Fresh ideas — be they brilliant, clever, head-scratching or even a bit kooky — were everywhere you turned
during the past year. Retailers found extraordinary ways to connect with consumers, tap their collective knowledge and opinions and get them to evangelize on their behalf. They experimented with new technology, dabbled in new business endeavors and created in-store experiences that left shoppers wowed.
Yet ideas are just starting points — springboards to something greater. As experts have said time and again, the real trick to creating something great has less to do with inspiration and almost everything to do with execution.
Here are 20 ideas we think you should take a closer look at. Are they the best of the best? Maybe — maybe not. It’s probably best to think of them as conversation starters — perhaps at your first brainstorming meeting of 2011.
Take it to the Crowd
Ed Schmults, CEO of Wild Things, needed to decide on a new logo for the outdoor gear company. He was sitting with 14 different iterations of the logo in hand — and a board meeting in 72 hours, during which he was to present his choice.
Working with First Insight, a Pittsburgh-based software company that specializes in capturing consumer opinions, Schmults was able to garner insight from some 800 geographically and demographically diverse consumers. Using a tool that allowed consumers to indicate whether they strongly liked or disliked each logo, the top choices quickly emerged.
“I was able to put together a package indicating my picks, back-up those choices with empirical data — which is enormously difficult to do with something as subjective as a logo — and deliver it to the board on time,” Schmults says. “As a decision-maker, the ability to get an unbiased view is invaluable. It takes a good deal of risk out of the decision, and it takes emotion out as well.” Schmults has no intention of replacing the company’s planners, but he does intend to tap First Insight to validate decisions on pricing and color choices.
First Insight CEO Greg Petro says his solution provides retailers with forward-looking views on issues affecting consumer behavior that help “validate anything from pricing to position to planning. The ability to vet a decision based on consumer information allows the user to have a level of confidence they didn’t have before.”
More Information Matters
A snowboard enthusiast searching online for the latest Ride DH2 gear is likely to be drawn to Sport Chalet. The La Canada, Calif.-based retailer recently managed to notch a competitive edge by adding local in-store availability on more than 18,000 products to Google product searches.
For consumers using the Internet or smartphones to shop for particular items — and the nearby retailers who stock it — there was always an unknown. Sure, you could tell if retailer “X” sold a certain item, but was it part of that local store’s inventory? Was it in stock? If you wanted it right away, the only real way to find out was to drive to the store.
Enter the Epicor Retail Enterprise Selling Google Adapter. Using this tool, retailers like Sport Chalet can show consumers whether an item is in stock at nearby stores within their search results.
Integrating inventory look-up and location-specific data can drive traffic to bricks-and-mortar stores and lift the level of customer delight, a boon for Sport Chalet. “With this new tool, our customer will not only have increased online visibility to our product selection but, once in store, will also have access to many services and instruction for activities,” says Ted Jackson, vice president of IT and CIO for Sport Chalet.
Diane Cerulli, director of product management for Epicor, says the tool has “huge upside potential” for both the shopper and the retailer. “It literally drives business to the store and it supports customer satisfaction,” she says.
Bet the Farm
How do you capture the attention of the Facebook Generation when more than 30 million of them are hanging out in FarmVille? Get in the game yourself!
That’s exactly what McDonald’s did last fall when it sponsored the first branded farm in the hugely popular social game. Players had the chance to receive two virtual prizes, including a McDonald’s-branded hot air balloon to place on their own virtual farms.
McDonald’s FarmVille foray was a savvy play to connect with the ever-growing number of “virtual farmers” who each spend an average of 15 minutes a day growing food, harvesting crops, feeding livestock and tending to various farm chores. It’s also part of a larger social media strategy taking root at McDonald’s.
For Zynga, the parent company of FarmVille and one of the largest digital game companies, partnering with McDonald’s afforded instant credibility and the chance to attract spend from advertisers across several other verticals. It has also opened the door for similar deals in other games (like CafeWorld) with Coca-Cola and Maxwell House, among other well-known brands.
Brand integration can be used to enhance the game, but a delicate balance must be achieved. Users want to be rewarded with items that aid their game progress, and merchant success will come from creating loyalty, not pushing product.
