Steve Montgomery

RSR Research: Are We Beginning the Next Golden Age of Retail?

August 19, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
We sit today, in the second half of the first year of the 21st century's second decade, possibly on the cusp of a new golden age of retail. It seems as though surviving retailers are starting to pick up the customer's cadence and picking and choosing the best from retailing's finest hours. Are you encouraged that retail is heading in a healthier direction?      [more...]

I think the timing of this article and the "Retailers Are Sold On Frugality" article that appeared yesterday in the Wall Street Journal are interesting. In the WSJ article the writers reported on how retailers are cutting expenses to be able to maintain profitability. This does not sound like the beginning of the next golden age of retailing.

I do agree with some of the tenets of the outlined in the article. Retailers are getting more feedback from customers via electronic media, but I have to ask is that really better than gathering by face-to-face interaction? Yes, retailers have more information about their customers but are they really using it to guide decision-making? We used to advise clients that if they were not going to use the information they secured they should simply hook their printers to the shredders. Retailers have long supported various foundations, charities, etc. I am not sure that this occurs any more today than it did before--especially since the companies have less profits to share.

I could be wrong but I saw nothing in the article that would make me believe the next golden era of retailing has begun.