California Apparel News

Retailers will have to invest in technology to tap into trends forged by tech-happy consumers, but getting the money to support those initiatives will be challenging, said retail executives speaking at the 97th Annual National Retail Federation Conference, held Jan. 13–16 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York.

NRF economists are forecasting a sales volume growth rate of 3.5 percent for 2008, the lowest rate since 2002. NRF’s Rosalind Wells said a noticeable slowdown should prevail through the first half of the year, with improvements coming during the second half if the federal government reacts to rising interest rates.

The gloomy projections did not deter about 600 vendors pitching wares at the Expo portion of the NRF conference. The show usually serves as a launching point for new technologies. At her annual “How America Shops” seminar, industry consultant Wendy Liebmann of WSL Strategic Retail said consumers are using their iPhones, SideKicks, Blackberries and other mobile devices to collaborate on their purchases.

Using one example, she cited how teens used their camera phones to capture images of prom dresses and then shared them with friends to get some input.

“The cell phone is shifting the way consumers shop, and U.S. retailers need to get ready,” added Pat Conroy, vice chairman at Deloitte &Touche, speaking during one of the many seminars at the show. He said retailers in Asia are already adopting creative practices. In South Korea, for example, customers at McDonald’s can order meals over their cell phones and get a ring back when the orders are ready. In Japan, consumers can use cell phones equipped with bar-code scanners to check the freshness dates on products at the grocery store.

At the NRF’s X08 “Beyond the Walls of Retail” exhibit, Motorola showed its M-Wallet mobile phone, which enables consumers to pay for products and bills as well as transfer money to friends, relatives and others. Other technologies featured in the exhibit included pedestriantraffic-measurement tools, electronic shelf labeling, custom store fixtures, high-definition display screens, user-interface shopping technology and anti-theft security products.

Despite the offerings, retailers said their top investments in 2008 will be for merchandising andinventory-management software and cash registers, according to a poll financed by the NRF Foundation and IBM and released at the show.

Aside from mobile technology, the growth of social networking Web sites and virtual worlds will continue to attract consumers, said Gill Constable, general manager of ESC Software and The Electric Sheep Co., speaking at one of the keynote sessions. Companies are investing big dollars into virtual worlds such as Second Life, Webkinz and Club Penguin as ways to interact and communicate with younger consumers. The Walt Disney Co. purchased Club Penguin last year for $350 million. “These are going to change the way you interact with your customer and the way people shop. They’re also going to change how you manage your brands,” Constable said. —Robert McAllister