Turn On Shoppers
Eighteen months ago Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn would have agreed with the description of the big-box electronics retailer as a “media company in denial.” Not anymore.
Last January, Best Buy launched its own network dubbed Best Buy On. The in-store network, which has the potential to reach the 50 million people who visit the stores each month, features original programming from the retailer’s own Yellow Tag Productions, ranging from interviews with well-known movie directors and musicians to tutorials on digital photography.
With a year’s worth of experience under its belt, the retailer is diving deeper into the world of media, embracing its role as a publisher and a media agency for the consumer electronics industry. Ultimately, Best Buy aims to use its industry clout and broad reach to tell more “compelling stories” about the technology it sells.
“Technology is changing so rapidly that consumers are overwhelmed,” Dunn says. “Shoppers are nervous about getting their pocket picked and some are staying on the sidelines because they don’t understand what connectivity can do for them. Our job is to inspire customers to the art of what’s possible — we need to replace confusion with excitement.”
The in-store network itself is not a new concept: Target operates the Channel Red network, and Walmart TV has been a fixture in stores for years. What separates Best Buy On from the rest of the pack is the company’s plan to use the network to educate, inspire and entertain. In short, they are improving the overall customer experience.
Lowest Common DenominatorNo retailer “owns” price anymore: It’s the consumer that’s in control.
Case in point: mysupermarket.co.uk. This U.K. grocery comparison site allows users to compare prices of single items and/or entire carts filled with goods when ordering online from four leading chains — Tesco, ASDA, Sainsbury’s and Ocado.
The site has been operating for a few years now, with consumers reporting that having the comparisons at their fingertips has allowed them to cut their weekly shopping bills by up to 20 percent.
What U.S.-based retailers need to keep foremost in their minds is the web’s ability to provide price transparency. Customers use the Internet at home — and increasingly while standing in the aisle of the store — to compare prices. As a result, it’s becoming more difficult to compete solely on price.
This means U.S. retailers need to figure out how to create consumer value that succeeds in building loyalty and driving traffic before a similar site debuts stateside.
True Confessions 
Bluefly was the first retailer to test mobile bar codes on television, embedding QR codes — which look like a series of tiny black and white boxes — into the “Closet Confessions” advertisements that ran on Bravo late last year.
“Closet Confessions” are a series of 45-second spots that feature celebrities like Joan and Melissa Rivers and Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir giving tours of their closets and sharing stories about their lives. The ad campaign, incorporating mobile barcode technology from Scanbuy, gave viewers instant access to additional video content and a $30 discount on a $150 purchase at bluefly.com.
Although consumers are growing accustomed to seeing QR codes in print media, at movie theaters and on billboards, the technology has yet to be widely embraced by television execs in the United States. Look for that to change — fast.
The prospect of a consumer being able to point a smartphone at her TV and instantly obtain additional information about a product — and a discount on its purchase — could be the next big step in the quest to turn TV shows into e-commerce sites. It’s about extending the conversation, adding a new dimension to shopping and condensing the time it takes to move the consumer from “want” to “buy.”
Part of the Family
It’s all about building relationships, and Kraft Foods has figured out how to finagle a spot at the family dinner table.
iPhone aficionados will recall that the iFood Assistant from Kraft was one of the first brand apps to deliver function and value on the smartphone. Last summer, the CPG giant made a strong play for the younger members of the family with the debut of Big Fork Little Fork, Kraft’s first iPad app.
The $1.99 app includes more than 300 recipes, how-to video clips that teach basic kitchen skills and educational games. It’s considered a highly interactive and entertaining resource for parents to engage their families in cooking and eating together.
In addition, Kraft has partnered with Chef Marcus Samuelsson to create a premium cooking guide and recipe collection for Big Fork Little Fork.
“There were no specific resources where parents could go for this knowledge,” says Ed Kaczmarek, director of innovation in consumer experiences, noting that Kraft created the content and wrapped it around the app’s interactive experience.
Following the precedent set with iFoodAssistant, branding is secondary to utility. Instead, the goal is to “engage the consumer in a more meaningful way,” Kaczmarek says. “It doesn’t have Kraft branding front and center.” Yet it’s a fair bet that parents and kids will remember these early lessons and offer Kraft brands a seat at the table, too.
