FRAMEBUYER / Editorial Series / BRAND OUTLOOK

THE SHOPPING Experience

Part three of our look at the future of eyewear brands and beyond

BY AMY SPIEZIO

economics, demographics, technology—major shifts in the world are moving into optical retail every day and demanding that eyecare professionals look at what they do in a new way. As eyewear manufacturers undergo sea changes in their approach to brands and business, so too must ECPs reevaluate.

“Today we are in the midst of the most profound change that the retail industry has ever gone through,” reports “Retail 2020: Reinventing Retailing” a white paper by Herb Kleinberger, adjunct professor at New York University (NYU) Stern School of Business, and Chris Hendren, director, global retail solutions at IBM. “We are seeing significant changes in the way consumers shop, where they shop and when they shop. These changes will, once again, change the retailing landscape, as consumers shift to those retailers that evolve while others are forced to liquidate.”

In part three of our brand outlook series, we examine how brands and business are changing on optical’s front line.

Open Your Minds

Unlike shopping even 10 year ago, today’s buyers have choices—so many more options and opportunities. “Simply offering others’ brands without adding significant value will not be sufficient for sustainable competitive advantage,” note Kleinberger and Hendren.

For the world of optical, that means moving beyond traditional brand-based selling and into experiential retail focused on the buyer’s whole visit. “Optical retailers must stay open-minded to new product and brand propositions,” says Mike Hundert, CEO of REM Eyewear. “The overarching benefits need to stay focused on the consumer, and retailers therefore will need to continue offering goods and services that are in the best interest of the consumer.”

Create an environment, an experience, and something extra that resonates with consumers in a way that exceeds the point-and-click shopping experience and becomes something meaningful and satisfying. That involves hand-matching buyer and brand for more than name recognition reasons.

“It’s not just about brands, the shopping experience is central to success,” says Holly Rush, president of Luxottica Wholesale North America. “Today we’re competing not just with ourselves, but with other retail formats—online and in store.”

Although optical retailers may not have planned on going into show business, that’s where they’re heading as buying increasingly has to entertain. “Brands and retailers need to strike an emotional and meaningful connection throughout the shopping experience,” notes Liquid Agency’s white paper, “The Future of Retail” by Alfredo Muccino, CCO, and brand strategist Emily Buchholtz. “The connection should be so strong, consumers feel compelled to come back for more and share the experience with their community.”

“Retailing of any kind needs to capture the imagination, engage, delight,” Rush agrees. “If it’s not a positive experience, if the consumer doesn’t make a connection in the store, they have far too many other options to go elsewhere.”

Time For Tech

The consumers’ community is, increasingly, a web-based hive of social networks. So if optical retailers want to stay in their patients’ minds 24/7, they have to increase their involvement in technology or be left behind. Economist Joseph Schumpeter coined the term “creative destruction” in 1942, note Kleinberger and Hendren, “to describe the painful process by which innovation and technological advances make an industry more efficient while leaving older, less adaptive businesses by the wayside.”

In a world where a new online eyewear retailer seems to be popping up almost weekly, traditional practices are in a position where they need to expand their business horizons in many directions.

“I think we could see a slight shift and change in how brands are perceived and how brands are dispensed due to the extra competition coming in from the online business,” says Stephen Rappoport, president of L’Amy USA.

Probably the most challenging part about these increasing technical considerations is making sure staff is ready to deal with the challenges and opportunities they bring. “Optical professionals today face so many challenges including changing consumerism, managed care, Internet, shifting demographics, and increased use of technology,” says Peter Friedfeld, executive vice president, ClearVision Optical. “This means we need to be prepared for constant change.”

Training Days

Being prepared in retail today means considering a variety of factors in business—most involving cooperation and education on every level of business.

STAFF FOCUS. Those working in the dispensary can’t let brand names do the heavy lifting. Instead, they need a complete sales toolkit. “In most cases, today’s store associates are at a real disadvantage when they are asked to serve customers,” say Kleinberger and Hendren. “They probably don’t have mobile devices as good as their customers’. They are not as informed about what’s available in the market as are their customers.”

The authors recommend retailers rethink how they hire and train their staff, “to turn them into part of the reason consumers come to shop their stores.”

SUPPORT SYSTEM. As stores have to look for alternatives to relying on brands, so do the manufacturers who produce them, creating an opportunity for partnership, notes Friedfeld. “An increase in capture rate for many optical professionals can be a game changer. And that comes down to staff training as well as frame selection. What vendor supports me in my overall strategic vision? Where can I get the best service that ultimately leads to a profitable relationship?”

STORY CORPS. Vendor resources can include helping figure out how to use brands in a fresh way to provide a meaningful experience to customers. “We believe that by celebrating the brands, telling the stories of the products and collections and creating a service-minded retail experience in store and online, we can truly create eyewear businesses that are built to last,” Luxottica’s Rush notes.

SHOW AND TELL. In addition to training, some manufacturers can help create an experiential setting, notes Luisa Delgado, CEO of Safilo Group. “Our focus on brand building through unique consumer value propositions means investment in consumer and in-store communications that will drive sell out.”

Regardless of the future of brands, the future of successful optical dispensing is moving in the direction of technology driven, consumer-experience-focused practices. Notes Hundert, “Together, suppliers and retailers have the same fundamental mission as always, branded eyewear or not, which is to provide exceptional experiences for consumers.”