Recorded live high about the Las Vegas sand in my Shoptalk #2022 pop-up recording studio; on this episode, I enjoy sitting down in person with fellow ReThink Retail top influencer and sought-after thought leader in the retail design and architecture space, Melissa Gonzalez.
Welcome to The Voice of Retail. I'm your host Michael LeBlanc. This podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada.
Recorded live high about the Las Vegas sand in my Shoptalk #2022 pop-up recording studio; on this episode, I enjoy sitting down in person with fellow ReThink Retail top influencer and sought-after thought leader in the retail design and architecture space, Melissa Gonzalez.
With a deep background rich in experience and varied across industries, Melissa has been helping retailers think through everything from pop-up retail to modern store design and integration of curb side and BOPIS for well over a decade.
In a wide-ranging interview, we talk about the modern retail store's future, the metaverse's actual reality, and lessons learned from the conference stage at the Shoptalk event that brought us together.
Thanks for tuning into this special episode of The Voice of Retail. If you haven’t already, be sure and click subscribe on your favourite podcast platform so new episodes will land automatically twice a week, and check out my other retail industry media properties; the Remarkable Retail podcast, the Conversations with CommerceNext podcast, and the Food Professor podcast. Last but not least, if you are into BBQ, check out my all new YouTube barbecue show, Last Request Barbeque, with new episodes each and every week!
I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company & Maven Media, and if you’re looking for more content, or want to chat follow me on LinkedIn, or visit my website meleblanc.co! Have a safe week everyone!
Learn more and sign up for the GELF LA event here:
https://www.globalecommerceleadersforum.com/la2022/
About Melissa
Melissa Gonzalez is the founder of The Lionesque Group, an award winning firm of experiential retail strategists, designer and project managers, as well as a Principal and Shareholder in global architecture firm MG2 and author of The Pop-Up Paradigm: Building Human Connections in a Digital Age. Some of her clients to date include Amazon, Burrow, Brandless, Carbon38, Dormify, Marc Jacobs, M.Gemi, Nordstrom, and The RealReal.
Melissa is a regular go-to expert in retail and experiential design, and is often featured in Forbes, Fortune, WSJ, Business Insider, Glossy, Digiday, Retail Touchpoints, WWD and on Cheddar and CBS News. She is the host of the Retail Refined podcast and a regular contributor to AW360. The work behind Melissa and her team has received notable award recognition from CLIO, Glossy, and New York Design Awards. She has also been recognized as one of LinkedIn’s top 10 must-know writers and creators, Design: Retail’s Top 10 Retail Design Influencers of the Year, Design: Retail's 40 under 40, and Innovator of the Year by Retail Touchpoints.
Some of her representative media:
How retailers are rethinking store experiences:
https://nrf.com/blog/how-retailers-are-rethinking-store-experiences
Trendsetting online retailers putting the buzz back into brick and mortar
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/20/trendsetting-online-retailers-putting-the-buzz-back-into-pop-up-shops.html
An Inside Look at the Pop-Up Retail Phenomenon:
http://www.bloomberg.com/video/an-inside-look-at-the-pop-up-retail-phenomenon-1nZwFqJ0Ra~ZU3vgwGlkNg.html
Meet the Innovators- How Pop-Ups Change the Retail Landscape:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/meet-innovators-how-pop-ups/id868990410?mt=2
About Michael
Michael is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. He has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions with C-level executives and participated on thought leadership panels worldwide. Michael was recently added to ReThink Retail’s prestigious Top 100 Global Retail Influencers for a second year in 2022.
Michael is also the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts, including Canada’s top retail industry podcast, The Voice of Retail, plus the Remarkable Retail with author Steve Dennis, Global E-Commerce Tech Talks and The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois. Most recently, Michael launched Conversations with CommerceNext, a podcast focussed on retail eCommerce, digital marketing and retail careers - all available on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music and all major podcast platforms. Michael is also the producer and host of the “Last Request Barbeque” channel on YouTube where he cooks meals to die for and influencer riches.
Michael LeBlanc 00:05
Welcome to The Voice of Retail. I'm your host Michael LeBlanc. This podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada.
