Liquid Retail, Part 6: Sustainable Strategies

A 6-part guide to the key trends changing the face of retail
Featured in A1 Retail Magazine

Part 6: Sustainable Strategies

Liquid retail is the fluid approach retailers need to adopt to survive and thrive.

By Emma Gullick, Associate Creative Director at design agency Phoenix Wharf

Over the course of this series, we’ve considered the impact of the rental economy, experiential retail, pop-ups, phygital innovations, episodic consumption, format fluidity and unexpected collaborations. There are many diverse drivers out there - and even greater swathes of statistical information for retailers to contend with.

Cherry-picking Consumers

A consumer psychologist might be more useful than a statistician to untangle it all but what’s certain is that for many bricks-and-mortar retailers, base businesses are eroding and relatively high-risk development strategies are going to be critical for future survival. Customers are cherry-picking the best of digital and physical. The success of ‘click and collect’, for example, may have taken some retailers by surprise, but exemplifies how customers enjoy digital’s hassle-free browsing, but still want to pick up goods in person - minus the costs and carbon footprint of home delivery.

Store of the Future

Talking of which, the final driver really shaping the future is a sustainable mindset. In terms of liquid retail, this means reviving, reshaping and renting what exists, as well as extending product life cycles. There’s a growing interest in self-sufficient retail models, such as factory stores, where the whole supply chain could collapse to the point of sale, with products being made in-store. The self-sustaining store of the future might include roof allotments for growing ingredients, a factory or 4D-printing equipment on site and an in-house design team to customise products. Zero-waste packaging will be the norm.

Reframing Sustainability

Smart retailers are reframing sustainability on their terms. Strategies range from 'lazy eco' aftercare and data-aided zero-waste initiatives to advanced rental schemes, subtly-repointed spaces and tech-fuelled transparency makeovers. We’re also seeing on-site re-sales, production-on-demand and a right-to-repair revolution. Outdoor clothing company Patagonia’s 56 ‘Worn Rear Repair’ events across Europe last year were attended by 25,000 people, with over 100,000 repairs completed, whilst British fashion brand Toast saw massive success with its Sashiko Repair workshops, where customers were taught the Japanese art of sashiko stitching, bringing a new lease of life to cherished garments.

Future Hope

Looking to the future, the incoming generation of British designers has sustainability at the core of its thinking. At the mid-point Fashion MA shows at the Royal College of Art this February, for example, Menswear designer Reiss Dendie showed beautiful – and sustainable – footwear, made from canvas using recycled fibres, whilst fellow student Savvas Alexander unveiled a single garment system that holds multiple iterations within its first body, allowing for seasonal updates without any need to purchase anew. The opportunities for future sustainable creativity and innovation are, it seems, immense.