tifiable innovation trend. Increasingly, customers are playing an active role in defining and determining the assortment. They are no longer just passive recipients of what a retailer thinks they might want; they are active participants in the creation of the retail offer. From user submitted ideas to voting on favourite products, retailers are ceding more control of the store to their customers. They are essentially allowing the customer to drive product development in order to create a truly customised experience. Customers are also creating ‘pre-tail’ moments, helping retailers decide what products to make, what products to stock and even how they’re priced. In the Netherlands, bricks and mortar retailer, Lidl, lets customers decide on which product will be promoted every week by activating a ‘like’ voting system through Facebook. This initiative reflects the increasing interest of customers to have a voice, increasing the potential for continuous customer interaction. In the US, Quirky is disrupting and redefining the retail model. Founded on the belief that ordinary people have extraordinary ideas, Quirky is a product company that utilises crowdsourcing to not only bring ideas to life, but also make them accessible in a relatively short space of time. Quirky’s community members share in a product’s financial success, with the inventors earning the most revenue. Influencers, who vote on successful ideas, help come up with names, pick colour palettes, or contribute to the final product in some way, also get a small royalty stake. Danish company, Muuse, is disrupting the high end fashion industry by connecting emerging young fashioned designers with high end customers, craving unique hand crafted pieces. Calling itself the “independent fashion talent community”, Muuse uses an innovative pre-tail approach to fashion that meets the increasing ‘expectation economy’: the crowdsourcing movement made popular by pre-sumers that love to shop for the most innovative, exciting and unique products already in the concept stage. By putting designs from the world’s top fashion schools to the vote; the company offers a made to order facility via its webshop. In addition to removing the financial risk, Muuse’s pre-order business model produces less waste from clothes that are unsold – a perfect match for consumers who are interested in sustainable business practices. In these days of enhanced social networking and advanced technology opportunities, crowdsourcing doesn’t have to start big. The fittest retailers are always conversing with their customers, curating and improving offers, and finding new ways to communicate and involve customers in the process. After all, nowadays, it’s all about your customer. Happy fit retailing! Brian Walker All currently released trends, including crowdsourcing, are available to download from www.retaildoctor.com.au/retail-innovation-9.