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VIEWPOINT

There are lots of reasons to bemoan a coming retail apocalypse, but there are many ways to avoid such a fate. Retailers just have to work at it, and probably get outside their comfort zones. Sometimes way outside. I was talking to a fellow the other day who suggested that one of the ways some retailers will remain relevant is by creating a convenience version of a food truck, and then use data to figure out when and where to position these trucks and assure that the merchandise they carry is targeted and relevant to people who live or work in those locations.

This isn’t just the purview of up-market stores, by the way. There are value-driven retailers out there that turn their employees into owners, thereby assuring that they’ll feel invested in the business and act that way. Another thing that retailers absolutely have to do is figure out the best way not just to collect actionable data about shoppers, but actually use it. There was a retailer last year who did an interview in which he expressed concern that Amazon has more data about its shoppers than he does, which puts him at a disadvantage.

“The ones that will succeed, and even thrive, are the ones who understand they have to be constantly listening hard to their customers.”

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Now, to be honest, I’m having a little trouble wrapping my head around the logistics of this concept… but I also didn’t see how drones were going to work as delivery vehicles when they were first proposed. The failure here may be in my lack of imagination, or my ability to figure out how such an idea would be implemented. I suppose that’s why I’m a writer… I can tell stories about the people who conceive and create these concepts, as opposed to actually doing it myself. Besides, I’m out of the never business. ■

I’d agree with that conclusion – it will give Amazon an advantage… one that it will not hesitate to exploit over and over and over. But in this case, the retailer made a decision not have any sort of card, loyalty or data collection program. That’s the retailer’s right, and defensible… though I’d disagree with it. But this is a choice, not an inevitable fact of retail life… and I would argue that nobody can afford to this approach in 2018 and beyond.

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ALABAMA GROCER |