Diva’s heading back to San Francisco this month—woo hoo! Why, you ask? Well because DDI Magazine’s fifth CitySCENE networking event will take place in San Francisco on May 23, 6 p.m.-8 p.m. at The Westin St. Francis, at 355 Powell St. In case you haven’t been to a CitySCENE event yet, Diva has the deets: CitySCENE is a series of local networking events across the country designed to bring like-minded peers from the retail design industry together for casual conversation and cocktails—and it’s free to attend!

The event, which first debuted last May in San Francisco, returns for a second stop in the lovely Bay Area, and not to mention at a lovely location (Diva loooves The Westin St. Continue reading →

The Retail Design Diva is officially in Chicago for GlobalShop 2013, taking place this week April 16-18! Woo hoo! The Diva and her friends at DDI Magazine will be roaming the show floor—from conference sessions to exhibitor booths to parties and everywhere else in between. We’ll be blogging LIVE from the show all three days about the latest retail design musings, hottest products and attendee opinions. No detail shall go uncovered as we scour the show for interesting and exciting speakers, products and conference sessions.

If you’ll be at GlobalShop too, check back here for live updates and get the inside scoop of must-sees! Continue reading →

As much as I love the experience of shopping in physical retail stores, the thrill of online shopping is undeniable. The ability to browse nearly limitless selections, styles, colors, brands and trends all from the comfort of your couch is enough to satiate your inner shopaholic. And the ability to buy products with just a few taps or clicks? Effortless pleasure. But alluring as e-commerce is, there are a few reasons why I don’t believe it will ever replace bricks and mortar. Here is just one simple reason why:

Stuck indoors feeling under the weather (burdened with a cold and a rainy weekend), I opened my laptop to check some emails. Continue reading →

Diva loves retail design. Diva loves Chicago. Combine those two, and Diva is jumping up and down with excitement! GlobalShop 2013 takes over Chicago this year, from April 16-18, and Diva will be there with her BFF DDI Magazine to see it all. Speaking of DDI Magazine, Diva’s friends over there are throwing a fun pre-show gathering on April 15 dubbed RAP (Reader Appreciation Party). Consider it your pre-game to GlobalShop!

Taking place Monday night, April 15, from 7 p.m.-9 p.m. at EPIC in Chicago, the DDI RAP is a private, sponsored event (translation: vendors/manufacturers are only permitted as sponsors) that brings together the retail design industry for a couple hours of cocktails, conversation and fun. Continue reading →

Diva is big on customer service. There is no amount of glitzy design that can overcome poor service. No matter how nice your store looks, if you offer the shopper subpar customer service, she won’t want to shop at your store. Case in point: Diva was at the mall last week (shocker, right?) meeting a friend for lunch. There was no real shopping mission in mind, just browsing a few stores during the lunch hour.

So, there Diva was at one of her favorite cosmetics and beauty stores. She had not planned to buy anything (her friend was the one in need of restocking lip gloss), but when standing in line noticed plenty of enticing little items on display bordering the queue, designed clearly as impulse purchases. Continue reading →