Michael LeBlanc 00:10
Recorded live high above the Las Vegas sand in my Shoptalk #2022 pop-up recording studio; on this episode, I enjoy sitting down in person with fellow ReThink Retail top influencer and sought-after thought leader in the retail design and architecture space, Melissa Gonzalez.
Michael LeBlanc 00:26
With a deep background rich in experience and varied across industries, Melissa has been helping retailers think through everything from pop-up retail to modern store design and integration, curbside and BOPIS for well over a decade.
Michael LeBlanc 00:39
In a wide-ranging interview, we talk about the modern retail store's future, the metaverse's actual reality, and lessons learned from the conference stage at the Shoptalk event that brought us together.
Melissa Gonzalez 00:49
Typically, it's like we have to have it perfectly planned out, and we have to do pilot, and we have to then roll it out in the staged way. And I think there's been a lot more nimbleness of let's just try stuff. And you know, -
Michael LeBlanc 01:02
Do you think the consumers are more forgiving, and that maybe that forgiveness is kind of weighing a little bit?
Melissa Gonzalez 01:06
I think they, I think they were, they're good. You know, I think you were, you know you were just like we were in it together.
Michael LeBlanc 01:11
Right? There's a mission, right? (crossover talk)
Melissa Gonzalez 01:13
There was a mission.
Michael LeBlanc 01:15
Melissa, welcome to The Voice of Retail podcast. How are you doing?
Melissa Gonzalez 01:17
I'm good. Thank you so much for having me.
Michael LeBlanc 01:19
Wonderful to see you in person. We've chatted on Remarkable Retail. But we, we were together last night for a networking thing. And I'm like, oh, I’ve got to take this opportunity.
Melissa Gonzalez 01:28
Yeah, no, thank you so much. And we get to sit here straight from Shoptalk with this amazing view of the Vegas Strip.
Michael LeBlanc 01:33
Exactly.
Melissa Gonzalez 01:34
So, I'm, I am inspired already.
Michael LeBlanc 01:36
We're high above the desert sands as we, as we hang out. There we go, Viva Las Vegas. There we go. Well, listen, why don't we start at the beginning? Tell us, tell listeners a bit about yourself and what you do for a living?
Melissa Gonzalez 01:48
Sure. So, I am the CEO and founder of the Lionesque Group. We are retail strategists, designers and project managers, helping brands in physical retail. I'm also a principal and shareholder of MG2, a global architecture firm that acquired the Lionesque Group at the beginning of 2020. And really just serving as a design leader for the firm, and always thinking about what's happening next. Where is the consumer going, and how are we designing experiences that are understanding, less friction, delivering on points of gratification, and really helping our clients, our brands and retailers elevate the in-store experience.
Michael LeBlanc 02:29
And, and how did you get into this? Like were you growing up in sandbox? In a sandbox, you're trying to figure out how to reconfigure the playground? I mean, where did this all start for you? Where did your, how did you wind up here?
Melissa Gonzalez 02:38
Yeah. It's not a traditional path. But I think a lot of us don't have traditional paths these days. So, prior to starting the Lionesque Group, I actually used to work on Wall Street, I was in Institutional Equity Sales. While I was a generalist, I definitely had more of an affinity to retail stocks and commerce companies, consumer brands, and probably less relevant, but maybe more relevant now as a-, alternative energy stocks. So, that, that was, and then I was also producing independent films. And I was a VJ on a show on BET.
Michael LeBlanc 03:10
Come on, that's awesome.
Melissa Gonzalez 03:12
So, it was definitely this push-pull in all aspects. I was a storyteller in different ways. But I really loved to be, (inaudible) something more creative. At the time, I thought that meant I'm going to be a famous actress and I soon realized I hated auditioning, so that probably wasn't going to go well. And I had this serendipitous opportunity with a family that owned real estate in Midtown Manhattan at the time. They had street level real estate and they said, Hey, we want to do something different, and do you want to experiment with us? And so, there I went and embarked on my first experiment in physical retail with brands. And it kept evolving from there.
