2021 JULY
SHOULD SHOPTALK
BE RENAMED
“I.T. TALK”?
Written by : Terri Fisher
What is SHOPTALK?
Their 8,000 attendees each year tells us that Shoptalk is one of the retail industry’s best events, with attendees describing their experience as amazing, educational, energizing, exciting, insightful, inspiring, productive and fun. It was held annually in Las Vegas for 3 years. The event provided a platform for large retailers, branded manufacturers, startups, tech companies, investors, media, and analysts to learn, network, collaborate, and evolve. I have been lucky enough to be able to attend this conference for free (normally about $3000 per person) using my credentials as Retail Correspondent for iApparel Journal.
I have written before about my exciting experiences at Shoptalk on my 2 trips to Vegas. Last year in 2020, due to Covid, the conference was canceled out of Vegas and changed to a virtual event. The format was drastically changed from great presentations by industry leaders to 3 days of 15 minute “meet-ups” with people you elect to meet with who also agree to meet with you. I did not write about the conference last year as I found it to be not nearly as productive or educational as it was in the past. What can you learn about someone and their company in 15 minutes?? Not a whole lot, believe me.
Not one to give up easily, this year, 2021 Shoptalk was again virtual with 15 minute meet-ups, this time it was WOMEN ONLY. Although I am all for GIRL-POWER, I tend to believe that conferences should have the very best people involved from each company no matter what their sex. Nevertheless, I again signed up for the 3-day
Before I talk about the good things I learned, I’d like to say that for the past 2 years I have found that Shoptalk has transformed itself into a format for information technology companies to sell their products and platforms to retailers. Due to this emphasis on I.T. in 2020, this year most of the retailers that attended were Chief Information Officers, I.T. engineers, and technical e-commerce executives. If you weren’t shopping for expensive hardware and software, you were out of luck.
I understand the importance of all this technical knowledge in today’s retail world although I do believe there is still an important spot for retailers who are creative, innovative idea- generators rather than those who rely simply on A.I. and computer-generated algorithms to run their businesses.
I have not gotten very much information during this series of technology meet-ups to share with you my friends. This is not my strongest skill set nor do I hold a lot of interest in computer science. I prefer to study the customer. Does this make me a retail dinosaur? I sure hope not.
Two “meetings” in these 3 days DID excite me. One was a woman I “met” who is the Co-Founder and CEO of SWAP RETAIL. Her name is Melodie van der Baan. She also lives in Florida but on the East Coast. She not only started this fantastic company but also has a retail boutique of her own. She is a mega go-getter! I loved her! What SWAP RETAIL is all about is that they buy, sell, and swap inventory at cost for retailers.
They have been in business a little over a year and already have 3000 retailers “authorized” to use their services and over 1000 who are very active customers. I will try to explain her brilliant idea: Let’s say you own a retail luxury apparel shop that happens to sell Ralph Lauren ladieswear. You have a particular dress that sold out immediately. The vendor (brand), is out of stock on that same style/sku. The retailer then goes to SWAP RETAIL and SWAP RETAIL goes out to all the retailers in its network and looks for that dress. The 2nd retailer sends out the dress to the retailer who is in need of it. Conversely, you have a Ralph Lauren handbag that is a “dog”, a real poor seller. You go to the network and sent it out to another retailer who is selling it well. Right now they are mostly working with national public brands. Very soon they will be able to swap all brands! I think this is brilliant! The retailer takes less markdowns as well as maximizes sales. The brand pays less in markdown dollars. The customer gets what they want. Everybody wins. How does Swap Retail make money? They charge a 10% transaction fee from the retailer. Much cheaper than a 40% markdown, don’t you think?? I plan to spend more time with Melodie in a full-fledged interview as International Apparel Journal is the very first apparel media company that she has talked to! I guess you can say we have an exclusive! What an amazing idea that could be utilized in any country, in any category of merchandise. I would sign up in a nano-second if I had a store! Swap Retail is still in its infancy, but a recent Forbes article said “it has the potential to become a lot bigger if Van der Baan…can convince more fashion brands to use it.” The web platform launched over a year ago, in January 2020, and its only backing thus far is from Angel Investors. This one is a winner. I guarantee it!
