Traditional retail is becoming increasingly volatile andchallenged as a business model. Brick-and-mortar has shifted toonline, while online is shifting into pop-up storefronts. Virtualstores in subway platforms and airports are offering new levels ofconvenience for harried commuters. High Street and Main Street arebecoming the stuff of nostalgia. The Big Box is losing ground tonew models that attract consumers through their most-trustedassistant—the smartphone. What’s next? What’s thefuture for you—a retailer—who is witnessing a tsunamiof change and not knowing if this means grasping ahold of newopportunity or being swept away?
The Retail Revival answers these questions by lookinginto the not-so-distant retail past and by looking forward into afuture that will continue to redefine retail and its enormouseffect on society and our economies. Massive demographic andeconomic shifts, as well as historic levels of technological andmedia disruption, are turning this once predictableindustry—where “average” was king—into asea of turbulent change, leaving consumer behavior permanentlyaltered. Doug Stephens, internationally renowned consumer futurist,examines the key seismic shifts in the market that have evencompanies like Walmart and Procter & Gamble scrambling to cope,and explores the current and future trends that will completelychange the way we shop.
The Retail Revival provides no-nonsense clarity on therealities of a completely new retail marketplace— realitiesthat are driving many industry executives to despair. But thefuture need not be dark. Stephens offers hope and guidance for anybusinesses eager to capitalize on these historic shifts andthrive.
Entertaining and thought-provoking, The Retail Revivalmakes sense of a brave new era of consumer behavior in whicheverything we thought we knew about retail is beingcompletely reimagined.