Michael LeBlanc 03:48
Well, you're, you're I (inaudible) a bit of, a bit of the definition of accidental career, right? Retail is often des-, described as an accidental career. It's not, I didn't start out being a retailer, either. I just wound up there, and loved it, and stuck around. Well, like you said, we're at Shoptalk, which is great to be here in Vegas. Now as you, as you, you know, what are we on, Tuesday? You've been doi-, talking to lots of people hearing lots of things. Any themes coming out? Prizes, anything you're hearing that surprises you or themes that are like, prominent in your, in your mind as you, as you reflect on the past day and a half?
Melissa Gonzalez 04:20
For sure. I don't know if I've found surprises. I mean, definitely, metaverse is top of mind for a lot of people. But I think I'm happy to hear conversations around the recognition of its like, that's not 100% what the world is going to become.
Michael LeBlanc 04:33
Do you think, do you think about the metaverse in your context? Because your context is understanding design and layout and physical, but do you, do you use, you know, I'm a bit of a metaverse skeptic. I'm like, -
Melissa Gonzalez 04:43
So am I.
Michael LeBlanc 04:44
I'm like, I think it's a hustle a little bit. And I also think, you know, when I talk to retailers, they're like, I'm just concerned that my associates don't get run over in the parking lot doing, you know, curbside. I'm focused on that right now, (crossover talk), you know, so, I guess that one of the functions of these conferences is you get to think about farther out, and kind of keep touch on that. So, you know, do you, i-, is that how you're seeing the metaverse?
Melissa Gonzalez 05:05
Yeah. It's interesting. So, I think the metaverse is purpose, and the way it will be most successful is utilizing it as a tool to further immerse brands and immerse consumers in the lifestyle of a brand. You're creating these virtual worlds, you can go on this creative journey together, it could help you understand the way products are contextualized and environments in a different way. But I do think, at the end of the day, but like we want the physical product, I don't believe that we're going to spend all of our money in a fake world, and own nothing in real life.
Michael LeBlanc05:42
Yeah.
Melissa Gonzalez 05:43
So, I think that's where there is an opportunity. When we think of where we sit in physical retail, I think that there's a lot of, there's a gap also in, in what the level of sophistication and what the (inaudible) environments look like, they feel very tacky. They feel very. So, I think from a design architecture standpoint, there's a big opportunity for those who, look when we design stores, we're building 3D models. And so, how are you, (crossover talk)-
Michael LeBlanc 06:04
Yeah, you started in them, you start in the metaphysical, right?
Melissa Gonzalez 06:06
In some ways, yeah, exactly. And then we bring it to fruition. So, I think there is an opportunity in bridging those closer together so that these virtual wor-, worlds, you know, they are coming from an informed places of what the physical world really would be. So, I think that, that's an opportunity there but,
Michael LeBlanc 06:22
Not detached from reality, so to speak, but detached from reality in some ways, right?
Melissa Gonzalez 06:25
Yeah, exactly. But you know, to top a lot of the conversations here, I would say, are probably overly skewed to having just eCommerce digital conversations. I think that they're important conversations, rapid growth, the pandemic has definitely accelerated a lot of that adoption. But, I think that we still have to pull it back and have the physical digital conversation a little bit more. I think there's a lot of great content here doing that. But if you walk the show floor and you talk, you see a lot of the themes that are being talked about. So, for me the opportunity is how are we really thinking holistically, taking those insights. There's a lot of amazing retail tech companies here. Obsess, who's in metaverse, FIT:MATCH which is in, you know, body fit, Navar, which is in returns, Trove which is in circular commerce. Like there's a lot of great tech here, but how are we marrying all that information we're learning, and bringing that into the in-store experience too, or how do we, how does that continue to inform the purpose of the store and the opportunity of the in-store experience?
Michael LeBlanc 06:29
And you're on the stage later this afternoon.
Melissa Gonzalez 06:49
I am.
Michael LeBlanc 06:50
You're interviewing, you're, you're hosting someone from Macy's and a few other folks. Talk about your session that's coming up.
Melissa Gonzalez 07:41
Yeah.
