Change Is the Name of the Game

THE RETAIL INDUSTRY has coined a plethora of buzzwords – “omnichannel” was the overused phrase when I started my career at VMSD back in November 2012. Eventually the word-of-the-day became “experiential,” but unlike other fly-by-night buzzwords, this one stayed and became an important strategy for retailers really trying to set themselves apart.

After being cooped up the past couple years, pandemic-weary shoppers, with safety in mind, are hungry to go back to brick-and-mortar stores, and even more so, they’re hungry for experiences. Retailers leading successful quarters are doing so using this approach, not only with physical locations, but through all touchpoints – online to offline to social media and more.

Our March 2022 issue is chock full of experiential retail examples from Gibson Garage’s hands-on in-store journey to the Victoria’s Secret tech-driven Store of the Future. Through these and other examples, we’ve come to learn how imperative it is to create a memorable experience at retail, especially one that unifies all channels. The terms “adaptation” and “change” have become mantras to live by.

Much like retail has had to adapt and respond to ever-evolving consumer behavior, VMSD has also learned to pivot when necessary. Recently our amazing leader, colleague and dear friend of six-plus-years, Editor-in-Chief/Associate Publisher Jennifer Acevedo, moved on to a new and very exciting opportunity within the design industry. We will miss her and wish her the absolute best – the new editor of VMSD will certainly have very large shoes to fill. We look forward to continuing the editorial vision and brand mission in the interim, especially as we gear up for the 2022 International Retail Design Conference (IRDC) in Columbus, Ohio, this Oct. 26-27, and prepare to celebrate our 125th year in print this November.

No matter who helms VMSD, this storied brand will continue to move forward, grow and evolve. Many great editors have steered this publication to where it is today, and I’m sure our founding editor, American literary icon L. Frank Baum, would be over the moon to know his quaint journal about window dressing has come so far. We’ll take a note from the industry at large and continue to push fearlessly ahead.

Be sure to stay tuned to vmsd.com for updates and don’t forget to save-the-date for IRDC 2022! We hope to see you in Columbus.