Dive Brief:
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Dyson is continuing its roll out of company-run stores with a new store opening this fall in Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre, with plans for more in Glasgow, San Francisco and New York City, according to Retail Insider.
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The appliance company began opening branded locations in 2015 with a store in Tokyo, according to the report. To date it runs locations in Paris, Moscow, Jakarta and London. The company has also run several “Dyson Supersonic Lab” pop-ups in the U.S. to demo its new hair dryer, its first entry into the beauty space, according to its Facebook page.
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The company’s products are featured in the stores of several big-box retailers, including Target and Best Buy, where it recently rolled out demo spaces.
Dive Insight:
With consumers increasingly turning online (including via their phones) for much of their shopping journey, retailers need to take full advantage of physical spaces as opportunities to entice shoppers.
Touting the advantages of brick-and-mortar browsing are key, considering the ability to touch, feel and try out products ranked as the number one reason shoppers chose stores over buying online, according to the Retail Dive Consumer Survey. That said, our findings also showed that only 30% of consumers said they were more likely to shop for appliances and electronics in store as opposed to online.
While Dyson appears to be interested in offering in-person opportunities to boost interest in its products, simply having a physical store presence isn't enough. Having interactive experiences and a knowledgeable base of store associates that can answer questions about the products is an important piece of leveraging in-store buying.
The new tendency of brands to sell directly to customers — both online (via Amazon or otherwise) and in their own stores — is yet another challenge to retailers that specialize in those segments or have departments that do. "[C]onsumers are increasingly switching to buying directly from brands," GlobalData Retail Managing Director Neil Saunders told Retail Dive in an email. "[A] a well-configured, focused brand can secure customer loyalty far better than a retailer selling a diffuse range of different products with little coherence."
That phenomenon is, to a great degree, the story of department stores. Over the past couple of decades or so, the term is increasingly a misnomer, as smaller retailers specializing in cosmetics, jewelry, home goods, furniture, toys and even auto parts and services are challenging those formerly reliable department store sales. Now that could also challenge big-box retailers as well, making private label merchandise a key potential differentiator.