Miller Zell Blog
Explore our latest thoughts on driving innovation in brick and mortar locations.
Décor & Fixtures: How to Ensure Your Environmental Refresh Succeeds
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Décor & Fixtures: How to Ensure Your Environmental Refresh Succeeds
Successful environmental branding requires outstanding décor and fixtures, which need to be both delightful and purposeful.
Creative Services: The Secret to Scalable Design
Environmental design is art, but it’s art with a singular purpose: Optimizing your brand and customer experience to build loyalty.
Three Key Concepts from Campus Facilities Summit
In 2019, Miller Zell met with athletic administrators from an elite Power Five program. When we described our half-century-plus of experience designing and executing innovative..
Make Sure Your Environmental Design Delivers ROI
It’s common for environmental design conversations to start with structures and spaces. But when banking clients asked us to figure out how to set up branches in grocery stores,..
End-to-End Service: No “Handoffs,” from Ideation to Installation
Some companies do retail research. Some offer environmental design. Others focus on print, décor, POP or hardware production. Still others focus on digital kiosks.
Five Factors for Building Customer Trust
Cultivating loyalty post-COVID-19 The National Retail Foundation is predicting that retail sales are going to surge as more individuals get vaccinated and the economy reopens...
Panel: Travel & Retail Are Reemerging
Optimism in retail is growing. With strong vaccination numbers, it’s not difficult to see a path toward a post-COVID-19 society and economy.
Earth Day 2021: Sustainability Is Good Business
Edelman’s 2021 “Trust Barometer” arrived at an interesting conclusion, one that would have been difficult to imagine a decade ago. Page 6 of its report is headlined, “Business..
Evolving Consumer Sentiments
Consumer sentiments changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and they will change again as society begins a process of reopening. Retailers must stay on top of the evolution of these..
The Future of Branded Environments?
The first-annual “Miller Zell Innovation Scholarship” asked college students pursuing a degree in business, fashion merchandising, retail, banking, architecture or another related..
The Digital Path Forward
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of in-store digital initiatives because of expediency. Those who had been digital leaders found themselves ahead of the curve, while..
Lessons Learned
The COVID-19 pandemic presented myriad challenges to retailers and other businesses operating public spaces.
How to Overcome Supply Chain Breakdowns
COVID-19 spawned unprecedented challenges for international trade, particularly with the North American supply chain, where there’s never been a bigger imbalance between imports..
Proud Goodbye to Miller Zell from Ron Lutz
Miller Zell EVP & Chief Retail Officer Ron Lutz announced his retirement from Miller Zell this month. We asked him to write a few words in advance of his departure.
Winning with Customers at Curbside
I enjoyed an opportunity recently to conduct a webinar for the International Signage Association on the rise of BOPIS (buy online, pick up in store) during the pandemic. We..
Reflecting on 2020 and What Lies Ahead
No question, 2020 has been an unprecedented, anxious year, for people and businesses. Yet as we at Miller Zell reflect on what 2020 entailed and what we can expect from 2021 and..
What She Didn’t Say
I was honored to be interviewed on a podcast last month by Terry Badger from the financial services industry think tank, @BAI_Info (BAI Banking Strategies). Besides suddenly being..
Giving Thanks Amid the Challenges of 2020
Just as the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the globe in late March of 2020, a client asked Miller Zell to procure, kit pack and distribute hardware for a merchandising display in more..
QSR Design Must Meet Evolving Customer Expectations
It’s 2022, and three different customers want to order lunch from their favorite quick-serve restaurant. All three decide to use the QSR’s app. Customer one is in a hurry. He also..
Renewing Focus on Long-Term Planning
The COVID-19 pandemic forced many retailers to accelerate the adoption of their future plans, particularly digital innovations that reduced person-to-person contact. Kicking the..
Five Initiatives Retailers Should Focus on Right Now
The COVID-19 pandemic forced changes in how we manage public spaces. First, there was an urgent reaction based almost entirely on safety and uncertainty. Then there was a..
Architects Offer Guidance for Environmental Design
Environmental build/renovation, from initial concepts to installation completion, can be a twisting and complicated process. Major projects typically involve architects,..
Evolving Trip Missions During Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic hammered two cornerstones of retail success: traffic and dwell time. Since March, stores have been forced to reduce capacity in order to support social..
How to Optimize QSR Menu Boards
When customers arrive at a quick-serve restaurant, whether they are using the drive-through or going inside, it’s fair to assume they are hungry. This means the client’s first..
Evolving Public Spaces in a Post-COVID-19 World
It’s easy to say that the only certainty right now is uncertainty, as the societal reopening amid the COVID-19 pandemic so far has not gone well. We still don’t know the potential..
COVID-19 Accelerates Need for Innovation
Before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted people’s lives and the international economy, every retailer knew it needed to consistently innovate in order to stay ahead of its..
