What: Coresight takes stock from what happens worldwide to draw learnings for the US market.

Why it is important: While the US is all about scale economies and reach, other department stores companies in the world take a more granular approach allowing them to keep a distinctive positioning and flavour on their market, which is increasingly not the case in the US.

Coresight reviews the strategies spotted everywhere in the world to draw conclusions and learnings for the US department stores (which lost an estimated 33,2% turnover in 2020 and 15,4% in 2021). Interestingly, there are no revolutionary conclusions, but concrete best-in-class examples, including from IADS members. The 5 conclusions Coresight draws are:

• Offer local services as this is ideal to increase local loyalty, by extending in-sort offerings to online services. Coresight cites Galeries Lafayette and the launch of Gourmet, the online food-delivery site, last November 2021,
• Expand into new services, including in non traditional retail services (healthcare, furniture rental), to attract a new customer base. For instance, Marks & Spencer announced the launch of optician services in 55 branches where customers will have access to services and consultations, in addition to products (including frames produced by Mars & Spencer as a private label). According to Coresight, satisfaction level is nearing 96%. John Lewis is also mentioned for the furniture rental service launched in 2021, in partnership with Fat Llama.
• Engage with customers through live selling, such as in China where live selling has helped to regain lost sales during Covid-19, and at the same time attracted new and younger customers. However, live selling is not the only solution as virtual services can also be interesting, as exemplified by John Lewis: virtual nursery appointments, virtual home design, virtual styling.
• Offer fast and free delivery, as exemplified by El Corte Inglés with their annual and unlimited subscription-based delivery service,
• Invest in the circular economy, with resale and rental services seen as must-have categories to be attractive to younger customers, and as exemplified, according to Coresight, by Harvey Nichols, Printemps and Selfridges.

![US DEPARTMENT STORES

What the US department stores can learn from the rest of the world