How to adapt your retail format to the ‘Future of Retail’

The past few years have seen several brands and retailers make forays in the arena of bricks & clicks. However, there are many that still grapple with which path to follow, to ensure their balance sheet stays in the black. Here is a curated map of retail brands and the strategies actioned by them in the face of this phenomenon that is reshaping the retail landscape across the globe.

Integration:

Consumers participate in different channels on the path to purchase thereby ‘blurring’ the distinction between channels, it is high time retailers follow suit!

UK retailer Tesco, known as Home Plus in South Korea, vaulted to national number one player in the online marketplace. They brought virtual stores to the time-starved Korean consumers at a point in the day when they had time on their hands. The result—an increase of 130 percent in online sales.

Integration:

Consumers participate in different channels on the path to purchase thereby ‘blurring’ the distinction between channels, it is high time retailers follow suit!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbEznWDvArY&feature=youtu.be

Convenience in delivery is the new www—What I want, Where I want, When I want. (1)

Reverse Showrooming

The most important part of any strategy is facing reality. Technology is influencing consumer’s choices and storefront retailers are at a disadvantage. In big ticket products like electronics and consumer white / hard goods, there is a significant impact of showrooming, the phenomenon of researching offline and purchasing online.

Samsung counteracted this by reverse showrooming- the storefront with the intent of showcasing. At Samsung 837 in New York city, the brand presents its array of products for consumers to examine, play with, and admire them. They may hold less inventory but sure sell the idea that the Samsung experience will make shoppers happier than any other tech company.

Showrooming can work well wherein the product is the differentiating factor and it is a planned purchase.

Make the product alive and bring it closer to the consumer.

Experiential Retail:

Experiential retail is about providing shoppers an immersive experience not available online. Smart operators are boosting their cultural and entertainment offerings of their properties. This trend will intensify going forward.

Jordan’s Furniture, a New England chain, achieves some of the highest furniture sales productivity in the country by using themed “streets” within its stores, a Mardi Gras show, an IMAX 3-D theatre, a laser light show, food courts, a city constructed of jellybeans, a motion-simulation ride, a water show, a trapeze school, and special charity events

Convenience in delivery is the new www—What I want, Where I want, When I want. (1)

Reverse Showrooming

Showrooming can work well wherein the product is the differentiating factor and it is a planned purchase.

Make the product alive and bring it closer to the consumer.

Experiential Retail:

When the product has hedonistic and aspirational value, think experience! Gourmet food and fine dine restaurants, Adventure gear and REI (Recreational Equipment Inc.), Fashion styling and the new Nordstrom store in LA.

Interaction & Engagement

Often product differentiation is minimal, advertising is unnoticed and or the product / service is intangible, the key to business success lies in creating an interactive and engaging shopping experience that online cannot reproduce.

UK Retailer, Topshop launched a campaign where shoppers received a free styling and make-up session and were invited to create a digital ‘Wish you were at Topshop’ postcard using Instagram. It generated 640 blog posts, with a reach of 1.4 million, as well as 5.3m views on Facebook and 2,000 comments. No surprise that Topshop became the number one fashion retailer on Instagram in July 2013.

Understand, adapt, engage and involve the consumer to generate excitement and build a connection with the brand.

Intelligent Technology

In the context of future of retail, IT advances from Information Technology to Intelligent Technology. Data will be mined to yield deeper, relevant insights and predict future shopping behaviour. Global research expert Forrester has speculated that the future consumer will want not just responsive interactions but adaptive ones, with content delivered in a way that best suits them as individuals, and their particular device.(3) Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) will be game-changers in the years to come.

Local, Personal and Relevant will be the intonation for curating brand offerings.

In conclusion, we can say that the transformation of the retail experience is not just about bringing the convenience and speed of the online shopping experience into the store.

The real goal is to find ways to help consumers reduce the scope of their search, simplify their shopping experience, and in the process, make retail stores more intuitive and brands more attractive. (4)

Namrata Sachdev,

9th March 2018.

References:

1.Seven must-know digital trends for Retail.

2.The E-Commerce Imperative – GVA Worldwide

3.Omni-channel retail: joining up the consumer experience

4.Building a better shopping experience

Interaction & Engagement