The Retail Revival: Reimagining Business for the New Age of Consumerism

After reading Doug's book, I am once again excited about being in the retail industry. He clearly identifies how we got into the mess we are in; and articulates, in detail, a path forward. Some in the industry won't make it, but we all already knew that. What Doug's done is to show anybody willing to listen, and to take the bold steps he outlines, not just how to survive, but how to actually build the next generation of world class retailers. As an insider in a Big Box retailer, I can tell you that things have been so bad for so long that I had just about given up hope. Doug's work has given me the inspiration, and the practical knowledge, needed to reset, or "Revive" the joy I had once felt about retailing. It has already been called a must read book and it is. If you are not familiar with the terms "Hadoop", "Tuangou" and "Third Shelf"; or if you don't know about companies like TreeHouse, WestJet and Studio Velo, you can either learn about them in this book, or learn about them when reading the obituary written by the business press when your current company goes the way of Circuit City, Builder's Square, Expo, Kodak, ..... It's a powerful and stimulating piece of work from a person who has earnestly studied the past, to develop an accurate assessment of the present, which has given him an amazing insight into the future. You need to know what Doug Stephens knows.

The Retail Revival is a great book to understand the social, demographic, technological and economic trends that are changing the world in the last 30 or 40 years from the perspective of someone who is in businesses that deal with the general public. It is not a how to book, but a book that presents ideas and concepts that are used (or misused) by marketing and retail professionals and how they have been impacted by the current state of things like, social media, internet, demographics... One of its key ideas is that what is happening in the current Developed World Economy is not only caused by the recent economic crisis, but is the product of a series of changes: - some technological, like the brutal explosion in information available to consumers and the new media where consumers can post their opinions and impact marketing actions in unexpected ways. - others are demographical in nature, like the quantity of households of single people, single parents and so on. - the new internet retailers with new capacities regarding their ability to understand their customers through their systems (like Amazon here!) - the destruction of valuable blue collar positions by outsourcing to poor countries and increase the income inequality. In summary, economic power is changing hands...(from Walmart to Amazon) the big retailers are becoming history. New organizations are being born and becoming successful as the generations of customers are changing. (The baby bomers are retiring...) It is a book to get new insights and improve your vision on what is changing that impacts your business. Doug Stephens not only analyses the recent past, but also identifies some of the new directions that retail companies should look into to create their new future. These are the most difficult to evaluate, for many ideas will have to be invented or discovered by entrepreneurs around the world, and when we talk about innovation its easier to see and understand them when they become history. The book is well written, sometimes you will feel like as Doug Stephens is in the room giving a lecture on the subject.

Prescient, but probably a little over the top. Being in Retail all my life I have seen many predictions about the demise of brick and mortar. I think the piece that always gets missed is the social and experience piece of brick and mortar. As much as we all like the prices and convenience of shopping online there are 3 other dimensions that are positive for B and M retailers. They are: the enjoyment to get out and see products and how they are used. The speed aspect that allows a person to see a lot of products quickly by shopping a store. And finally, the I need it right now, last minute nature of many people. That said, the book is dead on when it comes to paying attention to the tectonic shift that is occurring. This is one of the key reasons our Federal government needs to pass reform on the sales tax issue. There is an unlevel playing field where most web retailers have a devastating advantage purely because of how the law favors them. At some point, when enough Congressman drive through their districts and see empty retail store after empty retail store that no longer collect sales tax will they become motivated to change this unfair advantage. Unfortunately, it will be too late for many B and M retailers.

The first half of Doug Stephens' book fills in the socioeconomic and political background to the retail environment we find ourselves saddled with today. This discussion serves to provide a solid context for his later projections on the shape of retail to come. The good news he brings and clearly marks out is that the next 5 years will witness an utter transformation in the world of retail. This book is rich in detailing and illuminating cutting edge technologies, ideas and new theories that in many cases will revolutionize the marketplace. Stephens pushes the futurist envelope to the very edge and provides a much needed toolkit of actionable insights. I particularly enjoyed his discussion of a retail future defined by `surfaces and devices' rather than channels. Stephens' book reaffirmed my belief that a considerable number of today's retailers sitting pretty or in most cases, not so pretty, in stores ill-suited to our new realities, need to quickly transition to more creative and experiential uses of space. The future belongs to those who best understand today's critical triad of space, experience and branding.

