Tag Archives: retail

The future of retail: You ain’t seen nothing yet

Posted on November 24, 2017 by Michael Jary

For some time retail has been “omnichannel” and then “mobile first”. But mobile is moving into the maturity phase.  As one S-curve of adoption slackens off, the next one picks up. So what’s next? Rather than a single answer to that question, … Continue reading →

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The grocery market is not Amazon’s true target

Posted on August 9, 2017 by Michael Jary

Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods is not about stores.  Or even about grocery. Most commentators have portrayed Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods as a drawing of the battle lines in the grocery market.  Amazon, it is assumed, wants to become … Continue reading →

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The fiction of friction

Posted on May 30, 2017 by Michael Jary

Current wisdom has it that retailers must smooth away ‘friction’ from the shopping journey. Time is the ultimate scarce resource, we are told, and customers will reward us for giving it back to them. Decluttering, quick check-outs and electronic payments … Continue reading →

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Stores are far from a waste of space

Posted on November 14, 2016 by Michael Jary

Space is big, as The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy accurately noted. And with 22 per cent of non-food sales having moved online and the typical store experiencing negative like-for-likes of two to three per cent each year, the retail … Continue reading →

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Brexit shows the danger of trusting averages

Posted on August 1, 2016 by Michael Jary

How did we (including politicians, pollsters, betting markets and pundits) misread the mood of the nation so spectacularly when it came to Brexit? Whether you’re in the half of the population suffering from post-traumatic ballot disorder, or the other half … Continue reading →

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Why retailers are choosing to own more of the process, not less

Posted on April 27, 2016 by Michael Jary

For a brief while the capital-light Uber model was touted as the “future of everything”. Retailers, like incumbents in other industries, fretted how their traditional supply chains might be torn apart by “on-demand” services that use mobile technology to allow … Continue reading →

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Get Ready for a Web where Suggestion Trumps Search

Posted on September 24, 2015 by Michael Jary

If you’ve ever faced the challenge of getting past a protective secretary, just imagine if all your customers had one. Apple’s latest version of its mobile OS, unveiled in San Francisco earlier this month, included two significant innovations. The first … Continue reading →

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Benedict Cumberbatch, Hamlet, and Retailing

Posted on August 24, 2015 by Michael Jary

To read some of the commentary on Benedict Cumberbatch’s interpretation of Hamlet, currently in previews at the Barbican, would lead one to assume that a failure of epic proportions is unfolding. The “To be, or not to be” soliloquy was … Continue reading →

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