Retail’s most inspiring brands

“Technology changes, but by and large, people do not.”

-  Chris Jones, User Experience Director, Blueleaf

We couldn’t wait to get our paws on a copy of Blueleaf’s Inspiring Great Retail report, and when we finally did, we weren’t disappointed. Featuring retail's most inspiring brands, it covers everything from brand experience as a competitive advantage to mini case studies and, last – but most certainly not least –the importance of the customer journey.

Most retail reports tend to get stuck focusing solely on new technologies; Inspiring Great Retail doesn’t. It champions brands that are really getting retail right and looks at whycompanies like Nordstrom and Sweaty Betty are doing so well. Our opening quote, from Blueleaf’s own User Experience Director, Chris Jones, says it all. A brand’s customer should be at the heart of its strategy – never second to technology or a random flight of fancy (or ego). 

Retail's most inspiring brands, from Nordstrom to M&S

Within the report, you’ll find mini case studies on some of the world’s most successful retailers. From in-store experience to exceptional omnichannel strategies, their success stories are truly inspirational.

Inspiring Great Retail first looks at US retail giant Nordstrom. As far back as 2011, in a time when most brands were still struggling to offer in-store Wi-Fi, this company had already embraced multi-channel initiatives.

Other featured brands include Sweaty Betty, US retailer ModCloth, Italian fashion brand OVS and our very own M&S and JD Sports.

Success: takeaways from #InspiringGreatRetail

In this day and age, as the report highlights, true success comes from:

• Knowing your customer/s
• Understanding the customer journey
• Realising (and accepting the fact) that not every customer goes on the same journey
• Understanding how you can make it easy for your customer to buy from you via any channel – no matter what path their journey takes
• Never standing still: continually reviewing performance and always looking at how you can be better for your customers
• Introducing technology that’s right for your audience, based on their needs, demands and shopping requirements

Go on, be inspired

If you’d like to download yourself a copy – you’d be crazy not to! – visit the Blueleaf Inspiring Great Retail site. And be sure to share your thoughts using the #InspiringGreatRetail hashtag.

Add the #EcomChat debate on #InspiringGreatRetail to your calendar too: Monday 24th at 1pm. See you there!