So, you’re starting a retail business? Exciting times, before you do, don’t forget to follow the key rules.
First thing’s first, make sure you define your market, create buyer personas and maintain a consistent brand message throughout. Correct? Of course. What’s the most important ingredient? Where’s everybody spending their money? Correct again! You have to make sure you have a fully integrated eCommerce platform that tracks everything you need to know about your customer.
Did I miss anything?
Absolutely… the magical marketing ingredient… the story! Something that helps to build identity, create loyalty and stand out from the competitors. Retail 101.
This is where the story starts…
Okay. How about you forget the eCommerce platform? Forget the buyer persona and throw the defined market out of the window. This is the story of STORY.
There’s an independent shop in the West Side of Manhattan, New York City that’s thinking a little differently. They’re not breaking convention, they’re destroying it. Every few weeks the shop completely reinvents itself. Not in terms of a ‘new chapter’ within the business. But, a complete new story.
Firstly, this isn’t a retail shop, or store, this is a 2000 sq ft retail space. A space that is completely transformed each four to eight weeks with a whole new themed story. The retail space just drew to a close its ‘Good’ story theme. Products sourced from businesses focused upon ‘doing good’ including Uncharted Play, a business creating ‘play products that generate renewable energy and inspire social invention’. Past stories have included:
- Love story
- Colour story
- His story
- Wellness story
Each new story sees the retail space, fixtures and fittings transformed. The space is filled with artisan crafts sourced from small independent designers who have pitched to gain a presence within the themed environment. The space also includes products from larger organisations looking to STORY as a ‘live lab’ to test new products.
Not just another story…
STORY is a remarkable venture. It takes the point of view of a magazine. It rotates its wares as an art gallery would… and the retail topping, it sells its wares like a store. A concoction that allows the business, owned by Rachel Shechtman, to drive additional revenues through sponsorship. The ‘Home For The Holidays’ theme attracted American Express. The ‘Making Things’ theme attracted General Electric. All paying handsome fees to associate their brand with the current theme of STORY.
In between each story, the space closes for a week to allow for the new story to be born.
Thinking as a magazine publisher allows STORY go way beyond retail and host guest speakers, offer engaging experiences such as one-off classes, and the theming opens up a host of opportunities to collaborate with related brands.
A story of constant reinvention?
STORY is posting six-figure profits. Quite clearly, this isn’t marketing gimmickry. In an era of pop-up shops, STORY has solidified its venue as a host of temporary shops within a fixed environment. It’s a remarkably clever feat.
Why aren’t STORY selling products online? My guess is that there’s enough going on offline, such as the recent hosting of Donna Karan drawing conversation in context with the ‘Good Story’. STORY, itself, makes a good story. That story is made even stronger when you consider the innovative feat of complete reinvention of the retail space. Would it be considered groundbreaking if that feat took place online?
STORY is a retail paradox. When you consider shopping offline, or online, you head to your chosen destination assured by their specialism or their constant range of brands/products. STORY is different. I want to explore STORY each month to see what’s new, to see products that I’ve never seen before. To be tempted by products that are positioned as props within the story itself. It’s an intriguing concept . An approach that will build a loyal fanbase that you can be sure will return again and again.
What can we learn from STORY?
Throw away the rule book on how retail space should operate. This is a clever mix of offline proposition with online PR. If your offering is strong and stands out, people will talk about you. There’s a bold concoction of innovation, transformation and intrigue surrounding STORY. As the curtains on one story draw to a close, we’re left eagerly awaiting the next story. This isn’t window dressing, or homepage promotion, this is full-scale reinvention. But… the core Story remains the same. I like that.
Scarcity is a one of the 6 persuasive principles highlighted in Cialdini’s Influence. The finite nature of each story hastens the purchase making process. In a matter of days the store is no more… there’s little time to contemplate purchase. Would you sell more products if there was an ‘available for a limited time only’ label attached to every product in your store?
Shopping at STORY will make you feel like you’re involved with something quite special. Something limited. Something unique. Unique is a powerful marketing tool. It’s what we, as marketers, strive for. It’s what STORY offers in abundance.
What’s next for STORY…we’ll just have to wait and see.
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