Rob Forbes, founder of Design Within Reach, has enjoyed the peaks and valleys of retail design and marketing. His secret for success is what we hear all the time from great business people, musicians and leaders: break the rules.

Design Within Reach broke many of the rules of retail marketing and design. Their catalogs gave an entire page to a single item. Discounts were few and far between, but effective when implemented. And ecommerce was allowed to openly compete with… read more.

One of the key trends in retail is the emergence of the “smart box.” Yes, the “big box” will continue to be a retail reality. And the “small box” will cater to more boutique-ish shopper needs. But the real reality of retail is the revolution that smartphones and tablets will create in retail.

Retail technology maven, Jim Crawford, provided insights on the latest and greatest in retail-specific technologies, many of which are very cool. But Crawford prefaced his talk with one piece of advice:… read more.

Retail has traditionally focused on driving shopper transaction through pricing, promotion, shelf placement and a number of other tried and true conventions. However, there is a growing movement in retail that the in-store experience should be about more than increasing transactional speed. Some retailers are showing how higher-order benefits and cultural themes can be used to deepen shoppers’ relationships with the in-store experience while driving sales.

Day One at IRDC turned this retail convention on its head by making arguments for experiences versus shelves. Keynote speaker Chip… read more.

The International Retail Design Conference is the premier educational and networking event for the retail design and visual merchandising community. Reserve your seat at Two West’s Retail Archetypes presentation today: http://www.irdconline.com/2011/sessions The B.rand Show will also report live from IRDC 2011 on retail design best practices, evolving trends and strategies to maximize resources.