Google opened what they’re calling their “little corner shop” in Soho this past week. I checked it out on Thursday and LOVED it.

Here’s why:

• The design is fabulous – warm, welcoming, very Scandinavian minimal -and a tad quirky. In other words, not at all like either Apple or Samsung. Instead of glass and metal and other hardedge techie elements, Google has gone in a diametrically different direction: It’s warm, homey, lots of plywood, white walls, pops of color e.g. pixel wall and art installations by Faile. It’s obvious no expense has been spared in creating this “little corner shop.”
• The staffing is terrific – everyone from in-store product demonstrators to security are on point. They’ve even added a coffee truck on Mercer Street (the Peddlar) to provide free coffee and tea for those waiting in line.
• The products and the immersive, experiential aspects are super cool. I was particularly impressed with the new Pixel phones and the home products. I had just received my new iPhone 7Plus that day and must admit to Pixel envy. What I especially like about the Google phone is the ability to search for your photos without tagging them. The Google Home devices, way more gorgeous than Amazon’s Alexa, are supposedly more attuned to human language BUT our experience with it was a bit of a bust. However, based on how intuitive everything else from Google is these days e.g. google maps, I have a lot of confidence that Google Home will get it together and be amazing. (Google and Amazon are starting to be like Apple and Microsoft in my opinion – Google is about great design and consumer experience while Amazon is a computing behemoth with less interest in beauty and design.)

The Google pop up is at 96 Spring Street (near Mercer) until December 29.

See more pictures below as well as 5 more examples of notable retail trends.

GOOGLE POP UP PICS

 

RAPHA CLUBHOUSE (Road Riding)

This is the first time I’ve seen this kind of retail-PLUS concept REALLY work i.e. retailer/clubhouse/coffeeshop/co-working space all in one.

I had walked by a few times but must credit my friend Billy Melnyk for putting it on my radar.

Rapha is a global company and its customers and fans are rabid about the brand. This is not for casual riders or Citibikers – these are dedicated riders, passionate about the sport and the culture of road riding.

The Prince Street location has one big screen that shows live and recorded racing and the store (clubhouse) holds regular viewing parties. Additionally, monthly group rides e.g. up to and over the George Washington Bridge are organized at this clubhouse as well.

They also have a strong Instagram account with over 250K followers for Rapha and over 65K for the riding club.

Everything about Rapha supports the riding community e.g. they offer free alterations on clothing items that no longer fit because you have lost weight riding. I will keep a close eye on what they are doing. Very impressed so far.

159 Prince Street, NYC

 

IKEA does it again: doggy parking at their Cologne, Germany location

Germans are crazy about their dogs so these dedicated spaces – with artificial grass and water bowls – to park your dog while you shop, are a great idea.

 

November 11 is Singles’ Day and Alibaba will once again make a killing.

Why aren’t American retailers getting in on the Singles’ Day Trend? We certainly have plenty of singles but not one retailer, that I am aware of, has gotten in on the Singles’ Day bonanza.

Alibaba, on the other hand, expects to surpass the record $14.3 billion in sales it made on Singles’ Day in 2015 by rolling out new activities like virtual fashion shows and augmented reality games to entice shoppers.

Singles’ Day, a twist on Valentine’s Day, started in the 1990s and has snowballed since Alibaba turned it into a one-day online sales extravaganza in 2009. The event is an example of how e-commerce companies can manufacture consumer demand through promotions, similar to Amazon’s “Prime Day.”

Alibaba, China’s largest e-commerce company, takes that concept a step further, with a Super Bowl-like celebration that starts in the final hours of Nov. 10 and counts down to midnight. This year, celebrities will be taking the stage, including Katy Perry who serves as Alibaba’s “global ambassador.”

 

Stores and Malls are Staying Closed This Thanksgiving

And it has very little to do with retailers wanting families to be together on the holiday. Instead, I would look at the fact that Black Friday sales have fallen in recent years, decreasing 12% to $10.2 billion in 2015 from 2014, according to ShopperTrak.

Per Business Insider, Friday, December 23 is predicted to be the biggest shopping day of the year with Thanksgiving Day not even expected to be among the 10 biggest days for shopping.

 

Fashion continues its downward trajectory worldwide

It’s not just in the USA that we’re seeing increasing numbers of empty storefronts. In the UK, spending on clothes and footwear has dropped to its lowest level in seven years.

Per the Financial Times, retailers have blamed the decline on a variety of factors, including unseasonal weather, Brexit, competition from online-only retailers and increased consumer spending on vacations, eating out and other leisure activities.