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Beauty Store Business: How has the economy shaped today's new breed of consumer, and how does she differ from the consumer of the past? WALSH: The shopper is now firmly in control. She has reshaped the entire retail order, and she doesn't want to return to the way it was before the economy plummeted—to make the same mistakes. The old retail hierarchy was very vertical—retailers at the top wielded all of the power. Shoppers simply followed as they did in feudal times. However, today we live in a flat retail world. By flat, I don't mean flat sales. It's more horizontal—the shopper sees everything. Technology enables her to be more informed, and the foundation is a social culture with information coming from family, friends and even strangers who help shoppers make more informed decisions. Today's shoppers have so many more choices with more stores and channels continually appearing. Since shoppers can now purchase anything, anywhere and at any time, they expect retailers to seamlessly deliver it to them. It's "retail on demand." What has today's consumer come to expect from her retail experience? Today's consumer expects everything because she knows that she can. She's seeking the most value for her dollar, and she wants to learn everything that she can about her purchases so that she can make smart decisions. She wants lots of choices and availability, and she wants a great in-store experience. Overall, how has the industry evolved, and where do you see it going? The future is already here. Things have fundamentally changed, and it's not just about the economy. Companies are reinventing themselves and retail is blurring. I refer to it as "The Sephora Effect." Channels are dead and everything is fluid. Retailers are being forced to evolve their offerings. Also, in an effort to attract new customers, mass retailers are going more upscale. Just take a look at the LOOK Boutique at Walgreens and Duane Reade. Women can get their nails and eyebrows done or their hair styled while they're picking up prescriptions. At the same time, department stores are working to become more accessible—service guaranteed any way the shopper wants it. The expanded Selfridges in London is breaking down the typical stereotypes and encouraging shoppers to participate rather than look at products behind glass counters. Our "2012 Megatrends" study indicated that women are shopping in more and more places. Online shopping has increased significantly and is now the No. 4 channel shopped in the past three months behind supermarkets, mass 44 July 2013 | beautystorebusiness.com merchandisers and drugstores. While online retailers have become the No. 4 channel, pure-play online retailers—such as Amazon.com and BeautyBar.com—are facing the need to act on their online limitations. BeautyBar.com opened a retail store to enable shoppers to touch and feel the products. Amazon.com has opened lockers for easy delivery. As we say, follow the shopper and she'll lead you to the future. Overall, what changes have impacted the beauty business at chain stores? The biggest factor is probably that the Internet is now the No. 4 channel and growing. In our ongoing "How America Shops" research, we track category interest in online shopping, and we're seeing more beauty categories moving online. Among beauty, lip care is seeing the greatest boost among categories that shoppers intend to buy online at 49%— up 8 points since 2011. Facial skin care, cosmetics and hair care are all next to climb—with 40% to 60% of shoppers saying that they are "very/somewhat likely" to switch most purchases of these products online. As Web-based retailers become a real threat in the beauty space, chain stores have been forced to evolve their beauty propositions in order to give shoppers more reasons to visit the store. Duane Reade's LOOK Boutique more closely resembles a department store than a traditional drug chain. The new space is filled with a mix of mass and niche, as well as exclusive brands and Beauty Advisors. Some stores even offer full-service hair and nail salons. Then, there's all of the latest technology such as the "Find Your Look" kiosk that enables shoppers to take photos of their face and scan the bar code of any product to virtually try it on. Overall, the beauty industry leads the way in adopting new technology and innovation to enhance the shopper experience. Sephora stands out among any retailer—beauty or other—for its intelligent use of innovation in-store. Tools are available to help shoppers educate All images courtesy of WSL Strategic Retail Cynthia Walsh, vice president of consulting services at WSL Strategic Retail Today's shopper also expects value. Of course, value is not always about price. Value also takes shape in great service, a unique product offering or an engaging and meaningful shopping experience. With countless places for shoppers to make purchases, it's become increasingly important to provide more reasons to keep them returning to the store and its brands. Today's hyper-channel shoppers purchase goods and services from many different places—traditional retailers, Web-based retailers, virtual stores, big boxes and small, and value and luxury, and they feel equally comfortable buying from just about all of them. As they move seamlessly between them all, the delineation between channels fade, and there's the expectation of receiving the same great shopping experience regardless of channel growth. Today's shopper expects a retail experience that's all about her—anytime and anywhere.