Yes, I know it's still fall outside, but for parents and friends of teenage girls, it's Christmas party time. The winter formals are coming up in no time, and lucky me, I have two wonderful teenage friends going to their first formal dances next month. I had already promised them a sightseeing trip to San Francisco weeks ago, so we decided to slip in a little taste of shopping in the big city while we were at it.
Shopping is pretty much a recreational sport for me, so I don't normally take it all that seriously. Well, I'm thinking about shopping in a new way lately. I've been reading a new book just out called "Shopping: why we love it and how retailers can create the ultimate customer experience." The operative word here is "experience." This is what's coming in our future, and as I read it, I see a real key to what could happen to draw more shoppers downtown. According to the author, Pamela N. Danziger, there is a shopping evolution. The '80s was the decade of the mall, the 90s saw the emergence of the discounters like Costco and Wal-Mart, the the 2000s came the luxury decade, where shoppers wanted luxurious goods but for cheaper prices (the discount outlet stores.) Now she, says the 2010s is the decade of the experience -- the environment is all important.
Well, I definitely get that. It's all those special events at our shopping malls and centers. It's the bookstores that encourage you to sit down, read and drink coffee. It's cookies and cider served thoughout downtown Clovis during the holidays. It's Nordstrom and its grand piano; it's Bass Pro with all the sports equipment you can try out. During our San Francisco shopping trip, it was Bloomingdale's, where the formal department had live models walking around, showing off the dresses and a deejay playing dance music to keep you in the mood. Now this was fun shopping. If they'd had some cute guys in tuxes to dance with, the girls could have just skipped the formal altogether! Shopping would have been the experience.
In Danziger's book, the writer raves about a furniture and accessories store called Nell Hill. It's in in a small town in Kansas, and some people drive 500 miles to shop there. It's located in downtown Atchison in a refurbished old bank building, and apparently it draws its clientele because it's full of great decorating ideas, energy and reasonable prices. It's like there's a party there all the time, constantly changing and overflowing with movement and creativity. Danziger says the owner, Mary Carol Garrity, delivers the kinds of products and shopping experinces that "thrill and delight." On the store's Web site the owner says, "If they are going to drive all the way from out of town to get here, then I'm going to make sure they're happy and see something they haven't seen before."
Wow. One focus group customer said it's "got a cozy feel, like you're shopping in a home." Wouldn't something like that play well in downtown Fresno? Yes, I think so -- kind of a collision between a department store, furniture store, an antique store and a florist shop. We have lots of old buildings, lots of old houses that would lend themselves to such themes. The owner has been so successful there that she now has spinoff stores. G. Diebolts has linens and bedding and Garrity's, which specializes in furniture and antiques. Check out that Web site www.nellhills.com. Maybe we should be trying to recruit Garrity, the owner, to come and brainstorm with us about downtown Fresno. Perhaps downtown should capitalize on the talents of its theatrical and artistic residents, specialize in "the shopping experience" and leave the big boxes out north to do what they do. We have plenty of talent here; adopt a great concept, and perhaps fewer people will be whining about having to drive "all the way downtown" to shop.
OK all you experts in retail, what do you think?
I am so not the target of your efforts. Stores are places that you sometimes have to go to in order to get things. Stores as a destination and not because they're designed for hanging out and eating/drinking -- the idea leaves me cold.
I doubt that we can predict what the 2010s will be before 2010 (better, 2020) rolls around. It could very well be the "secure shopping" decade, if bio-terrorism is the then current angst.
The 2010's are barely over 3 years away now. I think we can detect a trend coming our way - particularly since it takes 3 or more years for new ideas to catch on in Fresno anyway.
A more pressing concern to me is what we're going to call the new decade. In the last century we had the 60's, the 70's, the 80's and the 90's, then when 2000 came around we were so excited about the turn of the century/millennium that we neglected to come up with a decent name for the decade. Now another decade looms and we are no closer to a solution. "2010's" just doesn't work for me. Any better ideas out there?
And, just to comment on the actual topic at hand, I think the "experience" shopping idea could be more appealing than either the shopping mall or the discount center. But I think I need to, well, experience it first before I can decide.
Gail,
I am glad you mentioned the downtown mall, or lack there of.
We have no shortage of ideas, artists, and the will of our political representatives to make the downtown a place to go.
Unfortunatly you are asking the wrong people. Lets ask the business people with $$$ why they don't set up shop. Is it too much of a business risk, in that they won't make enough profit? parking issues? lack of feeling secure?
The Bee wrote a lot on this issue, it's a good thing we are blogging because any more discussion on this would be a waste of ink.