GlobalShop 2015: Some Final Words - Medallion Retail
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Social Media Integration, Retail Trends, Retail Marketing, In-Store Marketing

GlobalShop 2015: Some Final Words

POSTED ON: 03/31/15 GlobalShop 2015

There was a lot to take in at GlobalShop 2015: new materials, fresh colors, innovative applications, bold shapes and unexpected juxtapositions.  What we saw spoke to a new wave of engagement in retail marketing.

But what we heard was almost more game changing.

Discussion on the show floor and in the sessions was all about customer experience as it relates to the convergence of in-store and digital marketing. The buzz made it clear that the shopper experience is paramount regardless of where the customer is on the path to purchase, and incorporating technology will make that experience as satisfying and frictionless as it now must be.

Shoppers are demanding, unapologetically and loudly, this evolved interaction with retailers. Consumers require real engagement (on their terms) with products and brands, and conversations with retailers that are personal and efficient. Simply put, shoppers have tasted it, they like it and they want more. The smart marriage of technology and in-store marketing is now required to make sure shoppers are satisfied.

At GlobalShop, it was encouraging and inspiring to hear the widespread acceptance of (and genuine excitement about) the power and permanence of in-store-meets-digital engagement. Because it confirms our future.

The practice of retail marketing is more dynamic and fluid than ever, and requires minds that are equal parts analytical and imaginative. Marketers are now literally facilitating the meeting between man and machine. Ours is a new frontier – ready for discovery, a little dangerous and offering great reward. I’m in.  My colleagues are in. It’s a big idea.

So how about we not call it “Digical”?

More than a few times I heard that Franken-word at GlobalShop, along with “Physital.” Digital plus physical … get it? Completely cringeworthy. Because these aren’t real words, they’re jargon. Because they sound as if you’re pronouncing real words incorrectly. (Toss them out to someone. I guarantee your listener will come back with “Huh?”) And because this is such an important shift in the way we do business, this new brand of engagement deserves to be communicated seriously and clearly.

So let’s move forward, choose our words carefully and forever change the world of retail.

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