Going rogue with retailing
Santa and that huge Christmas display just don’t bring the crowds to the mall anymore.
Retailers this year are increasingly going rogue, hoping to draw customers to brick-and-mortar shops and away from shopping websites by offering something unique.
Rogue retailing, according to the experts, is anything out of the ordinary that will get consumers away from their computer screens. Pop-up shops, unique craft goods, trunk shows and food trucks are just some examples of rogue retailing.
Mall owners are discovering that when you have the same-old retailers selling the same-old products that are universally available online, consumers don’t see much reason to make a special trip to the mall. Amazon will do just as well and with greater convenience.
So mall owners are opening up to the idea of short-term leases to unique retailers — sometimes local craftspeople — that sell only during the holiday season and never online. Long-term tenants have figured out that bringing in a trunk show from a hard-to-find designer who is selling one-of-a-kind goods can add the extra spice that will bring in crowd-weary shoppers.
“This holiday shopping season is all about thinking outside the traditional retail box,” said Melina Cordero, CBRE head of retail research for the Americas. “Retailers are innovating their store formats and revamping their e-commerce fulfillment systems. Owners are adding new and intriguing stores to their mix. It will add up to a very different and more efficient holiday shopping season.”
I welcome retailers finally figuring out that shoppers are not necessarily looking to give loved ones commodity products. Many of us want to give something unique.
Bringing in local craftspeople and designers is also welcome. Many of us talk about buying “Made in America” products, but isn’t “Made in Houston” even better? Many of these makers and retailers can’t support a retail store yearround, but this is their big season when they make their annual revenues.
Hopefully, this is the beginning of a tradition similar to the Weihnachtsmarkts in Germany. From the first Friday before Advent until the day before Christmas Eve, local craftspeople sell their wares in the town square from wooden kiosks.
What the marketing people call “rogue retailing” really is about returning to old-fashioned ideas about shopping locally. It’s about providing customers a special gift-buying experience that is not a waste of time. More Houstonians should give it a try.