The National Retail Federation (NRF) is working to improve the perception of the retail industry with a new campaign called: “This is Retail: Careers, Community, Innovation.” The initiative will seek to highlight careers in retail, retailers’ involvement in local communities, and the role of retail in driving innovation.
“Our industry has a perception problem — and we need to address it head on,” said Matthew Shay, CEO of NRF. “We will counter the myths about our industry with research and stories that show the true face of retail. That, in fact, retail offers richly rewarding and diverse career opportunities, is central to communities, big and small, and that retail is at the forefront of innovation. By fundamentally transforming the perception of retail, we will ensure the industry continues to thrive and grow.”
As part of the campaign, NRF has launched www.thisisretail.org, an interactive site which showcases inspiring retail stories.. When fully launched in June, the site will offer original content, recent news, retail case studies and research.
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Key components of the “This is Retail” campaign include:
- Live events featuring industry executives who will discuss the importance of changing the perception of retail;
- Original research that will review community-building, retail innovation and what job-seekers are looking for in the retail marketplace;
- Social media crowd-sourcing initiatives, with a focus on collecting creative content and stories;
- Grassroots programs targeted to educating policy-makers about the retail industry, including roundtables scheduled in specific congressional districts; and
- National advertising.
In order to complete original, exclusive research studies, NRFhas partnered with BIGinsight Research. An initial survey was designed to improve perceptions about the retail industry. The research looked at retail job opportunities for college students pursuing a career in retail, according to an NRF press release. The study revealed that the number-one reason that students are interested in retail careers is because retail is “exciting compared to other industries” (70.2%). Students also said they were drawn to leadership opportunities (43.6%) and the work/life balance in retail (26.0%).
