Remarkable Retail

Physical retail isn’t dead—but boring retail is! Remarkable Retail equips the savvy retailer with eight essential strategies to thrive in an increasingly volatile and uncertain future. Digital technology has profoundly altered the competitive landscape for retailers. In Remarkable Retail, industry thought leader Steve Dennis argues that in a world of nearly infinite choice, where the lines between digital and physical are increasingly blurred, even being very good is no longer good enough. To win and keep customers today, retailers must be nothing short of remarkable. In most retail categories, digital channels are often central to the consumer’s journey, but that doesn’t mean people aren’t also shopping in stores; they’re just using them differently, often browsing in one channel and buying in the other. The notion of a physical store channel and an ecommerce channel is increasingly a distinction without a difference; the customer is the channel. The future belongs to those who embrace the blur of digital and physical that represents modern retail today and work to deliver an experience that is more harmonized and more memorable, regardless of how consumers decide to shop. Packed with illuminating case studies from some of modern retail’s biggest success stories—and leveraging Dennis’s more than thirty years as a senior executive and strategic consultant to dozens of brands—Remarkable Retail lays out the case for going beyond a slightly better version of mediocre and forging a path to being truly remarkable. To help retailers on this transformation journey, Dennis presents eight essential strategies for visionary leaders who are prepared to reimagine their way of doing business. A remarkable retailer is digitally enabled, human-centered, harmonized, mobile, personal, connected, memorable, and radical. In an age where consumers have short attention spans, myriad options, and a digitally integrated relationship with every brand, Remarkable Retail is your indispensable guide to creating a powerful retail experience that keeps your customers coming back for more.

Few crises in modern history have so completely disrupted every aspect of daily life as has the Covid-19 pandemic. What began as a small medical ripple in Wuhan, China, a city many of us had never heard of, quickly erupted into a tsunami of epic proportions. Every market, industry, vertical, profession, service, and category of product was in some way rocked by its impact. And, for the first time in recorded history, every wheel, cog and gear in the global retail industry ground to a virtual halt. From two-time, international best-selling author and futurist Doug Stephens, Resurrecting Retail is not just a riveting story of the unprecedented crash of an industry during this time of crisis but a roadmap for its rebirth. Meticulously researched in real time from inside the crisis, Resurrecting Retail provides a comprehensive and surprising vision of how Covid-19 will reshape every aspect of consumer life, including the very essence of why we shop.

Shortlisted for the Business Book Awards 2022 The world's retail sector has been devastated in recent years by two unstoppable forces: internet shopping and the Covid-19 lockdown. The result: huge numbers of prestigious brands have gone under, or are now a shadow of their former selves, and large parts of the world economy have fallen into a recession, with reduced employment and incomes across large parts of society. High streets and shopping malls lie half-empty, causing a vacuum at the heart of our communities and societies, and many discretionary products have simply become too expensive for people to buy on a regular basis. There is now an urgent need to regenerate our local shopping areas, so how can retailers and brands respond to this crisis? Fortunately, new shoots of recovery are emerging from the wreckage of the old order – new brands, new ways of providing value, and new and innovative methods of creating interest to draw in consumers, all of which have the potential to kick-start the retail economy. Retail Recovery offers a comprehensive analysis of these new forces that are changing the way in which we browse for and buy products, and how we experience and engage with the brands themselves. It includes in-depth interviews with some of the most innovative players in the UK, Europe and North America, in the hope of drawing out key learning points for the rest of the industry. It also provides essential guidelines for governments, as they strive to rebuild and reinforce the retail spaces within our communities, allowing them to create a more effective economic lifeline for retailers, shoppers, retail workers, manufacturers and distributors.

As competition for customers is constantly increasing, contemporary restaurants must distinguish themselves by offering consistent, high-quality service. Service and hospitality can mean different things to different foodservice operations, and this book addresses the service needs of a wide range of dining establishments, from casual and outdoor dining to upscale restaurants and catering operations. Chapters cover everything from training and hiring staff, preparation for service, front-door hospitality to money handling, styles of modern table service, front-of-the-house safety and sanitation, serving diners with special needs, and service challenges—what to do when things go wrong. Remarkable Service is the most comprehensive guide to service and hospitality on the market, and this new edition includes the most up-to-date information available on serving customers in the contemporary restaurant world.

