Retail Sales Expectations and the Importance of the Omnichannel Experience

Mortimer Singer, President & CEO of Marvin Taub Associates, and Michael Kaplan, Co-Founder & CEO of Fashion to Figure, discuss luxury trends heading into the holiday season. Singer says that the combination of lower gas prices and higher asset prices has consumers feeling confident, which has been reflected in strong 3Q results in the luxury retail space. Whereas China emerged as a focus of marketing efforts for many luxury brands the last few years, the U.S. has once again arisen as a core supplier of consumers. Michael Kaplan sees the women’s fashion segment as failing to benefit from this trend, as the consumer is focusing their additional savings on low-rate revolving debt purchases such as autos and electronics. The marketplace has also shifted to a largely promotional environment, with pervasive discounting policies evident across retailers, which is hurting profitability overall. Singer believes that the online component of the omnichannel shopping experience is becomingly increasingly important, with online 'Black Friday' purchases anticipated to rise 50% this year as compared to last. Kaplan agrees, stating that management teams who neglect to address the demand for a comprehensive shopping experience will lose customers.