Story-Based Retail And The Evolving Role Of Merchandiser

In the new experience economy, the very idea of what a store is has changed. It’s transformed from a place for people to buy things into a place where people engage in shopping experiences of discovery and delight where product is the reward they take home. Under this new retail experientially-focused model, the old “product is king” approach is dead. Today the retailer must put the customer, not product, at the heart of every activity and objective. Now the “customer is king” and the retail store his or her “castle.” Retailers are discovering the way to move from a product-centric to a consumer-centric retail model is through storytelling. Timberland is doing it with its TreeLab concept where every 6-to-8 weeks the TreeLab store is made over to tell a new story with a curated selection of Timberland products elements in that story, like Streetology about its styles for city living, Shevolution for women and now Made to Give for holiday gifting. Read more at Forbes.