Michael LeBlanc 07:42
the peop-, by the time people will be listening to this, it's, your session past, but what are you going to be talking about on stage?
Melissa Gonzalez 07:45
We're, yeah, we're talking about redefining the physical retail experience. And so, there's Mark who's, you know, head of stores, at Macy's. They're going to, they're unveiling some exciting updates there. I think the world's been watching them closely for a few years now to see what's, you know, their evolution. (crossover talk)
Michael LeBlanc 07:59
They are, they are under the, they are under the spotlight.
Melissa Gonzalez 08:01
Yeah,
Michael LeBlanc 08:02
Pretty much every day, for sure.
Melissa Gonzalez 08:03
So, the, the evolution of what they're doing, and I do think that they, they are marrying physical and digital in exciting ways. So, it'll be exciting to see what that translates to in the in-store experience. Also, we have Antonio Nieves from Interior Define, really smart about how to use data, and how does that inform their physical retail strategy, where to go, what's the right square footage, what, you know, how you merchandise, etc. And then Foxtrot, which is a really interesting concept, marrying kind of like, specialty grocery with retail, with community experiences. So, it's a diverse panel, and we're, we're going to be talking about physical retail.
Michael LeBlanc 08:48
You are going to have some fun wrangling in that conversation.
Melissa Gonzalez 08:49
I don’t know how we’re going to stay on time. (Crossover talk), -
Michael LeBlanc08:50
You know, as I think about retail today, after the past couple of years, I think about it going in two different but complimentary directions. One is experiential retail, really, you know, if you're going to be, given everyone and so much shopping online, if you're going to have physical retail, it better be remarkable, as Steve Dennis would say. And at the same time I see retail is really focusing on the practical integration of eCommerce. How do we do it well so these two things, and it could, you know, it's as much as, you know, fixing curbside, and, you know, everyone setup curbside-up pretty quickly, but now, you know, in Canada, for example, here, you know, it's bad weather, right? It's great for the customers. It's freezing and it's snowing, (inaudible) associates, they're trudging through the snow in carts. You see the same thing that this these two complementary, but different focuses. How do I, what do I, what does it sort of look like physically, both to reduce any friction, and what does it look like to be on that other spectrum? To be, -
Melissa Gonzalez 09:41
For sure.
Michael LeBlanc 09:42
Interesting, and experiential, -
Melissa Gonzalez 09:43
Yeah, I mean, the store really has to double duty a lot to be a point of the discovery and a point of fulfillment. There's a lot more conversation and investment in more modular design. So, the store has the agility to do that, and in a more seamless way. But some of it is just also understanding, there's opportunities around points of fulfillment moments that could otherwise be transactional moments, but are still brand moments.
Melissa Gonzalez 09:51
So, we've actually done a decent amount of research, we've done a couple of consumer surveys to further understand the points of gratification that we can deliver upon when it comes to fulfillment. So, and that informs the footprint that it needs in the space, it informs how you staff at it, right? So, there's, okay, I placed an order ahead of time. There's opportunity in that too, because now the store associate should know your interest of what you've, right? There's opportunity maybe to geo-fence the area, as you're approaching, based on what you bought, here's what we have in the store today, here's where we having deals, here's a recommendation I could make. But also, what is that, that experience? It's having the space, you know, per the results we got, having the space to actually unbox maybe, making sure that we can discard the cardboard in a, -
Michael LeBlanc 10:56
Oh, that's interesting, that's interesting.
Melissa Gonzalez 10:57
Environmentally friendly way. If it's apparel, making it really easy right there to try it on. So, that if it's not a fit, you can return it seamlessly, get that money right back in your pocket, which is also a benefit to the retailer. And, and so, aspects of that. Maybe it's demoing the product, whatever it is, they, they, you just think about why people are turning to technology, and it's for convenience and efficiency. And so, how are we adding those aspects to it? So that no matter what it is, you're sending the message to your customer, we are in service of you.
