future stores

On Friday, we watched youtube videos about "future stores."  I believe this could go one of two ways.  It could either be really successful and open a lot of doors as far as personalized shopping regarding tangible items or it could fall through miserably.  If this system was to work, then people in a rush could navigate themselves around stores quickly and get only the items they intended to buy.  This would be particularly sufficient in grocery stores and stores of that nature.  In clothing stores, the idea of body scanning is really where I could see people utilizing technology.  If stores could direct you to clothes in your size and in the styles you prefer then that would be great for people who don't like taking time to shop, such as most men.

On the other hand, "future stores" may never take off.  They would put a lot of people out of jobs.  Most places with this sort of technological help would require as little as one person to be on shift at a time.  Many college students who work in retail would need to get new jobs.  "Future stores" would also ruin the experience for those who shop for fun.  The atmosphere would be cold because they would no longer be greeted and offered services by employees.  Window shopping and impulse buying would be at a minimum.  All in all, I think the idea is innovative yet might not be completely plausible.

SOCIALS TRENDS:
-ever growing "plus size" population
-enormous Hispanic population
-desire for more recycled garments & packaging;"go green"
-growing elderly population
-technology in clothing for igeneration (Nike attempts)
-more low cost, mediocre quality due to recession
-multi-purpose items for cost efficiency (ex-reversibles)
-vintage styles coming back to forefront
-"design your own" apparel - Nike shoes online

In Depth Customer Profile of Whole Foods Market

This customer is...

-male or female

-Generation X

-upper middle class salary

-generally caucasian

-single or married without kids

-interested in saving the environment

-recycles

-health nut

-outdoors lover

-tree hugger