Doug Stephens, “The Retail Prophet” and internationally recognized consumer futurist, started his keynote presentation at High Point Market on Sunday by depressing his audience with the statistic that 8,643 retail stores closed in 2018, and 10,000 more are projected to fail in 2019.

His news got worse.

The release of the annual IKEA catalog is a mini-event, if only for the fact that it's rare for a retailer to release and mail out 288 pages of anything these days.

As retail marketers, it’s a book we refer back to throughout the year for insights. As shoppers, it’s one we keep around to spark ideas for our own spaces.

With the 2019 catalog's release in August, we wanted to take a closer look and see how IKEA translates the catalog experience for in-store shoppers. We found five simple, interesting, and thoughtful ways the catalog comes to life in-store—tactics you also may want to take note of and refer back to this year.

Once only synonymous with a certain friendly ghost, Casper is now a $300M sleep and wellness wunderkind that haunts big retailers and mattress manufacturers alike. 

Casper’s success was built on an online model, but now it's coming for you IRL—with the recent introduction of brick-and-mortar stores this year.