Tag Archive for 'high st 2.0'

The amazon kindle review (via Scoble)

Amazon entered the world of digital mobile recently with the Kindle. In a bizarre twist it seems they forgot to add any retail to it. I use amazon a lot and I like the review system particularly, but it seems this product should have been released with a big beta button on it. Proves the point that if you don’t know how to do something (like stretch your business into hardware) hire an expert and don’t do it until you’ve got it right and it does what everyone expects it should do. If this product came from apple we all know it would do and it would also have many features we didn’t even know we couldn’t live without. It’d also be a lot better looking.

You can see the scobleizer’s full review here. Watch the video though, I love the phrase about “leaving that kind of money on the table”.

Currys pops up

I’ve enjoyed reading (and listening) to Simon Perry on Digital Lifestyles reporting from Whitehaven on the digital switchover over the past few days. Interesting to see Currys make good, if a little uninspiring, use of a pop up retail format. You can read the full story with pictures here. It’s an interesting move, although I think Currys have missed a trick in not featuring the truck or ‘Currys on tour’ at least on the digital switchover part of their website.

Pop up retail

This week I received my copy of Frame magazine and was completely taken with the article on page 241 ‘Plastic Dreams’ an exhibition in Shanghai Times Square: beautiful red plastic mannequin’s from La Rosa and a fantastic plastic walled structure with clear plastic blocks from Sturm und Plastic what an amazing sight.
What a fantastic opportunity to create a exhibition/moving retail environment. Food for thought for all those internet retailers out there who need to find ways to promote themselves offline, think of the opportunities to introduce a new product range using visual merchandising in pop up retail environments, but most of all to build customer awareness and create great publicity.
Unfortunately you can only see the image in the magazine but all the more reason to buy one for some design inspiration.

The high street of the future

These chaps at the echochamber know a thing or two about the retail landscape and are not short of an opinion or three.

Topshop & web 2.0 retail

The buzz continues to roll for Topshop and the Kate Moss collection. Of course it will sell out practically straightaway perhaps even make the obligatory appearance on ebay. At the end of the day they’ve made it happen for which they must get a gret deal of credit.

Originaly there was much gossip about wether Kate Moss had precipitated the resignation of Jane Shepherdson, former head honcho at Topshop. This really signalled the start of a (viral?) PR and marketing campaign that will culminate on the 1st May with the launch of the Kate Moss collection. Yesterday’s Topshop stylenotes email included a link to a new Kate Moss Topshop website, a one page site along the lines of a Myspace page to whet our appetites.

Kate Moss Topshop website

Topshop it seems are getting it right online. Not only this quick preview type of website but also their ’style notes’ retain the interest every week, an RSS feed of their top 10 ‘Daily fix’, a Style Blog with competitions a video podcast site and more. There’s been much talk of retailers embracing web 2.0 and what it means to them (I know … let’s have a forum) with even a 16 page pullout in Retail Week. But, Topshop it seems are ahead of the game, especially since two thirds of UK fashion retailers don’t have a transactional website yet. I know it’s only April but are they going to miss out on online sales at Christmas again?

As the antithesis of Topshop’s multi stranded online marketing model Primark launches a new store in Oxford Street this week. Their website doesn’t exactly celebrate this, no doubt it’s in construction but it does let down what is otherwise a good value fashion retailer.

Primark's website opening pagePrimark's website click through page