Traditional retail is becoming increasingly volatile and challenged as a business model. Brick-and-mortar has shifted to online, while online is shifting into pop-up storefronts. Virtual stores in subway platforms and airports are offering new levels of convenience for harried commuters. High Street and Main Street are becoming the stuff of nostalgia. The Big Box is losing ground to new models that attract consumers through their most-trusted assistant—the smartphone. What’s next? What’s the future for you—a retailer—who is witnessing a tsunami of change and not knowing if this means grasping ahold of new opportunity or being swept away? The Retail Revival answers these questions by looking into the not-so-distant retail past and by looking forward into a future that will continue to redefine retail and its enormous effect on society and our economies. Massive demographic and economic shifts, as well as historic levels of technological and media disruption, are turning this once predictable industry—where “average” was king—into a sea of turbulent change, leaving consumer behavior permanently altered. Doug Stephens, internationally renowned consumer futurist, examines the key seismic shifts in the market that have even companies like Walmart and Procter & Gamble scrambling to cope, and explores the current and future trends that will completely change the way we shop. The Retail Revival provides no-nonsense clarity on the realities of a completely new retail marketplace— realities that are driving many industry executives to despair. But the future need not be dark. Stephens offers hope and guidance for any businesses eager to capitalize on these historic shifts and thrive. Entertaining and thought-provoking, The Retail Revival makes sense of a brave new era of consumer behavior in which everything we thought we knew about retail is being completely reimagined. Praise for The Retail Revival “It doesn’t matter what type of retail you do—if you sell something, somewhere, you need to read Doug Stephens’ The Retail Revival. Packed with powerful insights on the changing retail environment and what good retailers should be thinking about now, The Retail Revival is easy to read, well-organized and provides essential food for thought.” — Gregg Saretsky, President and CEO, WestJet “This book captures in sharp detail the deep and unprecedented changes driving new consumer behaviors and values. More importantly, it offers clear guidance to brands and retailers seeking to adapt and evolve to meet entirely new market imperatives for success.” —John Gerzema, Author of Spend Shift and The Athena Doctrine “The Retail Revival is a critical read for all marketing professionals who are trying to figure out what’s next in retail… Doug Stephens does a great job of explaining why retail has evolved the way it has, and the book serves as an important, trusted guide to where it’s headed next. ” —Joe Lampertius SVP, Shopper Marketing, Momentum Worldwide and Owner, La Spezia Flavor Market “Doug Stephens has proven his right to the moniker ‘Retail Prophet.’ With careful analysis and ample examples, the author makes a compelling case for retailers to adapt, change and consequently revive their connection with consumers. Stephens presents actionable recommendations with optimism and enthusiasm—just the spoonful of sugar we need to face the necessary changes ahead.” —Kit Yarrow, Ph.D., Consumer Psychologist; Professor, Golden Gate University; Co-Author, Gen BuY: How Tweens, Teens and Twenty-Somethings are Revolutionizing Retail “Doug Stephens doesn’t just tell you why retail is in the doldrums, he tells you why retail is a major signpost for the larger troubles of our culture and provides a compelling, inspiring vision for a future of retail—and business, and society.” —Eric Garland, author of Future Inc.: How Businesses Can Anticipate and Profit from What’s Next

In this new text, Dhruv Grewal, a leading Professor of Marketing and Retailing, explores the complexities of the contemporary retail environment by drawing on what he refers to as the 5 Es of retailing: - Entrepreneurial, innovative and customer-centric mindset - Excitement - Education - Experience - Engagement These are illustrated using a wide range of examples such as Tesco, Kroger, Zara, Wholefoods, Groupon, and Amazon. Together, the framework and examples enable readers to navigate today’s challenging retail environment made up of social media, retailing analytics and online and mobile shopping. Retail Marketing Management is essential reading for students of retailing and marketing, as well as practitioners working in retail today.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The world is changing, and physical stores are not immune to this. While some have paused or scaled back their expansion plans, many brick-and-mortar-dominant retail brands are still opening stores and posting strong growth and profits. #2 The power in retail has shifted to the consumer, and what was once scarce no longer is. We no longer go online, but live online. In most categories, digital channels are central to the consumer’s purchasing journey. #3 The differences between the retail haves and have-nots are becoming more and more pronounced as the impacts of the pandemic shake society to the core. The retailers that offer decent prices but not the best shopping experience are struggling. #4 The shift from bartering to the various forms of shopkeeper took a long time. In the nineteenth century, aspects of retail began to become more professionalized, as specialty stores and department stores made their debut in many major cities.

Explores the coming retail revolution, which will affect retailers of all sizes. The author paints a bold vision of the future, where the very concept of what a store is, how consumers shop and even what retail's core revenue model is, will all be profoundly reinvented, and he illustrates the vast opportunities available for courageous brands and business leaders. With real world examples and insights from industry disruptors