Twitter-Powered Retail Business Models

A lot of people are on Twitter these days. Most are trying to figure it out, wondering whether and how to use it. For many, it’s a way to meet people online who share common interests. A friend of mine is thrilled with the contacts she has made with others in her field across the country and around the world and gushes “I never would have met these people if not for Twitter!”

But to me, the interesting news in Twitter-dom is the potential of the medium to enable new local business models and new formats. Thanks in part to Twitter, Meals on Wheels no longer just refers to home-delivered meal services to people in need. As reported in the Wall Street Journal last week, “New technology has been a game changer, allowing trucks to pick and move to where the customers are on short notice."

Here are three concrete examples that illustrate a range of new ways Twitter is helping locavores find and eat great food.

#1 - TAKE OUT WITH NO SET MENU:
With no retail storefront, no waiters, no tables or silverware, dishes, or hardly any overhead - KitchenetteSF serves fresh takeout-only lunches Monday through Friday from the garage door of their warehouse in the Dogpatch neighborhood of SF.

Their chefs have worked at some of the best kitchens in the Bay Area: Foreign Cinema, Chez Panisse, Incanto, Eccolo, Betelnut, Fog City Diner etc. Menus are posted on the kitchenettesf.com blog at the end of each day for the next day’s lunch.

“Whatever we find that is super fresh and delicious is what we’re serving. Everything will be organic, local, street food inspired, spontaneous, affordable, handmade from scratch, and delicious (we’re eating this for lunch too!)"

The easiest way to know what’s for lunch today is to follow KitchenetteSF’s tweets so the menu comes to you. And over 1,000 people are following the tweets of this self-proclaimed “spontaneous organic covert nourishment” innovator.

#2 - COMBO SIT DOWN-MOBILE:
Last month, Chez Spencer in SF added a mobile component to its bistro repertoire with Spencer on the Go!—according to Urban Daddy the first food truck to serve white tablecloth French fare. With 1,001 Twitter followers as of today (6/15/09), the converted taco truck serves customers in SoMA on weekend evenings, and will soon be a regular at the Ferry Building farmer’s market during the day on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

#3 - MOBILE ONLY:
Kogi BBQ is run out of a truck serving Korean-barbecued meat inside Mexican-style tacos in Los Angeles. The company operates the kitchen in superhip, late night hangout, The Alibi Room, but the truck is its direct to consumer business. KogiBBQ currently has over 31,000 followers on Twitter.

According to the Wall Street Journal, more truck operators are following Kogi’s example and have begun using Twitter to post messages on followers’ cell phones, alert customers of their whereabouts and even ask for tips on parking spaces. These things are not hard to do - they just take creativity and follow through.

Today, creators of movable feasts are using high tech to drive up close and personal local experiences. Could the Helms Bakery Truck, the Good Humor Man, and the Oscar Meyer Weiner Mobile find new life in a Twitter-powered world?

New Store Formats are 'Popping Up' All Over

It’s official – last month TNS’s Retail Forward Shopper Scape reported that we’re going to the mall less than we did just two years ago. Regional mall and lifestyle center traffic is down sharply since 2006. The upshot? There’s a lot of empty retail space available – between bankruptcy, cash-strapped consumers, and changing trends, malls have seen tremendous turnover in their tenants. Sharper Image, Bombay & Company, Crate and Barrel, Victoria’s Secret, Illuminations, and Footlocker moved out of our local malls in the past 6-12 months as retailers go under or seek a different type of real estate or consumer demographic. The same thing is happening across the country.

You might think that would be good news for anyone looking for a deal on retail space. Not necessarily. With mall traffic down, established retailers and newcomers are trying new store formats and site selection strategies to appeal more to consumers. Retailers from Staples to Best Buy to Wal-Mart are experimenting with new, smaller, Main Street formats.

One of my favorite new formats is Pop-Up retail. These temporary arrangements have a tendency to pop up unannounced, quickly draw in the crowds, and then disappear or morph into something else, adding an element of surprise and newness to their efforts. Charmin Ultra took over a 12,000-square-foot location and installed free luxury restrooms in Times Square during Christmas of 2006. Charmin’s pop-up Potty Palooza generated a lot of press…and goodwill for the company.

Up until now, most pop-up retail has been brought to us by consumer goods manufacturers who don’t have direct access to their customers. They are designed to generate trial and awareness. A few retailers have also embraced the format. Limited Brand is among the retail pioneers.

College campuses are a natural venue for pop-up retail because of their “Captive” audience. The WSJ reported last week that Victoria's Secret's Pink, a young women's clothing brand of Limited Brands Inc., this fall is opening its own pop-up stores at about 12 schools, up from 10 last spring. The stores open for a day, selling merchandise, handing out promotional items and collecting used clothing for charity. How much can a single location generate in a day on-campus? Last Spring, stores rang up sales of $20,000 in a single day on average.

That got me thinking about other promising pop-up venues. Will corporate campuses be next? Seems like a good bet.