Retail consultants from Bain, Gilliam and Company and Deloitte got a late Christmas present from Ann Zimmerman and Rachel Dodes of The Wall Street Journal this morning - a feature story on their opinions of how retailers need to adapt to new shopping preferences.
None of the insights are groundbreaking enough to warrant a feature. For example, unless you have enough information to report on what Best Buy is doing, why and how it is working out for them, what's the point of this paragraph?
Store chains must also take steps to make their locations more enticing destinations—for many, aisle after aisle of tightly stacked merchandise is no longer a good use of space. Some retailers, notably Best Buy Co., are already trying to make this transition with plans for "experience-based" areas, turning the centers of their stores into showcases where people can play with the latest gadgets.
Similarly, is there anyone out there who follows retail business who would find this observation illuminating?
The emergence of the Internet as a sales behemoth also poses a challenge for malls that charge rents based on a percentage of sales. They will have to determine how to account for items that were purchased by computer but picked up in stores, says Maggie Gilliam, president of Gilliam & Co., an independent research and advisory firm in New York.
The bar should be a little higher for achieving feature coverage for ideas and observations, even on the Monday between Christmas and New Year's.
Comments