Michael LeBlanc 11:28
Yeah, that's, it, it's a great discussion, because I think of it as, there's so many different opportunities, and also different paths, right? So, some, someone just trip assurance, so, as I would call it. I just want to make sure it's there. And so, I'm going to do a curbside. I could easily go in the store, I'm not in a hurry. I just want to make sure it's there. And then there's others who are just, you know, I'm in a real hurry to get something and I feel like this cross-sell, upsell opportunity, I've always felt it's under utilized by many retailers, you're here to buy something, hey, would you, you know, would you like fries with that, kind of thing, right? Do you think there'll be more of that coming? And, and how do you see that? Who, who do you think's doing a great job doing that?
Melissa Gonzalez 12:03
I mean, I think there's opportunities with it. I think that the trick is going to be, it cannot, it cannot feel like spam. So, that's where we lean on data too, right? And, and the opportunity to personalization around it. It's going to feel very different if the messaging to you is, you know, I know you, you're here, I'm telling you this because it's going to benefit you.
Michael LeBlanc 12:27
Right, right.
Melissa Gonzalez 12:28
Right? Versus like, Oh, we have deals going on because you've hit our parking lot. You know, it doesn't, -
Michael LeBlanc 12:32
We have beach balls on sale today, (crossover talk), would you like a beach ball today?
Melissa Gonzalez 12:34
Right, it's not the same. So, it's you know, it's about getting the messaging, right, not over messaging, and it feeling really purposeful and beneficial. So, I do think there's opportunities and then I think there's opportunities, because if I've ordered it online, then you should be able to leverage my online customer profile. And so,
Michael LeBlanc 12:52
Yeah, you think we'd be, I almost think we'd be farther ahead than this now, right? I mean, I was talking about this when I launched Hudson's Bay in 2000, we were talking about this, these kinds of things. But I think, I think we're now at the point of inflection, where there's enough data and the tech companies have caught up. And then and I think it's also cultural too, that there's a lot more acceptance of, we just can't generate more traffic, we need to really optimize the traffic that's coming to the stores, right?
Melissa Gonzalez 13:14
Yeah. I mean, you have to lean into what's going to build customer loyalty.
Michael LeBlanc 13:17
Yeah. And as you look back at the past two years, it's been described by many as a great acceleration. It feels like there wasn't a lot of innovation that happened in the past two years. But I, I'm very positive there's a lot of innovation to come. Did you see any thing that jumped out at you that was innovative during the COVID era? Or, you know, I think, and a lot of retailers are either on the chasing goods, or just fulfilling the goods, as opposed to trying to innovate. But in the background, it feels like a lot of them were thinking pretty hard about it. What do you?
Melissa Gonzalez 13:45
I mean, I think those that were already making that investment benefited the most like Target, (crossover talk), is a perfect example of that. And they were already making strategic acquisitions, right, from a fulfillment standpoint and,
Michael LeBlanc 13:56
They're already thinking so well ahead, that when it accelerated, they were almost (crossover talk)
Melissa Gonzalez 13:59
Yeah, they were positioned, right? And what I do think, though, is you saw a lot, a shift in cultural mentality of, you know, typically, it's like, we have to have it perfectly planned out, and we have to do a pilot, and we have to then roll it out in the staged way. And I think there's been a lot more nimbleness of let's just try stuff. And, you know, -
Michael LeBlanc 14:20
Do you think the consumers are more forgiving, and that maybe that forgiveness is kind of weighing a little bit?
Melissa Gonzalez 14:24
I think the, I think they were. They're, they're good. You know, I think you were, you know, you were just like, we were in it together.
Michael LeBlanc 14:30
Right? There's a mission right? There, (crossover talk)
Melissa Gonzalez 14:31
There's a mission. We're coming out of that. So, I think that forgiveness will dissipate,
Michael LeBlanc 14:37
Evaporate, pretty quickly, right?
Melissa Gonzalez 14:39
But yeah, I mean, we all learned to finally use QR codes together.
Michael LeBlanc 14:43
I never thought I'd see those come back the way they, like the ugly little thing and then now they're, they're the biggest part of our life ever. It's crazy, right?
