Danziger's New Book, Shops That Pop!, Will Profile Cutting-Edge Retailers That Offer Extraordinary Shopping Experiences to their Customers

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Danziger's New Book, Shops That Pop!, Will Profile Cutting-Edge Retailers That Offer Extraordinary Shopping Experiences to their Customers

The Pop Equation: What Makes a Shop that Pops!

September 29, 2005 Stevens, PA - In the world of retail it used to be enough to have an interesting idea for a store, find a good location, and fill it with a nice selection of attractively priced merchandise. With those factors right, you had a pretty good shot of making a go in retail. But not anymore.

Today making a retail concept work is far less about the tangibles or objective aspects of the business - product, location, price - and all about the intangibles that color and flavor the shoppers' experience in the store. In retail the bar has been raised and to be successful a retail concept today must offer an enhanced, truly memorable and distinctive shopping experience to their customers.

Luxury marketing Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing and author of Why People Buy Things They Don't Need and Let Them Eat Cake: Marketing Luxury to the Masses - as well as the Classes, has begun research on her next book that will help retailers large and small serving local communities and nationwide clientele succeed in the new experiential retailing paradigm. Shops that Pop! will be published by Dearborn Trade Publishing fall 2006.

"In the past thirty years we have seen the retail industry morph through dramatically different incarnations. In the 80s it was the explosion of the mega-shopping malls anchored by major department stores. In the 90s that all changed with shoppers turning away from the confines of the malls and their department store anchors to free-standing discount stores where the prices were good and getting in and out of the store easy," Danziger says.

"Then in this first decade of the 21st century, fickle shoppers got tried of 'how low can you go' pricing and instead turned to stores that offered greater and greater luxury value at a reasonable, though not necessarily cheapest, price. Thus the boom in luxury retailing got into full swing, with retailers like Target, TJ Maxx and Kohls offering luxury for the masses; Nordstroms and Neiman Marcus presenting luxury for the classes; and retailers Coach, Ralph Lauren Polo and Estee Lauder offering luxury for everyone in between through their range of branded full-priced stores, department store boutiques and discount outlet stores."

The Pop Equation: Field Guide to Shops that Pop

The next new thing that will transform retail in the coming decade will be a shift toward entirely new kinds of shopping experiences. Shoppers are rejecting the old concept of 'hunting and gathering' shopping in favor of a more involving, interesting, dynamic retail experience. The shops that pop, which will be profiled in Danziger's new book, are stores on the cutting edge of the new experiential retailing paradigm. The distinctive features they have, called the Pop Equation, include:

High levels of customer involvement and interaction: Shoppers don't just browse the aisles. Shops that pop encourage customers to touch, feel, taste, try on and participate in the store in a more involving way, like Charlotteville's Feast! gourmet food store and Atchinson, Kansas' Nell Hill's home store.
Evokes shopper curiosity: Shops that pop excite consumer curiosity to explore and experience, from the shop windows and entrance through the different displays. Altanta's Boxwoods Gardens and Gifts lures shoppers through a maze of wonderful displays that promise a new treasure around every corner.
Have a contagious, electric quality: A shop that pops exudes energy and excitement. They are so kinetic that even shoppers not all that into the category feel there is something in the store for them, like Apple Stores or lifestyle boutique Anthropologie.
Convergence between atmosphere, store design, merchandise: A shop that pops presents a comprehensive vision that captures all the tangible and intangible elements. Colonial Williamsburg Gift Shops and Stores are true to their colonial 18th century roots throughout.
Values-driven concept: A shop that pops is more than just a store selling stuff. It is conceptually driven and reflects a visionary's values. It transcends being just a store into a new realm of experience, like Rapid City's Prairie Edge where we can touch, feel and participate in Native American culture through art, crafts, fashion, jewelry, books and home furnishings.
Accessible, non-exclusive and free from pretensions: Shops that pop have all the preceding qualities, plus another essential feature - they are immediately accessible to everyone, free from pretensions of exclusivity or snobbishness. The new lifestyle shopping centers, like Columbus, Ohio's Easton Town Center, get rave reviews from shoppers because they are so much more accessible than the old-fashioned enclosed mall. Las Vegas' Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian opens ultra-luxe shopping to the masses through an engaging, theatrical shopping environment where the hoi polloi rub shoulders with the high-rollers and everyone feels comfortable.

Do you want to join the above list of great, exciting, cutting edge retailers? Or do you know of a store that is your personal favorite and that I should definitely make a point to look at? If so, please nominate a 'shop that pops' for my next book.

About Pam Danziger and Unity Marketing

Pamela N. Danziger is a nationally recognized expert specializing in consumer insights for luxury marketers, whether they sell luxury to the masses or the 'classes.' She is president of Unity Marketing, a marketing consulting firm she founded in 1992. Advising such clients as Lenox, Cartier, Herend, R�my Amerique, Interiors by Decorating Den, Sears, The World Gold Council, The Conference Board and American Express, Danziger taps consumer psychology to help clients navigate and master the changing luxury marketplace. Her latest book, Let Them Eat Cake: Marketing Luxury to the Masses-as well as the Classes, (Dearborn Trade Publishing, $27, hardcover) is in book stores now. She is the author of the recent book, Why People Buy Things They Don't Need: Understanding and Predicting Consumer Behavior (Chicago: Dearborn Trade Publishing, 2004).

She has appeared on CNN's In the Money, NBC's Today Show, CNBC, CNN International, CNNfn, CBS News Sunday Morning, Fox News' Your World with Neil Cavuto, ABC News Now, NPR's Marketplace and is frequently called upon by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, American Demographics, Women's Wear Daily, Forbes, USA Today, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune for commentary and insight.

Contact: Pam Danziger, 717-336-1600

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