United States
Reinventing Retail for the Experience Economy
Company Feature, Aug 2, 2017
Notes from Jo Dancey
For years there’s been a lot of talk around “bricks versus clicks” in the retail world. How consumers spend their money and their time is changing, and the competition for both is on the rise. As a result, we are witnessing the biggest retail landscape shift we’ve seen in a decade – one that is driven by the consumer. In my role as Vice President, Retail, U.K & Ireland, I couldn’t be more excited about the innovation this new reality is sparking for us as a company, and for beauty retail as a whole.
In actuality, we are talking about the ‘experience economy,’ which means a more participatory and less transactional consumer journey. There is high consumer interest in a blend of products and services, in workshops, collaborations and classes that ultimately create an emotional connection with a brand. The design of retail environments and in-store merchandising must also account for an expectation of a constant feed of visual information, and opportunities for insta-moments. For brands to remain relevant, we need to effectively reinvent ourselves by offering engaging and entertaining experiences that are true to the brand, or that creatively mix multiple brands.
As convenience is becoming the new luxury in all of our lives, it is necessary to be where our consumers are, and at the moment that they have the need for our product. This, in itself, is driving changes within the retail landscape because it’s broadening what we’ve come to think of as traditional retail spaces to include transportation hubs, festivals, kiosks and other new formats. It’s about location and it’s about flexible store formats that are relevant for these settings. A very small, moment-driven pop-up can be very effective in reaching consumers in new places.
We’ve been experimenting with new retail concepts in London where many of our brands have an established presence, while others are being introduced to the market for the first time. We took a lease for a small footprint in Piccadilly Circus — a very busy spot — but a location where you wouldn’t typically find our brands in the past, and changed the featured brand every few months. Aveda went into that location and offered customers three-minute hair fixes in the morning and as the day evolved, the services changed slightly with lunchtime consultations going a bit longer and evenings focused on quick replenishment.
We created The Grooming Station, a men’s concept in St. Pancras Station, where consumers typically dwell for longer periods of time because it’s where travelers connect to not only U.K. destinations, but also to the Eurostar. This was developed as a multi-brand location that offered male grooming services at the same time, which was fantastically well-received. It introduced the consumer to brands like Lab Series, Clinique for Men, Origins and Bumble and bumble, and gave us the ability to learn, to engage that particular consumer. That has ultimately resulted in a new strategy of what a men’s roll-out could look like within the U.K.
When we moved to our new offices in the trendy Fitzrovia area, we took all of the street-level retail space in the building and dedicated one of those units, No. 6 Mortimer, as a live lab, to test new concepts and new brands. We’ve been having fun with this space. Last December it was built out as a multi-branded experience focused on holiday gifting. The store design was completely and purposely different from anything that you were seeing in retail at that point. In a world that goes pretty crazy everywhere during the holidays we were offering an alternate experience: the chance for slow shopping, to curate acquired gifts, along with workshops in calligraphy and floral wreath-making.
The current incarnation of the live lab ‘Ruuby x No. 6 Mortimer’ provides a service-based pop-up destination offering quick-fix services, anything from a mini Darphin facial, to Bobbi Brown brows, a Bumble and bumble blow dry, and manicures and pedicures . It’s quite unusual, but it’s testing new ground, predominantly in the variety of ways that service is becoming such a key part of the retail destination now.
In this experience economy, the “be ready/always on” sensibilities — not only for millennials but across the generations — bode very well for the beauty industry. The fact that service is becoming such a key part of these experiential moments is only an advantage to us, as high-touch service is part of our heritage at The Estée Lauder Companies. What we are further developing is flexibility and bespoke personalization around those services. And beyond our presence in concentrated retail destinations, count on our mix of incredible brands to be popping up in a lot more unusual and unexpected places.
Update: Since the publication of this article, Jo Dancey was promoted to Vice President, Global Brand Finance & Strategy, Jo Malone London. Previously, Jo Dancey was Vice President, Retail, UK & Ireland for The Estée Lauder Companies with a broad and diverse set of responsibilities, including: Marketplace Strategy, Real Estate, Store Planning & Design, Retail Innovation & Development and Retail Operations. In this capacity, she played a leading role in driving experiential retail and executing innovative strategic projects, resulting in exceptional retail store growth. In addition, Jo led the Company’s 2015 office relocation to its current home in Fitzrovia, a complex 2-year project she considers a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity.’ She joined The Estée Lauder Companies in 2000 as a Retail Accountant and has since served in positions with increased responsibility and scope.
