Store Design

When Macklemore donned a mangy fur coat and strutted over used sofas in his 2013 "Thrift Shop" video, fans got a good look at the Goodwill Outlet at 1765 Sixth Ave. South in Seattle, a stereotypical realm of fluorescent lights, linoleum floors and bins of plastic toys. Macklemore's copious bling and king-sized personality did a lot to make Goodwill shopping look cool, but here's the twist: Lately, some Goodwill stores are looking pretty cool on their own. Goodwill is quietly transforming a small but growing number of its stores across the country into boutiques. 

Christmas is still more than three months away, but the game is already on in the toy aisle with both Wal-Mart and Toys"R"Us publishing some of their holiday toy lists Wednesday. Winning the game for Toys"R"Us isn't just about picking the hit product, it's also about proving there's viable room for it to exist and win as a specialty toy retailer, as other specialty chains from Best Buy to Barnes & Noble also guard their respective foothold against rivals from Wal-Mart to Amazon.com. 

Apple has won the right to trademark the design of its retail stores in the EU. The Court of Justice of the EU announced that Apple's flagship stores satisfy three conditions: they constitute a sign, can be graphically represented, and distinguish Apple products from third-party goods and services. Apple was able to trademark the design of its retail stores in the U.S. last year, about 2.5 years after filing the original application. The company also wanted a trademark overseas, but was met with resistance from German officials. The battle was eventually referred last year to the European Court of Justice.

There is a crisis in retail. During the 2013 holiday shopping season, U.S. retailers received approximately half the holiday foot traffic they experienced just three years ago, according to ShopperTrak. With consumer confidence growing in leaps and bounds, the decline in foot traffic signifies a tectonic shift in the way consumers shop and buy. Today's consumers lead busy lives and

The first computer I ever bought was a Tandy TRS-80 I got at RadioShack in the mid-1980s. There was no floppy drive, no operating system, no internet connection and no hard drive. I used a tape recorder to save data, but I still felt pretty cutting edge, even if it was largely an expensive paperweight, since I had no programming skills and used it like a big calculator. While those were also the halcyon days of RadioShack, the electronics retailer would like 2014 to be the start of a new golden age.

With Forrester predicting online shopping will reach $370 billion by 2017, retailers are fighting to get consumers to visit stores — and provide a quality experience when they get there. The trick is matching the convenience, speed and depth of information in-store that the online world easily provides. Also taking priority: time-saving techniques like virtual try-on; faster, more secure checkout; and protecting customers’ information. Consumers "expect the in-store experience to match the convenience of online," said Chris Donnelly, global managing director of Accenture Retail. Evidence the growth of mobile payments, which Accenture said will quadruple to $630 billion by 2014.

This past January, as I've done for the past five years or so, I trekked into New York City's Jacob Javits Convention Center for the National Retail Federation's (NRF) Big Show. I was met, as I was in past years as well, by retailers from around the world. I spent time at this year's conference attending presentations and press conferences; meeting and interviewing retail industry execs in the press room; and walking the vast exhibit hall floors trying to find the "next big things" in retail technology. Here are a few of my takeaways

Revenue growth may have slowed last year at Apple's retail stores, but the division remains one of the world's strongest and a key strategic focus of the tech giant's future. With revenue exceeding $20 billion for the fiscal year ended Sept. 28, Apple's brick-and-mortar unit exceeded the total annual revenue at big-name retailers such as Nordstrom, Gap and AutoNation. The stores are practically hallowed ground for entrepreneurs who supply accoutrements for Apple's "iOSphere." They say the cache and cash flow at Apple's retail outlets combine to make it a unique and unrivaled platform for introducing their products.

The retail landscape of 2014 is more digital than ever before, and integrating store and online operations is a key focus for retailers as e-commerce-capable solutions increasingly supplant traditional point-of-sale and mobile technologies. According to a new study conducted by the NRF, Demandware and the University of Arizona that polled more than 200 U.S. and European retail business technology executives, more than one-third (35.8 percent) said they're considering a single platform to manage interactions and transactions across all channels.

Endless lines. Pushy crowds. Hearing "The 12 Days of Christmas" for the umpteenth time in a matter of hours. Spend a little time shopping this holiday season and odds are good you'll want a good stiff drink. Not that you need to abandon your basket to grab one. More clothing retailers are branching out into the cocktail scene, offering consumers the opportunity to pause mid-shopping trip for a drink and small plates of food. Saks, Urban Outfitters and Brooks Brothers are among the brands that have recently announced plans to build out bar and restaurant spaces in stores.