UNIQUE MERCHANDISING WILL TRIUMPH
‘The UK homeware shopper is braver and bolder in their tastes, and our buying needs to reflect that,’
says Askem. Social media – particularly Instagram and Pinterest – has the potential to turn everyone
into an amateur stylist. Expressing ourselves via our homes has never been so important.
Bryony Sheridan, buyer at Liberty, agrees. ‘The social and economic climate is forcing us to socialise
at home and encouraging us to invest more energy and income into creating a home, even if we’re
renting,’ she reasons. ‘Shopping should be an experience.’
Stores need to surprise, inspire and offer a sense of discovery, with well-informed staff to entice and
retain the increasingly design-savvy consumer. Expect cross-category merchandising and fewer trend-
led room sets, because although shoppers are inspired by themes, they don’t buy that way – instead,
they mix and match more organically. Both Liberty and John Lewis & Partners report that coloured
and patterned tableware is matching and exceeding sales of plain white dinnerware for the first time.
Differentiation is also key. ‘Our homeware is more about collectables – unique treats at sensible prices,
such as hand-thrown pots or jugs,’ explains Mansbridge. As Ruis says: ‘If you have a unique assortment
that is just yours, then you will be fine.’ All of which is good news for the consumer, as we can expect
to find more unique pieces and exclusive, own-brand designs in stores.THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT
Consumer behaviour has never been so fast-paced and in flux – just look at the current rethink on
single-use plastics. Retailers are waking up to this. ‘You can’t stand still; constant reinvention is essential.
No-one can plan a five-year strategy now,’ says Stephen Briars, creative director of The Conran Shop.
‘We have to reinvent constantly to stay afloat and grow different aspects of the business.’
At the core of this is growing e-commerce (many brands are aiming for this to account for 50 per cent
of turnover), but more generally, operators need to be light on their feet and able to react and adapt
according to changing consumer behaviour. Progressive retailers are trialling a range of models, from
social media initiatives to bricks and mortar – take the Mini Habitat outposts in Sainsbury’s, the dedicated
John Lewis & Partners At Home stores in out-of-town retail parks, and the way in which independents
such as SCP and Pinch Design have opened on London’s Pimlico Road to target the industry professional.E-COMMERCE WILL SAVE OUR STORES
We all shop in a multitude of ways, from a quick online buy to a leisurely day of retail therapy. All the
operators we spoke to have faith in the high street, but as Clare Askem, Habitat’s managing director,
says, ‘customers shop in an omnichannel way’, and brands need to offer consistency across the board.
‘E-commerce and bricks and mortar are always completely entwined,’ explains Peter Ruis of
Anthropologie. ‘No-one will buy one of our sofas without sitting on it in-store first.’ You only have to
consider how many e-commerce brands – from MatchesFashion.com to Loaf – have opened bricks-and-
mortar stores to see that both analogue and digital shopping need to co-exist.
‘We know that with every homeware purchase made at John Lewis & Partners, two thirds of
customers have used both channels,’ asserts the store’s buying director Jonathan Marsh. So, shops
are here to stay and are set to offer more to the consumer in both convenience and experience.1
2
3
WE CAN EXPECT MOR E UNIQUE,
EXCLUSIVE DESIGNS IN STOR ES
CONSUMER BEH AV IOUR
HAS NEVER BEEN SO
FAST-PACED AND IN FLUX