Living the Brands We Love

There is no denying a significant shift is underway in where we’re spending our money and time. From traditional retailers reporting significant downturns in sales to a scrappy couch-surfing business turning into the world’s largest hotel, we’re standing on the cusp of very different world in terms of retail and hospitality.

So does this mean to heck with retail as we know it? Adios to Macy’s? Shut off the lights at Hiltons everywhere and turn each home into a bed and breakfast? Not so fast.

While there will certainly be seemingly “too big to fail” retailers that shut their doors in the coming years (we’ve already seen it begin) and more vacation nights spent in the homes of new found friends, I’d hypothesize that retail as a stand alone activity will fade, and shopping will be blended into more experience driven activities. We’ll find ourselves frequenting commerce only brick and mortars less and less, and instead expect to be able to bring home pieces and products from travels around the world, concerts at local coffeehouses, and even from dinner parties at a friend's house.

ssentially, we want to live the brands we love (looking at you Marine Layer) and love the brands we live (RH’s New York project, much?). And we need only look to history (think about a day’s outing to Marshall Field’s flagship in the 1920's) and a recent collection of highly successful brands (the Ace Hotel for one) to see the natural and potentially huge trend of what happens when retail and hospitality are combined.

ore and more of us in the mainstream are demanding this type of experience, which begs the questions: how will brands in retail and hospitality respond? Will current powerhouse retailers and hotels evolve? Will more brands like 21C Hotels and Soho House pop up to fill this void? How big could this get? Will tech be the underlying tool that enables these experiences and relationships? If so, how?

As the founder of Red Clay where I had a front row seat to the opportunities the world’s largest retailers are facing. That, in combination of being an Airbnb Superhost in the heart of San Francisco, I find myself at an interesting intersection of tech, products, and the rapidly changing retail/consumer market. Over the next few weeks, I plan to pester a few friends and experts in these two industries to ponder how these things come together to shape the future of retail, hospitality, and technology. I’d love to have you come along for the ride and join the conversation.