The new MeTime Retail era

Life lessons from the last couple of years are many and based on individual experiences, outlooks and quite possibly, revaluations of what works for you and what doesn’t. One thing that feels pretty universal though is the quest for better balance in life. Between work and play. Office and home. Stressful things and pleasure. We see this at LiBi as being about ‘MeTime’.

‘MeTime’ itself isn’t new as a wellness thought, but in the past it has perhaps been something we crave, seek out but perhaps fall short on finding. But that is changing. We are much more empowered now to follow our own rules and choices to make sure the pleasure and fun side of life is embraced in a way that works for us.

Which feeds into the way we are working with hotels, with a specific focus on ‘MeTime Retail’.

Time away is precious, and doesn’t need to be complicated, travel stressy or for fixed amounts of time. And the same applies to our shopping and browsing time. Life is still busy, despite the positive shifts we might be working with, and time spent out shopping can either be squeezed, or sacrificed at the altar of one click delivery.

Ease and focus might make practical sense, but it means we can miss out on the experience of getting up close with brands and products, when quite often it is that touchy feely moment that makes us go ‘oh yes…’

And that is the bridge we are building back again, and then enhancing.

It’s almost the pleasure of shopping without shopping. Engaging with and trying brands out when in ‘me time’ away from home, and when you like them, realising the experience doesn’t have to be over when you leave.

When you fancy a change to your bathroom products, how do you know the shift is going to have the right feel on your skin or the zing in the shower? When you think paddle boarding might be fun to carry on when you’ve tried at a getaway resort, but wouldn’t know what board to buy for you, where do you go? When you know it’s time for a new bed, but can’t anticipate what it will actual be like to sleep on, which do you pick?

The ‘MeTime Retail’ model is we think the answer. Experiencing something you like, enjoy or want to carry on enjoying when away from home doesn’t have to come to end, as you are in the middle of the ultimate try before you experience. The bathroom spa products. The paddleboard. The bed. Or the gin, the throw, the artwork, in room tech or the candles. Maybe not the hotel cat, but in theory, everything else can be shoppable.

And because this is happening as part of ‘MeTime’, and not being ticked off an action or chore list, road testing things becomes fun again.

And this before we even talked about the long lasting memories that will link what you buy back to the trip away.

We have reinvented much of life recently and much of it for the better. Working patterns, family time, holidays in the UK again. Adding shopping to that list makes sense, and brings us back to a stage where customers are individuals, where consideration for items to buy trumps the five second purchase culture, and where all our senses are engaged for a rounded experience.

And if one word defines our new world post COVID focus, it’s probably ‘experience’, and putting that front and centre of approaches to life.