Last week I gave a general report on the recent Shoptalk event. It’s a show everyone seems to still want to – if they were there – talk about, and – if they weren’t – know about. In fact, it’s been a few weeks since it closed and it’s a topic that still gets a lot of discussion on a lot of our vendor briefings.

So we know the show is a powerful draw: but what about the content?

It was really, really good.

Some highlights:

• Rafeh Masood’s preso from Dick’s Sporting Goods. The VP of Customer Innovation Technology walked through the company’s mobile app, which, surprisingly – in a world where the only branded apps most of us are reasonably incented to download come from airlines (a tough topic this week, for sure) – you may just want to put on your phone. It works with your FitBit, and if you put in the work every day that you want to via steps, fitness goals, etc, Dick’s will reward you with a gift certificate. This is a very cool/clever way to get people to download something they likely were not inclined to, and as everyone knows, that leads to the ever-elusive engagement.
• Macy’s self-professed “non-tech HR guy, ” Mike Zorn, also announced a new mobile app that will arrive later this year and a solution that aims to make employees at the embattled retailer’s stores more valuable via gamifcation training: offering snack-sized training videos to convert department store employees into legitimate brand ambassadors. In his words, “We want them to own more of their work life. ” If I had to guess I’d guess it was Experticity, but don’t hold me to it. But most importantly, he said that the lessons they’ve learned about how to revitalize the brand going forward are the result of something near and dear to our hearts here at RSR: “We are learning from what being consumers, ourselves, has taught us. ” Amen, brother.
• A panel session at the tail end of the show titled “Responding To Trends ” featuring Kohl’s and fast-fashion upstart Eloquii was nothing short of fascinating, wherein AI, bots, and manufacturing on demand were discussed in a more meaningful way than you might expect. One of the most interesting takeaways come from Karen Moon of Trendalytics, who clearly hit a point with the room when she instructed the crowd to recognize that they are no longer selling products, but that they are selling stories for customers to shop for. “Brands are now media companies – you need a Conde Nast in every business. Small or large – it doesn’t matter. We all need a new story every day for Instagram. ” Needless to say I liked that a lot.

And Brian Cornell, CEO of Target specifically addressed how his company is tackling “tired stores ” in a session worthy of its own writeup. In fact, I will make it a point to write that up in the near future.

But if you’re a regular reader of this newsletter, you’ll know I have a sore spot for one particular trend, and that is to constantly tell retail stories from the point of the “the fabulous shopper. ” It’s an easier story to tell, and unfortunately, it doesn’t apply to a great deal of our industry.

What do I mean? You likely already know, because you hear about her in demos and at trade shows everywhere you go. She’s in her late twenties/early thirties, lives in a big city, and has all the discretionary cash, meaning she’s in search of great service and a genuine experience. She’s of course buying luxury or fashion and needs mimosas in the dressing room: STAT!

So one of the most interesting things I heard came from Uri Minkoff, co founder of Rebecca Minkoff. A repeat presenter from last year’s inaugural event, he shared a lot of the same information, and the brand’s smart mirror stuff is a story everyone knows by now. But he also said something tremendously interesting to me. When the smart mirror launched in 2014, it got a lot of press. But it got Uri thinking about “the other girl ” – the shy girl. The one who wants a far more anonymous experience. Her money is still very much green.

So while everyone else was clamoring about empowering and “fierce ” and all that, Uri got his people to work on a solution for someone who just wanted to ease through the shopping experience in a way that’s most comfortable for her, personally. The result? It launched quietly a few months ago (the same day as Amazon Go did, hence why you may not have heard about it), and simple as it seems, is a foolproof self-checkout that she uses while in store.

Uri found QHOP, the small startup company that built the necessary tech, on LinkedIn. I couldn’t even find them for a link for this piece. But that’s part of his story: he didn’t need an industry titan and an army of consultants to get something done: just a clear purpose, a vision on how to get there, and a team of people willing to put in the work to get it done. Today, the shy girl can visit a store, not interact with anyone that might intimidate her, and because she probably knows an awful lot about the products she’s interested in from her online research, she can find them herself and then make whatever decision she likes. When she does, a product-level RFID system from a company she (or you or I) has never heard of interacts with the app on her phone and she walks out the door without having to pay, interact with, or even speak to another person or machine. Sound anti-social? Well maybe you need another cosmo-tini then, cause to me that sounds just about perfect.

So I really liked this show. It had something for everyone. And more importantly, featured content from retailers trying to solve for that exact problem: to have a solution for the multiple different types of shoppers that make up this world.