‘Retail location planning as a strategy has changed forever. It has become more complicated and more multi-dimensional and now requires a broader and more flexible view on the required retail presence. Those who are evolving quickest will be able to engage best with a generation for whom convenience, flexibility and service are paramount. And ultimately those will be the ones positioned to best succeed in the retail landscape of the future.’ So states Feargal O’Neill in his recent article on multichannel location analysis and changes in store network design.
In today’s shifting retail landscape, the connection between bricks-and-mortar stores and e-commerce means that opportunities are bigger, but stakes are higher. As retailers chart their course in an Amazon-dominated world, insights from powerful analytic software and data may be crucial for survival. O’Neill urges retailers to think about how consumers’ changing demands – especially their insistence on convenience – determine the location and design requirements of physical store networks.
As O’Neill says, ‘Retailers first need to rethink their customer interaction requirements. How and where do they need to engage with them on their terms? What should each store or “point of engagement” look like?’