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Greetings!
[Downtown Directors - please share with your retailers, restaurant and small business owners.]
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Retail Technology - High Tech and High Touch
Nobody knows exactly what the future will bring, but retail is being inexorably changed by technology. As more consumers supplement their brick-and-mortar experience with online  browsing and shopping, retailers with storefronts have to entice their customers with the latest "technology". And today's consumers now expect online and in-store experiences to merge. Retailers are adding video screens throughout their spaces for visual impact, to communicate pertinent  messages, to run interactive apps, and most recently as mobile points of sale.
Below are a few ways retailers are currently utilizing technology to augment shoppers' experiences.
Smart Phones
A study by Accenture found that 73% of shoppers preferred using their smart phones over asking store staff for more information.
And a 2011 survey by ForeSee found that one-third of consumers use smart phones while making in-store purchases. So retailers would be wise to facilitate this preferred interaction. Quick Response [QR] codes are quickly becoming mainstream because of these statistics. Posting a QR code with items on display allows consumers to scan the code and quickly get more information on their phone.
Read more...
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Willy Street Co-op recently hired Retailworks to conduct a "sign inventory and audit" of their two locations - one in Madison, WI, and one in Middleton, WI. We will be developing sign  categories and sign design criteria for each category to better inform and direct their customers throughout their shopping experience. It will be great fun to get a sign system in place for them!
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Product Profile: Metal Curtains
Metal Mesh
It's not just for fireplace screens and medieval armor anymore! Available in a multitude of colors and textures for multiple uses, you'll never look at metal mesh the same way again. We're using this curtain-like mesh in interiors to define spaces, create focal points, and add texture to walls. But it's also popping up in clothing, purses, and lampshades!
Here are some of the product's attributes:
- fireproof
- mildew proof
- diffuses light without blocking views
- air can penetrate
- maintenance free
- neither shrinks or stretches
- can have up to 90% recycled content
- long usable life
- can be recycled
Resources: Sorter Group Metal Drapery
Smate Decorative Mesh Company
Cascade Coil
and Whiting and Davis
  
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Retailworks' Service: Santa Claus is coming.
 Most successful retailers have already put their holiday display plans to bed and are just waiting for November to arrive to start decorating. How's your planning coming along? Oops - haven't started? Not t o worry. The "I LOVE That Display" team is here to help. We can plan, buy, direct, implement...whatever you need to get your store[s] looking great for the Holidays. And if you don't think well designed displays and décor pay for themselves, then you haven't had our team come in and show you how to do it right. So even though you may be enjoying an iced tea right now, spiked eggnog is just around the corner. Don't get caught behind the eight ball. Contact us now to get on our calendar. 
**** "Never underestimate the power of a well-designed environment." Lyn Falk Want more? Click here to read archived e-newsletters.
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Who Knew?
Aromas [and odors] can significantly affect a customer's experience. Studies have shown that certain aromas can help customers relax [lavender], while others will help stimulate [jasmine] energy. And some aromas, when correctly applied in subtle amounts to a product or an environment, can increase perceived values of a product and/or business, and increase spending. But before you disseminate a pleasant aroma, get rid of any lingering odors. You say your store doesn't smell bad? You may not even know if your store has an odor as you may be immune to it. If you're there everyday, your olfactory senses no longer register the smell of your store. Get an objective person to "sniff" out your selling environment. Remove odors [ie: mold/mildew, smoke, out-gassing chemicals from new construction or packaging materials] by eliminating their source, improving the fresh air exchange in the space, and/or putting in a room-sized air filter [charcoal, ion, or hepa - depending on type of pollution].
Find out what aromas appeal to your target market and disseminate the aroma via natural scents vs synthetic ones, as the latter can turn off those who are sensitive to strong smells, and create allergic reactions in others. Don't underestimate the power of a good aroma!
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Cedarburg has a new bank! Dean Fitting, Chairman of Partnership Community Bancshares, Inc.,recently asked Retailworks to help design the interior of their first Partnership Bank. Dean and his team understand the importance of creating a great customer experience. Check out the rendering below of the renovated historic exterior [formerly home of Barth's on the River restaurant]. Rendering by local architect, Don Stauss. Watch for photos of the renovated interior in a future e-newsletter.
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