Bark Up a New Tree
Lowe’s slogan is “Let’s Build Something Together.” How about dog houses, kennels and containment systems: The DIY big-box retailer has broadened its reach into the pet supplies business.
Pet supplies can boost incremental trips and also has the potential to lift the average sale, especially if the shopper wasn’t expecting to find something for Rover. And at a time when the home improvement business is struggling, Lowe’s decision to step up its offering of pet supplies shows flexibility and resourcefulness.
It might be difficult to draw a straight demographic line from DIYers to pet fanatics, but it’s probably not a stretch to say a fair share of homeowners have families with pets, and mining data to better understand your customer base can yield nuggets of opportunity. The U.S. pet supply industry has annual revenues in excess of $11 billion; expect this move to allow Lowe’s to fetch its share.
Are You Listening?
If you want shoppers to return again and again, find ways to get them more involved in your business. ModCloth.com, an e-retailer that sells independent designer women’s fashion, has attracted a devoted following, in part by allowing its core 18- to 30-year-old shoppers to decide what inventory it offers.
Be the Buyer gives ModCloth.com visitors the chance to act as virtual fashion buyers by voting on potential designs for ModCloth to produce and sell. Shoppers are invited to “pick it,” “promote it” and “talk about it,” sharing the design with friends via e-mail, Twitter and Facebook. If the item makes the cut and is sold on the site, those who shared their feedback receive an e-mail notification that it’s available for purchase.
By inviting customers to be part of the buying process, ModCloth has turned its website into a community-based social experience. And by advocating fashion democratization, the e-retailer has found an ideal means of connecting with young female shoppers who are comfortable sharing their opinions on everything from a pocket treatment to a hemline.
Not sure it would work for your business? Consider this: ModCloth has experienced annual growth rates of 600 percent each of the past two years. The company has more than 28,000 followers on Twitter and more than125,000 Facebook fans.
Tweet for a Treat 
It was simply… brilliant. In advance of the re-launch of its U.K. e-commerce site, Uniqlo ran a promotion encouraging visitors to the “Under Construction” page to tweet about the items they were interested in. In exchange for tweets, the prices of the items were reduced.
Dubbed Lucky Counter, the promotion featured 10 items. For every tweet about a given item, the price dropped — not significantly, but enough to suggest that critical mass could do serious damage to the markup of a premium down ultralite parka. The final price was announced on September 9, allowing those who tweeted to redeem the discount and make the purchase online.
Retailers can’t afford to give merchandise away, but they also can’t afford to ignore ideas that leverage micro-blogging to reap exposure and marry collective buying with social shopping. By taking this uber-social approach, Uniqlo succeeded in increasing awareness of its merchandise in exchange for a reduced price. It also created a built-in need to return to the website to check the price and kept shoppers focused on the website re-launch date — the day on which they could “cash in” their tweet reward.Happy Marriage Awaits
Just last month, Nordstrom made its first true commitment to the wedding business for the first time in its 109-year history. And the Seattle-based specialty retailer, which plans to open a total of 14 in-store bridal boutiques by next month, is in good company.
After watching its online and catalog bridal business grow since 2004, last year J.Crew opened its first free-standing bridal boutique in Manhattan. White House | Black Market, a unit of Chico’s FAS, opened its first bridal salon in Chicago last summer, and Urban Outfitters plans to unveil its online wedding concept on Valentine’s Day, followed by a bricks-and-mortar store in the third quarter.
Even companies you might never expect to say “I do” are making waves. Beginning this month, Hong Kong McDonald’s will offer on-site weddings complete with ceremony, reception, wedding cake and catering for up to 100 people for around $400. A company representative says the wedding package was created in response to public demand, noting that over the last two years Hong Kong McDonald’s receives about 10 calls per month from people looking to incorporate Big Macs into their big day.
Before you dismiss the idea as being beyond your boundaries, it’s worth noting that there is a new generation of cost-conscious brides looking for ways to keep wedding budgets from escalating out of control. Companies staring at relatively flat growth rates need to find new segments to drive profits: It could make for a happy marriage.
