Are you in search of a bible of information that could help your better understand how to make Retail and shopping better for: people on lower incomes; owner-managers of small stores; designers, and marketers who are working with small budgets? Well, “Using Semiotics in Retail” could be right up your street.

Written by Dr Rachel Lawes, a futurist, marketer, and the author is Using Semiotics in Marketing, the Book, Using Semiotics in Retail” has been written in a way that will help you understand that not every consumer is affluent. It is a teaching moment for marketers and brand owners who only refine and polish their brands for wealthy customers. They need to understand that people at all income levels need to feel socially included and have access to the things they need.” (It’s like saying) Pampers are suitable for most people’s babies, but not for your baby,” clarified Lawes.

“The pain of not being able to afford things is chronic,” explained Lawes in a LinkedIn post. “It’s part of a constellation of problems, curtailed life opportunities, humiliations and social exclusions. Some consumers, especially in adulthood, cope by turning away from categories that they entirely cannot afford. But over time, being excluded from having nice things leaves a scar, especially when the visible nice-ness of things, that is, aesthetics, becomes more important with every passing year”.

Available on 3 February 2022, on Amazon and all good bookstore, Using Semiotics in Retail is a potent cocktail of knowledge on retail and shopper behaviour. Offering a much-needed reality check, the book helps readers see the bigger picture by helping them understand the power that semiotics can wield. Deep diving into conversation starters like digital ecosystems, behavioural futures markets, and decentralised economies, Using Semiotics in Retail is not only sensitive to the emerging digital culture, diversity and inclusivity, it is an excellent follow up to Rachel Lawes first book, Using Semiotics in Marketing.