There is more to place than coworking spaces and by the day office rentals. Retail is very much alive and thriving. In fact, the 5 retail trends applicable to your business still holds water -- or I should say coffee.
I've been following the Startup Store, now Story, since it launched a couple of years ago. Story is located in Chelsea, New York City. The concept is about fusing retail and digital to create a new media context#.
Bringing together content, community, and commerce into an experience founder Rachel Shechtman defined transactional storytelling. In the talk she gave at PSFK last year, Shechtman outlines the benefits of bringing consumers and brands together offline:
- On the consumer side, we have more content and community, both of which are necessary ingredients to feel part of something
- On the brand side, you tap a physical space in an interesting way that is relevant to the stories displayed in the store
With the point of view of a magazine, and a cadence of 4-6 weeks in its
inventory, like a gallery, Story brings forth an intimate environment of physical engagement to amplify experiences whereas typically digital media is about creating mass appeal to target.
What do you get when you cross the transparency of the Internet, with
the collaboration afforded by the tools, and a brick and mortar space?
A little more than an exhibition, Shechtman has already opened a second retail media space. The untapped frontier of advertising is retail engagement, she says.
The editorial POV carries over to special live events in addition to the exhibits. For example, book readings, short plays, gourmet coffee tastings, and other live interactions.
Coincidentally, it was good to see Theresa Quintanilla make a cameo appearance in the story. Theresa and I met in real life from connecting online thirteen years ago when we were both active curators / facilitators of the Fast Company network.
Shechtman and I exchanged tweets when she first announced the beta of the store and I look forward to meeting at one of Story exhibits soon. Meanwhile, if you would like to hear her story first hand, she will be at Gel 2013 as well as PSFK Conference 2013 in New York City.
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Valeria is an experienced listener. She is also frequent speaker at conferences and companies on a variety of topics. To book her for a speaking engagement click here.