Right on Target
Macy’s has found a way to make it personal; the My Macy’s initiative helps stores cater to individual markets’ tastes. It looks like Target thought the idea of tailoring products to a specific locale was one worth stealing!
When the fashion-savvy mass merchant opened in Harlem last summer, it made sure there was an ample mix of local products, brands and services intended to endear the store to shoppers and help them to embrace it as their own.
Target partnered with several Harlem designers to create limited-edition collections. Included in the mix were Isabel and Ruben Toledo, who created graphic bikinis, t-shirts and sarongs; Stephen Burrows, who contributed color block knit dresses and tops; and table accessories from Marcus Samuelsson. In an effort to endear itself to the community, 5 percent of the sales of local products went to local charities like El Museo del Barrio and The Young Women’s Leadership School of East Harlem.
There were stacks of Sylvia’s Restaurant brand canned vegetables (a line from the local soul-food institution), rows of Yankees clothing, Ebony Inspirations greeting cards and multicultural collections in the beauty aisle like CoverGirl Queen (as in Latifah) and Iman Cosmetics.
Is it working? So far, so good. By localizing its offerings and staying connected with the community, Target is posting solid sales growth.
Channeling Innovation
As moms so often remind their children: You have two choices. You can complain, or you can do something about it.
Instead of bemoaning the tough economic climate, H.E.B executives chose the latter, channeling their energy into innovation by debuting two concepts in a year.
In May, they took the wraps off Joe V’s Smart Shop — a warehouse-style discount format. To borrow from the company advance, “we never met a low price we didn’t like!” The no-frills shop offers a limited selection of SKUs — about 9,000, compared with 37,000 at H.E.B flagship stores. Still the store is packed with manufacturers’ national and regional brands and H.E.B’s store brands.
H.E.B Fresh Foods debuted in July. Everything about the store, from its design to its broad selection of locally-grown offerings, is specifically tailored to meet the needs and desires of Dripping Springs — the community west of Austin, Texas, in which it is situated. The 68,000-sq.-ft. store serves as a local destination for unsurpassed freshness, quality, variety and service, yet doesn’t compromise H.E.B’s everyday low price pledge. The store even offers services like curbside valet and a drive-through pharmacy pickup window.
Waiting for things to get better is not a business plan; serving up new ideas that expand on your expertise without stretching beyond your boundaries, however, makes perfect sense. H.E.B is giving shoppers new reasons to extend their loyalty.
Ask the Customer
Mom-and-pop shops may be savvy about the role of smartphones and tablets, but they often don’t have the IT resources, capital or time to invest in developing applications for them. What can they do keep up with the big players?
Nizam Ali, son of the late founder of Washington, D.C., institution Ben’s Chili Bowl, came up with a clever idea. He challenged his tech-savvy customers to help the business develop an iPhone app.
According to The Washington Post, the “free-form contest generated a mix of neat ideas, including the winner’s concept: to let photos taken by patrons with their iPhones be displayed on a digital screen on the restaurant’s wall.”
“It’s something that is user-friendly and it’s a fun component,” Ali told the Post. “[We’re] trying to stay current because that’s the new generation, and you want to adapt to that and bring that into your business.”
That’s fresh thinking for a business that’s been around for more than 50 years; it’s also cost-effective. Think of what Ali saved on R&D!
Minority Majority 
Hispanics are the nation’s fastest-growing minority group — and will become the largest in 2011. Translation: If you’re not making an effort to go after multi-cultural consumers, you’re missing a major opportunity.
Who’s doing a good job so far? Papa John’s International operates both a website and a mobile website in Spanish. Jim Ensign, the vice president for digital marketing, says a greater percentage of Spanish-speaking customers use the mobile site to place their orders. “Almost 30 percent of our sales come online since we launched our new English and Spanish desktop and smartphone-optimized mobile sites in October,” he says.
Best Buy is in the process of creating bilingual signs and hiring more Spanish-speaking employees for its stores and call centers.
And Macy’s commemorated National Hispanic Heritage Month last fall with a celebration dubbed El Encanto Latino. The event recognized the contributions of Hispanic Americans to everything from art to science. Encanto Latino also featured discussions on family, heritage and health, and provided participants with advice on how to improve their lives. A centerpiece of the event was Macy’s national partnership with the American Heart Association’s Go Red Por Tu Corazón, a bilingual movement aimed at raising awareness of heart disease among Hispanic women.