Ok, enough about Swap Retail, back to one other event I particularly liked. It was called “Tabletalks for Women” which included 5 or 6 female CEO’s plus one chosen as a moderator, who battle one topic with questions they are aware of before it starts. Not 15 minutes like the other meet-ups, but Tabletalks were almost an hour. The one I loved was called “Changing Consumer Behaviors and Preferences”. It is what we all want to know, am I right? All of it had to do with a post-Covid world starting now. Many ideas were batted around, all were well thought-out and inspirational. I will share some of them here with you now:
The new consumer is craving HOME products, nesting at home, starting to entertain. Luggage and travel are starting to trend. Home businesses, including appliances, and DIY stores like Home Depot are doing great. Everyone seems to be renovating these days. Sick of looking at the same 4 walls they will spend on their home like they never have before. Real estate sales are also sky rocketing!
One surprise was that many people thought originally that RESALE RETAIL (another article in this issue) would be tough due to Covid hygiene issues. Nothing could be further from the truth! Resale is hot, hot, hot! Vintage stores, consignment shops, and online resale companies are doing great! Sustainability is the key word. People really care about not buying fast fashion that ends up in junk yards contaminating our planet. Companies like REAL REAL, THRED UP, RENT THE RUNWAY, SWITCH, EBAY, STOCKX, REBAG, DEPOP, TRADESY, FARFETCH, POSHMARK, THRIFT+, and so many more are dominating retail even though the concept is both old and now new again. It is a circular economy which is just now starting up. There has been an emotional pull during Covid where people really care about the world.
Travel is way up. Everyone is tired of staying home and is anxious to get back out into the world.
Self-indulgence is back. After a year+ of not leaving your house, people are flocking to get massages, manicures, and facials.
Our group agreed that customers will NOT be giving up comfort in the new world of retail. NO HIGH HEELS! There will be an evolution of comfort and casual and there is a hybrid that will take over.
Basics will remain being purchased on line. Utilitarian items that don’t need to be touched and felt. Amazon continues to grow.
Many new users of e-commerce, particularly older new users will remain on line. Once you get a taste of convenience you don’t go back.
Buy online, Pick up in store will continue to grow. This new buying vehicle was born out of Covid. No waiting for items to be shipped to you. Pick up now in store.
Retailers who are over-spaced will need to decide what to do with all that extra space. Many are using it for Micro Distribution Centers. Sporting goods stores are building climbing walls. Many stores will use the space for experiential retail. Many will add restaurants. Activewear stores will add studios for yoga classes.
Do Good, Be Good. Sell a pair of shoes, give a pair away to those less fortunate (TOMS). Sell a pair of socks, give a pair away to homeless people (BOMBAS). People want to know they are helping someone else with their purchases.
As the world moved to e-commerce, what are retailers going to do with all those returns??? They will need to invest in digital sizing helpers for the customers to avoid the current practice of buying 3 sizes, keeping the one that fits best, and returning the rest.
What did the group feel about Back-to-School and Black Friday 2021? There will still be the APPEARANCE of discounting and promotional prices but the depth of discounting will not be as low as in previous years. The disruption will be in the supply chain, causing decreased inventories (India, Taiwan and others on lockdown still). Holiday will NOT mean people returning to malls in droves. Many are still afraid of crowds and of mall shootings that continue to happen. The off-pricers will continue to do well due to their “treasure-hunt” approach and naturally good prices. (TJMaxx, Burlington, Ross, Marshalls). We believe that the shopping period for Holiday will be shorter based on time, patience, and inventory. Get it early or you risk not getting it at all.
Smaller “mom and pop” retailers in smaller towns with unique products will make a comeback. What goes around, comes around, right?
Sustainability used to be a “nice to have”. Now it is a MUST HAVE! Everyone jumping on the bandwagon. Even investors have started to look for sustainable companies to invest in. And as was written about it our last edition of IAJ, even colleges are being looked at by prospective students based on their sustainability scores.
So much is happening, so much is new. Stay on top of it all or it will come crumbling down on you. Utilize this journal to keep up on everything that is happening in the world. Keep your selves informed. Keep safe.
Warm regards,
