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5 critical traits to be a future-focused retailer

Bill Chidley, a partner at ChangeUp, offers up the five critical traits required to be a future-focused retailer.

November 25, 2016

By Bill Chidley

Time can be a friend or an enemy. In the fast changing, digitally transformed retail world, next year, next quarter, next week can all seem like a steady headwind of reacting and shifting focus — an exercise in survival.

I believe the future is a friend, and that it will bring prosperity to those who create it. Building future-focused brands and retail experiences means moving beyond the rhetoric and having the required discipline. It's about understanding the now, identifying the next, and innovating the future.

Here are five critical traits required to be a future focused retailer:

Easy– When complexity is expected, simplicity is rewarded. Being future-focused means finding a way into shoppers' hearts by reducing steps and providing new, easier ways to do old things. Technology is providing the means to revolutionize easy, making it crucial to understand where to apply technology and why.

Insightful– Future-focused retailers know what we want before we do. Like a friend, they understand us as individuals, not simply as demographics or market segments. We believe great design is predicated on a human-centered, insight driven process — truly listening, not merely observing.

Empowering– Amplifying efforts, maximizing control; future-focused retailers give us superpowers that once we experience we can't live without. Whether it's finding a great product or great purpose, brand building must emphasize the roles a retailer must play as a tool to achieve something better.

Surprising– Everybody loves a winner, and winners don't rest. Both "born digital" and mature retailers need to define the future through a continuous pioneering spirit that generates excitement. From innovative ways to engage customers, to new ways to interact and communicate, retailers must stay fresh and relevant.

Memorable– In a landscape of consumable experiences, future-focused retailers take root in our memories and flower. Our brains are biased to remember negative experiences, so brands must work hard — evoking consistent, positive emotions to flourish. It's about crafting retail experiences that deliver memories worth keeping.  

Is the future your friend? It should be. Retailers need to be future focused with how they look, communicate, behave, and deliver experiences. It's innovation with an eye toward building relationships that don't just endure, but thrive and take an irreplaceable role in the lives of their shoppers.

Bill Chidley is a partner for ChangeUp, Inc. a retail consulting firm in Dayon, Ohio. He has consulted with companies like Home Depot, AT&T, P&G, and John Deere, using design thinking and brand strategy to influence customer behavior and drive choice.