Retail Walking Tours with Ad Age

As you know, we spend a great deal of time looking at what's happening at retail (see Experience Manifesto: Retail Design Diva -- Has Shopping Lost Its Charm? for a recent posting). A few weeks ago, we had a chance to take a walking tour of Soho retail with Natalie Zmuda & producer Jill Bauerle of Ad Age and they've got some great video up on their youtube channel. We spent the day exploring a number of stores in the area to look at what we believe separates ordinary retail from extraordinary retail. Some key take-away's from our day:

Large or small, retailers need to do a much better job creating compelling, authentic & relevant experiences for their guests.

Great, well trained and knowledgeable staff is no longer a luxury. It's a must have.

Use the store to create a social environment, making sure your connecting with guests and employees.

There may be one more video from this series, so make sure you sign up for the Ad Age youtube channel for all the latest. We're also hoping to go to other neighborhoods in the future, so if you some favorite retailer that you think should be included, let us know and we'll check it out.

Link: Ad Age Single Player.

Link: Ad Age Single Player.

Link: YouTube - AdAge's Channel.