Malls grew in importance during the 1960s as Americans became increasingly mobile, less urban, and more consumer-oriented and peaked in the 1980s.
Americans still spend most of their consumer dollars in physical stores. In 2018 Q4, online sales hit 10% of total consumer spending for the first time ever, leaving the bulk of purchases still conducted in stores. And when the shopper reaches the store, those retailers and brands better be ready to deliver.
We foresee several major trends impacting American shopping over the next five years:

1. Shoppers will spend a growing proportion of their disposable income on experiences. Entertainment, dining, gaming, rock-climbing, etc will take precedence over buying more stuff. Thanks, Marie Kondo.
   
2. Online apparel stores will overtake in-store department stores. Fast fashion retailers like Forever 21 and H&M clobbered Macy’s, Saks and Dillards. Those upstarts will now be hurt by the environmental impact of their short-lived apparel as well as fashion-on-demand players like Rent the Runway and Stitch Fix.
   
3. Dollar store growth will peak and start to erode. We have reached near-saturation for that format. Family Dollar recently announced the closure of about 5% of their stores. We’ll see more closures and fewer openings in this channel.
   
4. Average store footprints will continue to shrink. Better inventory control, rapid shipment options, and more focused offerings by applying AI to shopper trends will make stores better than ever at delivering the goods. And smaller stores like craft breweries and artisan shops are popping up in interesting places like town centers, able to compete online and access vendors globally. Shoppers want convenience, not a hike.

Malls had their heyday. American retail changes as consumers, technology, and demographics change. That dynamism means relentless searches for better ways to serve shoppers. Dynamic in-store merchandising st...

For 2018, US retail sales saw a 15% increase in online purchases and five percent growth for in-store sales, too. That’s good news for companies selling to consumers and a sign of a healthy economy. As population and average incomes grow, so does the consumer economy.Study after study show that 80%+ of American shoppers pre-shop on their devices for significant purchases. They do their homework online to check prices, options and product availability and then plan their visit, e.g., “I’ll swing by the store on my way home from work.” If it’s a larger, bulkier product, they may need to plan even what vehicle to use to bring the product home. According to a recent Salesforce study, 71% of shoppers want to leav...

New Year celebrations date back 4000+ years to Babylon. Resolutions themselves go back to 153 B.C. when Janus, a mythical king of early Rome, was placed at the head of the calendar. The Romans named the first month of the year after this god of beginnings, doors, and entrances. Janus was always depicted with two faces, one on the front of his head and one on the back so he could look backward and forward at the same time. We do the same every Jan 1.

The year just past saw the passing of retail nameplates Toy’s’R’Us, Sears, Bon-Ton, Mattress Firm and David’s Bridal. Roughly 30 retail chains filed for bankruptcy, down from 44 in 2017 and over 400 back in 2008. In fact, according to IHL group, 2018 saw a net INCREASE ...

Have you noticed? Black Friday crept into Thanksgiving Thursday a few years back, shocking some, burdening retail employees while pleasing many shoppers eager to leave dirty dishes and Dallas Cowboys at home. Cyber Monday made its appearance in 2005. Then #GivingTuesday came on the scene in 2012, tugging on our heartstrings to atone for the commercialization and consumerism of post-Thanksgiving.

In a race to attract your attention and gain your business, retailers and brands alike have pushed Black Friday deals out earlier and earlier, many appearing as soon as our calendars turn to November, especially this year with an early US Thanksgiving. Why the rush? Marketers know that those who spend earlier tend to spend more. Those early &ldquo...

In business, everyone knows about ROI: Return on Investment. Surprisingly, many display clients don’t explicitly think about ROI. We think this is a mistake.Often brands feel pressure to provide “free” merchandising equipment to gain entrée into a retailer. Brands willingly spend it because it invariably increases sales. The best marketers use Return on Merchandising Investment (ROMI) to measure the bang for their buck.Beyond the specifics of doing matched-store tests, A/B testing and similar research techniques, we encourage clients to carefully consider the key cost-side variables like design development, equipment, graphics, logistics, time to install, maintenance, restocking, refreshing the unit, and eventual...

As most of you know, Tusco just passed our ISO9001:2015 with Design Stage I audit. We have invested a great deal of effort in upgrading our quality management system, so we can confidently deliver products on-time, on-spec and on-budget for our clients. A successful Stage II audit later this year will allow us to join an elite group of display producers with such a designation.Friday, Oct 5th is MFG Day, established to celebrate and promote manufacturing careers, especially among the next generation. The United States remains the highest producer of gross domestic product per person in the world – by a wide margin. Taken alone, US manufacturing would be the ninth-largest economy in the world. Tusco is proud to contribute to that su...

The average homeowner spends about 4 hours a week on lawn and garden activities. According to the 2013 National Gardening Association Survey, do-it-yourself lawn and garden activities showed an increase of 2 million more households (2%) in 2012 compared with the year before, translating into an extra $354 million (1%) in retail sales of Lawn and Garden products across the nation. In total, U.S. households spent $29.5 billion on their lawns and gardens last year. This has translated into more dollars invested into lawn and garden displays at retail.

A new survey question added last year and continued in 2013 asked households how much they spent at each type of retailer selling lawn and garden products confirmed that big-box stores and mass...

One of the challenges of designing effective in-store merchandising equipment is figuring out how to capture shoppers’ attention so you have a shot at converting them into buyers. But stores are noisy places. Shoppers are bombarded by messages on packages, signs, displays, radio, shelf tags and more. Our brains filter out the grand majority of that noise for self-preservation – they can’t function well when overwhelmed.Brands turn to companies like Tusco Display to “cut through the clutter.” We apply our decades of experience to engineer great solutions with space, budget, product and other parameters. How does the best display get chosen? Most often the choices are driven by buyers’ likes and dislikes...

When we speak or write about retail environments, we usually envision places like Macy’s or Target, Home Depot or CVS, Kroger or Staples, Circle K or – moment of silence, please – Toys’R’Us, right?

In reality, retail environments cover a much wider range of shopping experiences. How about optical stores? Doctors’ offices? Auto dealers? Restaurants? The break room at work?

Vending machines in the US sell about $7 billion in goods annually. Kiosks in quick-service restaurants (QSR) impact your lunch purchases as McDonald’s rolls out order kiosks at a pace of 1000 US stores per quarter. Subway and Panera employ order kiosks to speed order entry and increase the timely delivery of food. And Carvana is...

As we approach Independence Day 2018, it’s worth considering the many freedoms that we as Americans enjoy. You know the ones guaranteed by the Constitution and Bill of Rights like freedom of speech, freedom to bear arms, freedom of assembly and association, to say nothing of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Let me add one that we often overlook: Freedom to shop. Today, more than ever, if you have the means, you have the freedom to buy what you want when you want it and from whom you want to buy it. Stores are open more hours than ever. Does anyone remember “blue laws?” They used to prohibit not just alcohol sales on Sundays but ALL retail activity. Online has ushered in 24/7/365 availability to b...