April 2021 | Lab Grown Magazine

April 2021 | The Lab Grown Diamond Resource Book 22 Brand-Centric Dining It’s a sad day in Reading, Pennsylvania. There, a retail staple known as Boscov’s remains, but their in-store restaurant doesn’t. Before Covid changed it, the mid-to-upscale department store kept families in-store longer, spending on family lunches or dinners, and noting that impulse shopping increased after being fed. Perhaps that’s why Tiffany was eager to launch its Blue Box café in Manhattan. With it came city-block wrap-around lines of people eager to experience the new hot thing, which went away almost as quickly as it came. But the Blue Box plans to reopen in 2022 when the Tiffany store completes its make-over. That hasn’t stopped Tiffany’s store in London from launching its Blue Box café, however. Curiously, it offers box-car sofa style seating creating the image of being in a “luxury diner.” Regardless, there’s a reason why Sterling Corporation’s Jared Jewelry offers customers coffee at every location, and why trunk shows work so much better when finger food and cocktails are served. The Customer Magnet During the last quarter of 2020, many consumers joined the cohort of e-commerce customers who expect to make purchases online whenever and wherever they want. The feeling of being able to click a few keys and order groceries, all delivered to your doorstep within hours, seems somewhat royal and obsessive. People have reconditioned themselves to staying home and being served at home. Now, it’s up to retailers to step up their game online and off. The future exterior of a 2022 planned relaunch of the Blue Box Café by Tiffany, New York CIty. (Photo: Tiffany & Co.) Below left: The newly launched luxury diner-like look of Blue Box by Tiffany in London. (Photos: Tiffany & Co.) First, remind yourself of this: Seven out of ten workers are working from home. Sixteen million Americans have moved to new locations as they make the most of their newfound freedom to live and work anywhere. Smart retailers will make the move with them, setting up satellite pick-up locations and service depots in newly popular suburban and urban areas in order to offer consumers convenience along with an authentic brand interaction made more personal by being close to home. To keep up with this trend, many brands are launching temporary, pop-up shops built specifically to facilitate experiential marketing experiences to a wider audience. Dior is doing it with pop-up stores in malls. These portable Dior doors look like small tradeshow booths and function much the same. Delivery by Design Post-pandemic consumers not only expect to be able to shop online, but to have their item shipped for low to no cost and in very little time. Many retailers have struggled to meet this demand, >>