Top 10 Retail Trends for the Holiday Season

Top 10 Retailing Trends Shoppers Will See This Holiday Season:

1) Scent Marketing: It’s beginning to “smell” a lot like shopping. Scent, the most powerful memory tool, will be permeating retail environments this holiday season and beyond. Verizon will smell like chocolate, Hard Rock Café like waffle cones and Bloomingdale's like baby powder.

2) Christmassier: It’s okay for retailers to market “Christmas” this year--just ask Wal-Mart. 

3) Webbier: Shopping on the Web is in! Almost every major retail outlet now has an e-commerce component as the buying shifts from “bricks & mortar” to “clicks & mortar.” Is Black Friday morphing into Cyber Monday?

4) Screenier: Digital media, the in-store marketing technique of the year with an 120 percent increase over last year, is predicted to see continued growth through the season. With interesting ties to scent marketing and new measurement tools--the digital age in retail marketing is here.

5) Faster Check-outs: Nothing makes the public happier during the shopping season than shorter lines and faster check-out times. From self-checkouts to EasyPay and FastPay.

6) The Great Outdoors: Is the mega mall headed for extinction? Twenty-five million sq. ft. of retail space is slated for development in 2007, and no enclosed, traditional shopping malls planned.

7) More Endcaps: The average shopper may not notice, but store aisles are getting shorter. Retailers are hoping shorter aisles and more perimeters mean bigger sales. 

8) Stockier: No need to take a raincheck this holiday season, with retailers keeping more product in-stock this year. 

9) Storemediagration: Retailers are working to integrate their online stores, catalogs and advertising to tie into the theme and feel of in-store marketing and displays. 

10) Interactive-activity: In today’s technology-driven world, consumers want to know as much as possible about a product before they buy it! With improved, more reliable touchscreen technology, shoppers can learn about and find the right bed, car or bathroom design through digital in-store media. You can actually expect twice as many stores to use touchscreens this year in comparison to last.

--Doug Hope

Photo: Christmas trees and décor (trend No. 2) will be part of the festivities in more retail stores this year.