Melissa Gonzalez 14:50
Right, right. Because we were forced, you know, to adopt and, and I, I, I think, you know, it's funny, I was driving one evening. I used to live in Hoboken and there was a lot of outdoor dining. That was, you know, through COVID, a lot of the restaurants brought seating outside, and it started pouring rain. And instead of people clearing their seats, they just opened umbrellas and sat there. And they're like, they were going to eat outside, and it was going to happen.
Michael LeBlanc 14:52
No matter what happens.
Melissa Gonzalez 14:53
And I thought, this is a powerful moment of showing, like, what we can do. Do you know what I mean? It was the simplest thing. But pre-COVID, everybody would have ran inside. (crossover talk) Nobody would have sat through that. And here they learned how to adapt. And so, I think that is the opportunity in retail is we've, we've been behind as a, as a, as a country, right? If you think about mobile adoption, and the way in which we've used mobile payments, and the way we, right? And so, because that adoption is becoming like more innate behavior of us, then it's opening the opportunities for brands and retailers. And not just how we intersect with retail and a QR code, it's the way we, smart home technology, speaking to Alexa. Mavi just raised almost $2 million to bring shopping in your dashboard in your car, like, we are, you check into this hotel mobile ahead of time with your digital key. There's no, I mean, when's the last time you got a physical ticket for the airline? Like this is new behaviors. So, as we're shifting these behaviors, A); we're expecting that fluidity continue in all aspects of our life. But B); it, it brings down the friction point of some of the hurdles of, inter-, integrating technology is, will the customer do it? If it has to change their existing behavior, it's a lot more difficult. But if it's enhancing their existing behavior, then it's easier.
Michael LeBlanc 16:44
Such a great point, because really the, the COVID era, was this giant circuit breaker on customer behavior, right? I mean, we can't not think about it, I don't think we understand it yet. But you can't go through two years of that dramatic change of habits, right? I had one person describe it to me as like your, you know, consumer habits are like a declining asset on your balance sheet. What they did before, and that has always been true, but now even more so. So, I guess it's both risk and opportunity, right? I mean, the, the risk is people have changed, you better catch up, or the opportunity is, people are finally ready for what we think could be the future, right? So, let's, let's talk about advice for the retailers listening. So, I'm going to frame it in two starts and one stop.
Melissa Gonzalez 17:23
Okay.
Michael LeBlanc 17:24
So, based on everything, you know, things your, conversations you're having, questions you're being asked by your clients. Two things retailers should start thinking about or start doing. And one thing they should probably leave behind.
Melissa Gonzalez 17:34
I mean, they, they should start, well I'll start with what they should stop doing, they should stop worrying about perfection. And they should experiment. And they should have that fail fast mentality.
Michael LeBlanc 17:46
And when they get that complaint from one or two customers, they should just say, okay, that's just (inaudible). Because you know, I've been in that, you know, you get one complaint from one customer is like, stop everything.
Melissa Gonzalez 17:55
Yeah,
Michael LeBlanc 17:56
What's going on? But really a little more, a little more tenacity? Would we describe it, you know, -
Melissa Gonzalez 18:00
Yeah, I think so. So, that's one. And then so, start doing one, just break down the silos internally. So, I think the, the silos between sales and marketing have become broken down. And that's like one in the same in a conversational standpoint. But I think internally, there's a digital team, there's a physical retail team, everybody has to be talking. The IT team, just more collaborative strategic conversations and look at the roadmap together. So, that as you're trying to put these initiatives forward, it's not all these competing agendas, to decide what's prioritizing. Because at the end of the day, it has to be what's going to be best for the consumer that you're serving. That's the lens.
Michael LeBlanc 18:41
That kind of the rele-, relentless focus will, we’ll take you to that North Star of where you're going right?
Melissa Gonzalez 18:45
Yeah, exactly.
Michael LeBlanc 18:46
And, and as you think about design, and, and you know, leaning on your, on your background, and as you think about our. What does it, what are the things that retailers should be paying attention to, you know, there's store flow, and there's different ways that stores are organized and retailers if, you know, I think on one hand they want to make in-store pickup really easy and put it at the front, but then the other side of the operator say yeah, but then we never get that basket size. We never get that full basket. We never, we lose the opportunity that we haven't had of impulse shopping that we've lost for two years, right? My a-, in my experience, consumers are very mission oriented. I know what I want, I'm getting in the store and get the heck out. Now we're like, okay, let's get them into the store. And because we've got wonderful stuff they may not have seen. How do you balance those two? And what's, what's your kind of advice on that?
