How Christmas is beginning to shape up on the High Street

It was a ghoulish 31st of October on Oxford Street, with some very scary windows indeed. They were exquisitely presented so we can only describe them as ‘Style AND Substance’! It is a fun occasion and one of the biggest seasonal events in the retail calendar.

But we wanted to know how Christmas was beginning to unfold. Digital screens were definitely more in use here than in shopping centres outside of London, these were mixed with the traditional POS routes of 2D and 3D displays, making stores alive and interesting. Primark did this well, with their digital execution around the edge of the mezzanine, this was really vibrant on entry to the store. Because of the Christmas imagery used, it created immediate warmth and you just knew Christmas was underway.

However Waterstones was a mystery. Super Thursday occurred on the 10th of October. This being the date when publishing houses released 1,569 new titles in the hope that they will make it to the top of the Christmas best-seller list. There was no reference to what could have been a massive marketing opportunity, other than walls of books, with uninspiring headers stating “New Books” and window displays with “Herald the Half Price New Books”. This was a missed opportunity and didn’t hold the razzmatazz so prevalent with new launches in the home entertainment sector for example.

What we couldn’t help but notice was the number of people taking photographs of the window displays, especially those of the department stores such as Selfridges and John Lewis; Selfridges because of the simplicity and magnitude of the hero products in their windows, and John Lewis because of the innovation involved in their product displays. Making animals out of dustpans and brushes, and a reindeer out of the new Dyson vac, they were fantastic eye catchers.

It was great to see people taking photos. Christmas research consistently confirms that the magic of Christmas is important to the shopper. This is something that is not being captured in on-line retailing and therefore offers a fantastic advantage for bricks and mortar stores. We wonder however if this retailer magic will be the same up and down the country or will it remain London-centric. Over the coming weeks, we will find out, but it is with hope that it isn’t going to be all about price, as shoppers do respond to warmth and emotive cues making the shopping experience more special, which is synonymous with the time of year.

My favourite discovery though was in Selfridges, 3D printers for sale. And if I were so inclined I could get a mini me for only £159, imagine!

POS Insights are compiling a snapshot document focussing on Christmas 2013 in bricks and mortar stores. If this is something that is of interest please contact us so that we can ensure that your interests are captured hello@posinsights.co.uk

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This post was written by Dawn Odoi