Soon we can celebrate the re-opening of small stores, reminding us how important it is to have high-quality craftsmanship and sustainable products in our lives again. Tante Emma sends its regards, and its circle of strong brands rushes over us like a powerful wave that distinguishes their position in the market.
In his recent study, Matthias Horx mentions that rural market locations are highly sought after as they successfully rival their urban counterparts in terms of competitive advantage. A reflection of culture in products/content offered at new and innovative locations tells us that connection and identity with customers, sustainability, and transparency of product origin/process often mask the importance of brand recognition in terms of consumer purchasing decisions.
We clearly notice the counter trend; urbanization has reached its peak, and new concepts to replace its reign will follow. Many stores cannot keep up with cost pressures associated with city life. Buying behaviors of consumers tend toward fairness and transparency of origin- knowing from where products come and how they are made. That’s why small stores are back in vogue and can offer more innovation, such as a connection to people and cultures. Once again, consumers are looking for personal contact, discussion, and touch, all of which was scarce in the lockdown days of the pandemic.
City planners are thinking carefully about how to cultivate more green spaces, create additional meeting areas and increase the quality of relationships. Cosmopolitanism, knowledge, values and, finally, desire are forcing us to rethink. This newly demanded vitality and openness promotes creativity and increases the desire for innovation. Now, the big brands with their infinite number of stores are in trouble, because, with more introspection, people buy more consciously and purposefully. Spending more money on quality, craftsmanship and sustainability has become the new consumer activity!
Opportunities for honesty and the new “we” culture
As rural areas experience a renaissance, urban centers are losing some of their appeal for both retailers and consumers. Branch offices of companies are being closed, office space is being reduced and the switch is being made to hybrid remote working. Trends emerge as one new coffee shop opens after another; take-out food becomes the order of the day and people meeting on the street in green spaces is the new experience. The “we” culture coalesces again.
People are beginning to think about quality time with others because for so long we’ve had to do without it. Now, the future seems to go “back to our roots.” This new (old) focus has restored our longing for handmade products, where an artisan can contribute individually – have his or her own handwriting recognized in the market and choose the quality of inputs according to the given price limit. “Honest” products created by people who are passionate about making them, which becomes evident to and desired by the consumer. Personally, I share this passion, which has placed me in demand again, the result is I feel less like a number in the system or on the assembly line.
As social beings, we need small and innovative stores; Large retailers fade against the backdrop of smaller specialty shops that highlight themselves for their innovation. Massive store spaces obscure the essentials of product quality and customer service, which dilutes a consumer’s attraction away from the buying process.
Aunt Emma store relationships – passé and future direction.
As consumerism evolved in the 80s and 90s, the coexistence among retailers, chain stores and corner shops was not clear. In the consumer boom of the last 20 years, small stores and products with little brand recognition struggled to keep up with rising costs and were increasingly pushed out of urban markets. While large retailers filled the void, smaller ones that migrated to suburban and rural areas developed an individuality to their brands that attracted consumers who were also migrating in the same directions. Products behind the large brand names in big stores were boosted by more investment, doing little more than representing larger temples of worship for consumers focused only brand and price. Shopping malls from city to city became homogenized in look, feel and product offering.
Today, eCommerce and the pandemic serve to highlight the plight of large, physical retail spaces in cities. Long live the evolution and the revival of innovative stores with their own products, making handicrafts tangible and integrating them closely with consumers wants and needs.
Tante Emma embodies this “back to roots” consumer movement. Arts and culture strongly influence this phenomenon, and the movement is experiencing an unprecedented boom. Architecture accentuates store design, which enables emotional shopping. Progressiveness and rural approaches are the new mindset! New, mixed forms of product offerings allow for more possibilities and opportunities for everyone, whether they include strong brands or no-name brands. The rediscovery of fulfillment through well-planned store design – from diversity and coverage of social needs – is valid.
The power of cooperative empathy
Empathy that focuses on individuality and self-realization is building in momentum among the new wave of retailers who pride themselves by offering products of high-quality craftsmanship. At the same time, this movement gives people what they need today: a connection with other people at a time when the pandemic has isolated us for so long. Consumers feel relieved they are away from the impersonalized concrete world, the hectic pace and the stress of large urban retail settings.
The friendly and helpful salesperson re-emerges, philosophizing in a refreshing way to customers about his or her products in a genuine manner that also takes into account the development of a product’s respect for “mother earth.”
We are witnessing the revival of small stores. Aunt Emma’s and no-name brands are great examples of this against the backdrop of strong brands that are trying to reposition themselves. The key ingredient to the cooperative empathy among this innovative type of small retailer is to thrive on people’s innovation and the principle of providing value to their customers. Small but mighty!
Heinz Ramseier
30th July, 2021