Melissa Gonzalez 19:33
Yeah, I mean, I think it's what is the purpose of the store? And if you're always asking yourself that question, first of all, not every location. There's scalability, right? Usually when you're doing a rollout, you need to have scalability. So, you've created a design that you're going to roll out. But it doesn't mean you can't have a tiered approach. It doesn't mean that you shouldn't do the analysis of understanding that every geography isn't the same, the opportunity in different markets aren't the same. Some are flagship opportunities, some are all local opportunities, some are temporary opportunities. And so, if you think more holistically about it, then you can be more intentional about the experiences you create in those different geographies.
Melissa Gonzalez 20:15
And so, sometimes it might be more of a service hub. And it is about getting people in and out. And that could still be a great brand experience. And other times, maybe it's about building community, maybe it's about experiential. And so, it's like really understanding the purpose is that, you want to serve so that, you can unlock that higher lifetime value with your customers. So, I think that's one, it's a big challenge to do that. (crossover talk) But I do think that it's important.
Melissa Gonzalez 20:17
And then when it comes to design, that’s where modularity is really helpful.There are probably key times of the year where you probably have much higher volume from a fulfillment standpoint, holidays being one of them. So, there are kind of inherent key times of the year where the store needs to just be more efficient. And the consumer just wants to be more efficient. And so, if you can create the footprint to be truly agile in modular and design, then you can flex you know, how that exists. And I think just talk to your customers too.Like I, I, you know, nobody wants to take a 20-minute survey. But there are probably opportunities in three questions or just stuff you can ask.
Michael LeBlanc 20:21
Drip irrigation, method, right?
Melissa Gonzalez 20:22
Yeah.
Michael LeBlanc 20:20
One question at a time or two questions at a time.
Melissa Gonzalez 20:23
Just learn, just continue to learn. If you understand the reason why they're ordering ahead. You said it's because you don't want to waste your time to go to a store and they don't have it in stock. But that doesn't mean you're not willing to go inside. And then there's going to be others like, you know, I don't even want to get out of my car. So, give them the option if you can. And yes, that's an operational challenge, for sure. But as you have those insights, and you have the right tech tools in place, so that it can in-, inform and, you know, then you can utilize those as tools to help you think through, okay, how am I shifting my operational strategy in the store?
Michael LeBlanc 21:55
All right, well listen, great insight. So great to have you on the mic. So great to, again, see you in person. How can the listeners get a hold of you or learn more, or keep up with what you're what you're talking about?
Melissa Gonzalez 22:04
Well, I'm probably the most active on LinkedIn, so you can always follow me on LinkedIn, I’m Melissa Gonzalez or the Lionesque Group, or MG2. And then I'm also on Twitter and Instagram, but probably not as much as LinkedIn.
Michael LeBlanc 22:17
All right, well, fellow ReThink influencer. So, it's great to have you at the table. We've got such a fun group going on there. And, and thanks again for joining me on The Voice of Retail podcast.
Melissa Gonzalez 22:26
Thank you so much for having me.
Michael LeBlanc 22:27
Thanks for tuning into this special episode of The Voice of Retail. If you haven't already, be sure and click and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform so new episodes will land automatically, twice a week. And check out my other retail industry media properties, the Remarkable Retail podcast, Conversations with CommerceNext podcast, and The Food Professor podcast with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois. Last but not least, if you're into barbecue, check out my all-new YouTube barbecue show, Last Request Barbecue with new episodes each and every week.
I'm your host, Michael LeBlanc, President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company and Maven Media. And if you're looking for more content or want to chat, follow me on LinkedIn or visit my website at meleblanc.co.
Have a safe week everyone.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
retail, opportunity, metaverse, store, crossover, talk, retailers, physical, conversations, customer, brands, design, curbside, consumer, fulfillment, podcast, experience, experiential, understanding, point