline strategy. You need to be competitive and harness the power of social media (not just post crap about yourself – it’s like one way dating). Turn transactional data into insights to improve user experience and product selection.