Executive Summary

This week, the Coresight Research team attended a TrendSeeder Innovation Series panel called“New Retail Formats, ”which was co-hosted by 24 Seven, TrendSeeder and Davis & Gilbert in New York City. TrendSeeder CEO Avani Patel moderated the panel discussion among industry experts that covered themes such as retail technology, showrooming and improving the customer experience. Here, we share our top takeaways from the event.

• Retail’s biggest competitor is the consumer’s couch because consumers can sit on the couch and order whatever they want. To address this, mall operator Westfield is working on technology that simulates the “Amazon Now” experience and enables retailers to track inventory in real time and offer nearly immediate delivery.
• Best-in-class retail is about providing consumers with one-on-one personal experiences,which may start with education, style suggestions or help with fitting.
• Products, services and experiences are blending into one retail category. The retail opportunity today lies in taking an initial consumer need and providing something more.