By Doug Stephens
Since the time of the Roman Empire, retail as a concept, has been about destinations. Whether a small specialty shop, a department store or a website, retail has always meant going somewhere to get something. 
As retail has evolved over the centuries, each new type of destination has delivered an increased level of convenience. The urban specialty shop put multiple stores within walking distance of one another. The department store offered multiple categories under one roof. The big box gave us more categories and products than most of us ever imagined and now the Internet- the biggest of big boxes – is the ultimate category killer. But while these innovations have improved the relative ease with which we can shop, the concept of destination has remained. We are still required to consciously make a trip, be it physical or otherwise, to get what we need.
This is about to radically change. Increasingly it will be the products that seek out consumers and in the process, render consumers the destination.
As we move through our day, opportunities to make purchases will present themselves in a completely synchronous and contextual way. We will not think in terms of destination as much as in terms of opportunities to buy the things we need, wherever those opportunities arise. The “rules” about where we can find the things that we need will be challenged as “anything/anywhere” shopping becomes the expectation and ultimately the norm.
Here are four recent examples of how the death of the destination is playing out in retail right now.
Home Plus QR Code Shopping
Recently Tesco’s Korean grocery chain Home Plus installed innovative subway signage that allows busy commuters to order groceries while they wait for their train. Consumers simply scan the quick response (QR) codes of the items they want and pay for their order using their mobile device. The order is then shipped, at their convenience, to their home.
ShopBox
Recently the 3rd Ward design incubator made news with its ShopBox installation in Brooklyn’s Dekalb market. The “store”, a recycled, retrofitted and completely unmanned steel shipping container, allows shoppers to browse products through storefront-like windows and then using an order-by-text system to complete a purchase. All items are then shipped directly to their home. While being highly experimental, ShopBox nonetheless challenges conventional thinking around what a store is.
Facebook Timeline
In a recent post I commented on the extent to which Facebook’s Timeline innovation could be literally revolutionary for retail. In short, very soon you may be riding the bus to work when you get a mobile Facebook update from a friend that says they’ve just read a great book. Without giving it a great deal of thought, you click on the accompanying book title in their update and within a few seconds, download a copy of the same book to your tablet and be well into chapter one by the time you arrive at work. Music, books and movies are the starting point but other products and services can’t be far behind.
TV Adver-Buying
If you like the shoes that Tina Fey is wearing on 30 Rock, pause the show, select the shoes in the size you need and buy them by waving at your television. Then hit play to continue watching the show. While you’re at it, say goodbye to the 30 second (or even the 10 second) commercial. Internet TV will blur the lines between surfing and viewing and allow for contextual product placement within taped and even live programming. Furthermore, companies like MasterCard are playing with motion and sound driven TV payment based on their QkR payment platform, making checking-out instant and easy.
What about destination retail?
To say that these and other technologies will eradicate the need for physical retail would be overly sensational and highly unlikely. It isn’t, however, an exaggeration to say that our expectations of physical stores will change dramatically. More and more we will expect these destinations to deliver unique and memorable experiences that we simply can’t anywhere else – digitally or otherwise.
The ultimatum that these technologies and concepts present, however, is that consumers will increasingly choose businesses that offer either anywhere convenience or only-here experiences. Everything in the middle may as well be invisible.
Here’s a brief video of a chat I had recently with the team at the Lavin Agency in Toronto on the subject of how this concept of destination in retail is being revolutionized.
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/30923966[/vimeo]