Retail Trends at the 2019 Global Retailing Conference

Jon Bibo attended the Global Retailing Conference (GRC) in Tucson, AZ, for the 5^th consecutive year and shares his thoughts on this exciting conference that addresses hot topics and the latest strategies in the world of retail.   

The GRC is one of my favorite and most thought-provoking Conferences each year. The GRC coordinates with the Terry Lundgren Center for Retailing at the University of Arizona—which is on the cutting edge of practical, real-world retail training.

This year, 17 top executives shared their strategies, insights, and philosophies for success. Each GRC session lasts just 45 minutes (including a Q&A period), so attendees receive just the right amount of information to stimulate new ideas. The Conference lasts just 1.5 days, so plenty of high-quality content is packed into a very short amount of time. I can’t imagine another event where so much expertise is shared in such a short amount of time that is so incredibly relevant for retailers of all types (especially college stores).

3. If you are not failing (often), you are not trying hard enough

• • Every single speaker cited strategic or tactical mistakes they’ve made (over time and recently) and how they continue to learn from them. For them, trial and error is not an event or a one-time effort, it’s a culture that is essential for success. They also challenged all senior leaders in the audience to make sure their teams know that smart risk-taking is required and that a certain percentage of failure is to be expected and should not be feared.
  • Finding new ways of thinking about traditional products, services, or messages can be a real difference-maker.
    • J.C. Curleigh (now with Gibson, but formerly with M&M/Mars) explained that when M&M/Mars sponsored the 1992 Olympics, they invested $30M in advertising and sponsorship. The key to their success came when they convinced the Olympic Committee to change how they advertised and referred to Snickers. The original plan was to call it the “Official Candy Bar of the 1992 Olympics.” J.C. insisted that it be referred to as the “Official Snack Food of the 1992 Olympics.” This subtle but important change in positioning led to significant growth for Snickers and changed consumers’ perceptions of a Snickers “candy bar,” which had been around for decades.
    • Marvin Ellison from Lowe’s had a funny line: “Sometimes, the best way to overcome the challenges of change management, is to change management!” – Think about it! Management must set the standard and instill a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.
  • While virtual reality, augmented reality, and use of voice technology were mentioned, almost all speakers stressed that those technologies have room for improvement. More importantly, those tools will never replace solid selling skills and being an excellent overall merchant.
  • While addressing how Walmart is using advanced retail technologies, CEO Doug McMillan stressed that people lead, technology simply empowers.
  • Personalization and Customization continue to be areas of growth for retailers and are very appealing to consumers.
    • Microsoft launched a very successful campaign whereby consumers could design their own color combinations for X Box Gaming Controllers and receive financial compensation if their designs became popular.
    • Are there products or activities you can develop for your campus that can’t be found anywhere else??

5. Shopping & buying are two different activities

• • While multiple speakers highlighted providing consumers with memorable “experiences” as well as good products and prices, there was quite a bit of discussion around differenting aspirational/exploratory shopping from functional/efficient product buying.
  • Speaking of defining what makes up that retail “experience” we all have been hearing about for a few years, the team from Gensler (architecture, design, and planning firm) identified the following 5 components of retail experiences:
    1. Social
    2. Discovery
    3. Task
    4. Entertainment
    5. Aspiration

• Gensler stressed that not every retailer can or should try to incorporate all of those components in their strategy in all categories.
• Suzanne Powers of McCann articulated the fact that for basic commodity items, efficiency of the buying process should be the focus for retailers. While in other impulse or discretionary purchase categories, the fun and social exploration/discovery/aspirational aspects of retail should be emphasized.

I strongly encourage college stores to consider attending the GRC in the future. Debby Shively at the University of Arizona BookStores is always a gracious host and Conference attendee. I guarantee that you will leave with a notebook (or mobile device) full of great ideas, notes, reminders, innovative concepts, and inspiration.