Fresh-ness Sells

Oxfam, Nine West, Broadway mall. What do Oxfam and a shoe retailer have in common ? Well, they have both grasped the important point that shoppers look for 'new-ness' or 'fresh-ness', and that windows are the best way to sell new product. It is amazing how few retailers recognise this. Well done to them.

Mainstream Fashion Unravels

(East Gardens, General Pants, Katies, Jeans West, Just Jeans). A visit to the mall this afternoon left me wondering whether mainstream fashion retailers really understand where their customers' heads are at. Have a look at this selection of windows from well-known brands on the Australian retail scene, targeting a wide spectrum of the so-called mainstream mid-market for apparel.

What struck me is that none of them has a compelling message or offer. We are in the middle of the worst recession anyone can remember, and customers have been used to seeing '50% to 70% off' sales every week. This is not to suggest that is what retailers should be doing at this point. All credit to retailers who feel they can move away from this 'consumer drug' - the road to ruin for many a mall retailer.

My question is this - is there no news ? eg. new season or product lines ? Are there no value offers (to be fair Jeans West had advertised $65 jeans, but very 'quietly') that can catch the imagination of shoppers ? Where is the call to action ? I understand we are in a trans-seasonal (or transitional) period) - but it does seem there is a single lack of imagination amongst retail marketes in this sector. Let me know your thoughts.

A CHANGING SMIGGLE ?

The first time I have seen inconsistencies at Smiggle, usually a very tidy operator.  East Gardens and Broadway stores, respectively.  Perhaps the latter's LCD has broken down - which highlights one of the weaknesses of this window approach.  When it works you have an eye-catching window, when it doesn't you have a black 'hole'. Also, the signage is different.

IN THE CLOUDS

Kikki.k Broadway - new windows - look colourful, and reflect changing seasons.  Easy on the eye, but with some impact.

SWEET SALE OR TOOTHACHE ?

An attractive sweet shop in Melbourne's Southgate complex - great use of colours and innovative window display use - see how they are angled, which maximises impact and space.  However, it must be a sign of retail pain when a sweet shop is 'on sale'.

WINDOWS THAT SELL- SHOPPOLOGIST REVIEW

Some observations while drinking a coffee in the Broadway mall - just off city centre, a strong fashion mall, mainly mid-market, with a sprinkling of more upscale stores. dotti is a national womenswear fashion chain owned by Just Group, and is experiencing strong growth. The core target market is the 25 year old working woman. Merchandise is reasonably priced, and of a reasonable quality. In the Broadway mall, the store is located on the top floor, in the specialty fashion precinct - its neighbour immediately left is Esprit.

I was struck by the impact the windows had on passing foot traffic. The store gets a disproportionate share of the passing traffic in a relatively quiet area of the mall, and leaves its far larger Esprit neighbour for dead. The contemporary fashion direction (return to hippies/60s era) was well demonstrated. The clear background to the display lends impact.

The window display was mirrored with key items merchandised at the front of the store (next to the security bollards). The video below also shows the importance- long understood by successful retailers - of strongly merchandising the 'facing' wall - that is the one facing the highest traffic flow - in this case from left to right.

The video shows about 2 mins of continuous running footage taken at approx 2pm - 2.15pm on a recent Thursday.

UPDATED: A BASIC NUMERIC ANALYSIS

• In the 2 mins of this observation, 24 consumers passed or entered the store, or 1 every 5 secs.
• Of these, 13 were from the left, 11 from the right side of the store.
• Of the 24, 17 (71%) were female, 7 male.
• Of the 24, a staggering 11 looked at the window (7 from the left, 4 from the right)
• Of the 11 looking at the window, 10 were female, meaning that 10/17 (59%) female customers observed the window.
• Of the 10 who observed the window, 7 (70%) went into the front of the store and examined the merchandise displays.
• Thus of the original 17 female customers (target market), 7 (41%) were converted into examining the displays at the front of the store.