Bill Emerson

Ten Years of Lessons: The Irony of It All

February 6, 2012

FROM RETAILWIRE:
It's been 10 years this week since we introduced RetailWire to the retailing community. As we look back, we wondered if much has changed compared to February of 2002. But a scan of the headlines from the first few months after launch struck us with a profound sense of irony. How far have retailers come in the past 10 years in understanding and reacting to the challenges they face?      [more...]

Retailers have learned many lessons over the last ten years. They are the same lessons that the generation before them learned, or, more succinctly, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

What are these lessons?
1. Pay attention to what the customer is asking for and give it to them.
2. Customer demographics and preferences are different around this vast country and changing rapidly. See lesson #1.
3. You need to offer something unique, be it product or service. Otherwise, you're a convenience store.
4. You better pay attention to changing technology. Ignore it at your peril.
5. Competing strictly on price is a footrace to the bottom.

To your question as to learning at a faster clip, the ones that are still around are. You should ask again in another 10 years.