Just a few years ago, the media painted a bleak picture of the future of Britain’s department store given the rise in popularity of online shopping.
While the landscape of department stores has certainly shifted, the prediction of their demise couldn’t have been more inaccurate. In fact, the current department store experience is perhaps the most exciting it’s been for shoppers in a long time.
Harrods
The Harrods motto, “All Things for All People, Everywhere” gives you a clue about
the shopping experience you’re likely to encounter in this popular Knightsbridge store. A love letter to the birth of department stores on the UK high street, Harrods has retained its ornate Victorian features and now incorporates them into its merchandising. Also, Harrods’ food hall is a particular draw for shoppers with its sumptuous product displays, and its stunningly merchandised windows draw tourists from all over the world.
John Lewis
This is an example of a store that knows its customer very well, getting the product, price and environment correctly aligned to their audience. A lot of emphasis is placed on exceptional product knowledge and each employee owns shares in the company as an added incentive. John Lewis is one of the few retailers to make a significant investment in new merchandising systems and its merchandising graduate scheme is one of the most popular for those looking to enter into this specialism.
Selfridges
It’s not difficult to see why Selfridges is regularly voted as the world’s best department store, with its delivery of outstanding in-store experiences and excellent customer service. It was one the first store to realise the importance of window displays when it comes to attracting customers, turning them into works of art and cleverly weaving in the products they sell. Retailers all over the world have emulated Selfridges and placed their perfume and cosmetics departments on the ground floor so customers can begin their shopping journey with a mix of premium smells.
Debenhams
As well as offering free Wi-Fi in its stores, Debenhams has evolved over the years from the perception of being old-fashioned to teaming up with high-end designers to offer their clothes at affordable prices. Debenhams omni-channel solution is spot-on to give customer’s maximum choice and flexibility in the way that they shop. Bright lights and open spaces are the order of the day in-store, giving each branch an airy feel that never feels too busy to shop in.
Boots
Boots constantly strives to be the most popular beauty retailer on the high street. The Advantage Card puts the power in the customer’s hand as they can visit an in-store kiosk before shopping and see what personalised promotions are available to them. Part of Boots’ ongoing success is due to constantly refreshing product offerings and promotions. To demonstrate this, Momentum Instore recently partnered with them to handle a complete refresh and rebalance update of all cosmetic self-selection stands across a staggering 889 stores across the UK. You can read more about our work with Boots here.
For more information about Momentum Instore and the services we offer you can our team on 01625 569 200 or email instore@momentuminstore.com.