Back-to-School, Holiday Shopping During COVID-19
Our nation and world are reopening in phases and with caution, so retailers are adopting new standards while also aspiring to create the best possible customer experience.
Creating Safe, Optimized Spaces for Customers and Associates
The Covid-19 pandemic shutdown provoked anxiety, frustration and uncertainty. The reopening, at least initially, won’t be much different, though it includes a clear element of..
Emotional Intelligence and Store Design
The tired dad pulls up to the drive-through window to pick up his family’s dinner, his two young children screaming in the back seat. The associate hands the man his food. Then..
Earth Day 2020: Sustainability is a Business Imperative
As if there weren’t enough reasons for businesses to make sustainability efforts a priority, a recent nationwide study conducted at Harvard “found that coronavirus patients in..
COVID-19: Values Over Transactions
Edelman’s 2020 “Trust Barometer” noted that 73 percent of its respondents believe “A company can take specific actions that both increase profits and improve the economic and..
Retailers Join Fight Against COVID-19
Retailers are on the front lines of the both the battle against and ramifications from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Euroshop 2020: A Retail Tour
A crew from Miller Zell attended Euroshop 2020 in Dusseldorf and came away inspired by the potential for innovation in brick and mortar retail. Not only did the February event..
Ready to Adopt the Latest Tech?
There were 4,500 exhibitors and 20,000 tech products at CES in January. Many were captivating. Some could become transformative in the industry. Digital innovation is..
Execution Failures Doom Good Ideas
Guest post written by our friend and retail consultant, Flora Delaney My retail clients usually come to me for one of the following: A short-term need with no one in the company..
What's Top-of-Mind for Retailers in 2020?
While every retailer enters 2020 with a specific set of priorities and challenges, Miller Zell has been hearing six on a regular basis.
Beware of the “Guaranteed Savings Model” in Print Management
The name sounds so good: “Guaranteed Savings Model.” What could be better than the certainty of savings when deciding upon a print management partner? Even the shortened version,..
How Do Retailers Meet the Expectations of Multiple Generations?
Millennials are now the largest adult generation in the United States, but Baby Boomers possess more than half of household wealth. Yet Generation Z is entering adulthood and it..
Complex Rollout and Campaign Processes Impact Your Customer Experience
Creating the ultimate customer experience not only creates loyal customers but ultimately leads to brand enthusiasts. But the path to get there starts well before customers walk..
Flash Over Substance Fails in Retail
Guest post written by our friend and retail consultant, Flora Delaney. It was March 2015, and my client needed help. The home improvement and major appliance retail chain was..
Engagement: Employees and Shoppers
Miller Zell focuses on customer experience, trust and values when it comes to the work we do with our clients. These inspire customer engagement, and engaged shoppers are loyal to..
Shoppers Want Retailers to Match Their Values
Sustainability. Philanthropy. Community service.
Worried About an Economic Downturn?
Is the longest, consumer-led economic expansion in U.S. history running out of steam?
Back-to-School Shopping is a Two-Headed Beast
While we would never compare the gift-seeking festiveness of the holiday season in December to the back-to-school shopping frenzy of late July through September, retailers should..
Miller Zell Design Saves Time and Money
Fram oil filters created a classic TV commercial in the 1970s that concluded with a catchphrase: “Pay me now… or pay me later.” Either properly maintain your car with our oil..
Culture is a Business Priority
When it comes to our retail clients, Miller Zell focuses on what is important to them: an exacting focus on thoughtful innovation, optimized customer experiences and return on..
Create a Unique Customer Experience to Drive 2019 Success
The retail industry spent the last decade investing in and expanding “how” a customer can shop. Many were successful with what became termed “omnichannel” retail, blending on- and..
Are Your Bank Branches Boring?
While Miller Zell can’t guarantee this presentation will cure that pesky double-chin, few people know more about transforming bank branches from boring to dynamic and purposeful..
How to Meet Customers’ Elevated Expectations During the Holidays
First, experts are projecting increased retail spending this holiday season. Second, demanding customers want seamless, personalized experiences that engage them during their..
3 Ways to Keep the Personal Touch in Brick-and-Mortar Retail
The good news is the so-called “Retail Apocalypse!” narrative is turning out to be another ghost story. It’s a dramatic, scary idea but ultimately exaggerated and unrealistic.
Retailers Enhance Shopper Journey Through Storytelling
A J.P. Morgan analyst told CNBC that we could have the "best back-to-back [seasons] that the consumer has seen in five-plus years.” Shoppers could spend more than $1.1 trillion,..
What Does Prime Day Mean for Retailers Other Than Amazon?
When Amazon decided to invent a new holiday, we wondered if it would become the next thing in online shopping. Three years later, the answer is obviously yes. Each Prime Day has..
Boomers or Bust
Facing greater competitive pressure, retailers are transforming the Store of the Future into a modern reality. Tactics such as a more futuristic store design, virtual and..
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