Little Things Mean a Lot
Shoppers appreciate retailers’ efforts to help them improve various aspects of their lives. The Home Depot has been building loyalty for decades by dispensing advice on DIY projects; a beauty consultant can transform a shopper into a customer for life if they take the time to truly explain products and their features.
Still, at most traditional supermarkets the “pile it high and let it fly” approach has remained the modus operandi … until recently. ShopRite announced late last year that it has hired in-store dietitians to provide shoppers with nutritional information and guidance at three Connecticut stores.
In addition to assisting shoppers to make better food choices when they’re in the store and at home, the dietitians will run grocery shopping tours, present healthy cooking classes, offer recipe and pantry makeovers and coordinate other health-and-wellness initiatives and nutritional programs, both in-store and in the community.
Real Live Selling 
Shopping is fun, but when retailers create an experience within a store and invite customers along for the ride, there’s a good chance of boosting the ante significantly.
The first interactive “Kenmore Live Studio” opened less than a year ago in Chicago. A physical manifestation of this 83-year-old brand’s makeover, the studio features interactive cooking demonstrations with renowned chefs, along with presentations of numerous new products that sport the Kenmore brand. Equipped with cameras that broadcast video via the Internet, in-store events are shared in real time with those following Kenmore on Facebook.
This interactive shopping experience allows customers to engage with the brand in a way completely unlike what they might experience in a traditional Sears store. And in a world where people seem to gravitate toward greater interaction with products and services, showcasing the brand in this format — and opening up the experience online, too — seems like a smart way to satisfy the changing needs of shoppers. It also appeals to younger shoppers making large appliance purchases for the first time.
No End Game
Apple sold an estimated 8.5 million iPads in the United States in 2010 — and the device didn’t debut until April. Apple’s second-generation iPad is set to begin shipping by the end of February.
The iPhone 4 was unleashed in June 2010; iPhone 5 is due out in July. It goes without saying that each device eclipses the utility of the one that preceded it.
What’s the takeaway? There’s no such thing as a finished product. If arguably the most popular tech company in the world never rests on its laurels, neither can others — whether they compete in the same space or not.
Today’s consumer wants the latest, greatest whatever — and they want it now. There is no end game — only constant reinvention.
It Pays to Be Social 
A survey from General Sentiment reveals that Starbucks generated nearly $68 million worth of free brand exposure between September and November 2010 via its use of social media, Twitter and other online news media.
Starbucks is truly a social media superstar. Customers visiting its Facebook page can watch videos of their favorite Starbucks recording artist, upload a video of their own and check the balance on their Starbucks card. They can use Facebook Places to check in from any Starbucks shop or create a VIA Ready Brew inspired “Instant Story” to send to friends.
Starbucks executives understand that sustaining a meaningful and memorable conversation with customers is the core of social media for them.
Still waiting on the social media sidelines? That’s a risky bet. It’s time to check out what Starbucks, Victoria’s Secret and other social media superstars are doing. Set up a fan page, create a contest, ask people to “join the conversation” — and listen to what your fans are saying. Your business depends on it.
“Selectively Smaller” Gains Traction
There are a growing number of retailers who are thinking smaller when it comes to square footage.
The New York Times recently reported that teen specialty retailer Anchor Blue has been reducing its footprint by sectioning off excess square footage or moving to more efficient spaces. The new Bloomingdale’s in Santa Monica, Calif., manages space efficiently with dressing rooms that retract into the ceiling. Meanwhile, Charlotte Russe relies on free-standing glass walls that can be rearranged, and Nike has its cash registers wired into movable counters. Even the retail industry’s original Mr. Big, Walmart, is dabbling in downsizing experiments.
Small is not right for all, but increasingly it seems to be the solution for an expanding group of retailers who consider shrinking store size to trim costs and increase efficiency. Smaller footprints have managed to strike a chord with today’s harried shoppers who seem to gravitate toward stores with precisely edited assortments. And, as mobile payments take root and in-store experiences continue to trump endless assortments, the trend toward smaller stores will only get bigger.