This ought to be required reading for anyone with a serious interest in retail. Stephens brilliantly recounts the evolution of retail from the decidedly more sanguine days of the early 1960's, when white-flight created real demand for more and bigger shopping choices in the suburbs; spawning behemoths like Walmart, K-Mart, Kohls etc., and when communicating with those customers was a good deal easier than it is today. He brilliantly paints a picture of what retail is evolving into; fueled by massively changing demographics, different media challenges and the immediacy of information available to customers today, especially the 80 million or so Millennials, who will soon account for more sales than Boomers. Stephens suggests that retailers will have a clear choice to make, either pursue a low-price model, with all of its inherent challenges, or take the less-traversed high-road, with a strong emphasis on creating great experiences. This is one of the best books I have ever read on the subject of retail and I can't recommend it highly enough. Peter Smith, Author, Hiring Squirrels.

This book starts with the position that the demographics in America that led to the success of business such as Wal-Mart have been radically and irreversibly changed. Well, either they didn't or need re-interpretation because Wal-Mart is still a roaring success and expanding to other countries such as China. But this book is interesting in which it anticipates changing purchasing habits, the effects of automation, total personalisation of service, and the internet which opens many doors to imagination. In the whole its a good book to read which can make you think and enrich you.

"The Retail Revival" is an excellent guide to "Reimagining Business for the New Age of Consumerism" as the subtitle proclaims. I read this book as an ecommerce class assignment. As a business coach and advisor I can verify that, based on my real-world experiences, Doug Stephens understands what's happening in the world of retail. This book, written in 2012, is relevant today and has proven to be prophetic. There are many lessons to be learned by all business, not just retail businesses. Stephens insightfully explains the history of retail, particularly over the last few decades, how everything is different now and where the retail environment is headed. He offers a solid, inspiring vision for the future based on changing cultural values. In my opinion this book is a must read for anyone responsible for managing and growing a retail business and for their advisors.

Canadian Doug Stephens, founder of "Retail Prophet" is the author of the groundbreaking book, The Retail Revival: Re-Imagining Business for the New Age of Consumerism. I read the retail futurist's book soon after it was released in February 2013. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a sobering wake-up call for all retail professionals and offers them prescriptions for what to focus on in order to profit from the current and coming chaos. Part of the book's appeal is that the discussion isn't restricted to a narrow definition of retail. Instead, it looks at the topic from a broad category perspective. Best of all, the book appeals to the consumer in all of us. If you want to read a comprehensive review of the book, you can find one in the following blog post : [...]

Its going really well from era of 1962 to cultural values of companies who are successful. This book doesn't restrict to retail but also talks about fundamental basics of business. There are many takeaways & happy to have such thought leaders. The Ronald Mcdonald advt was amazing. It gives a clarity that first thing first you must start & if it goes bad then revive it. #KISS Regards Yogesh Huja

I was fortunate enough to sit in on a talk by Doug Stephens a few months back. His expertise in the field of retail is really fantastic. It was refreshing to sit in a retail conference and not hear the same old "ask for the sale... make sure you greet the customer" B.S. that anyone who has made it far enough in their company to be attending a retail conference would already know. This book has some very good input on what is happening in the retail space today and what companies can do to keep up. I'm only about half way through and have jotted down several changes to make in my own store.

A fantastic insight on how retail will evolve in the future. If your business is retail then read this or ignore it at your peril. Too many retailers are sitting back, moaning about high rents, rates etc rather than channeling their energy into innovative solutions. The retail landscape is rapidly changing you can either adapt or die. Buy copies for all your staff it could be the best investment you ever make!

I like the terms "high fidelity" and "convenience" in this book. They explain a lot why many retailers fail. Basically, if retailers want to survive in this business world, they must go to either one of the two extreme end of the scale. It's not about the prestige. It's about making money. If one simply focuses on selling cheap and convenient products, he has an equal level of profitability as a real estate agency. The book also describes new consumer's behaviors. Now we're more likely buying stuff online than visiting actual stores. Also, we tend to choose products that reveal our personalities and life styles. A good book to read

Its a must read for all those who feel that the Silo in which they are operating is a very secured place. Someone somewhere might be working hard to disrupt you and your silo. It is happening faster than you can imagine. So its time to change your behaviour and act. Take this book as your guide.