Retail stores aren’t what they used to be. And lest you think I’m about to launch into a diatribe about the declining fortunes of the brick-and-mortar store, bear in mind that I mean that in the very best way. Retail stores aren’t what they used to be because they’re becoming smarter, more engaging and more dynamic — and in order to survive, they have to be.
Despite the irrepressible growth of digital commerce, physical retail has always been at least partially defended from that rising tide by virtue of the tangibility it offers. Even in an age where we can have anything from food to furnishings delivered within 24 hours at the click of a button, there’s something to be said for being able to walk into a store and evaluate a purchase with our own eyes: to feel it, size it up and, in some cases, walk away with it there and then.
Today, the ongoing revolution in digital technology means that the veil separating digital and physical retail has never been thinner.
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Take shoe retailer Zappos, for instance. Zappos provides a wealth of product information on every shoe it sells, from the materials used through to customer-driven ‘fit surveys’ that help buyers establish how well their footwear fares in terms of running or support. But the company’s web site also hosts personable, minute-long video introductions for many of its shoes, providing the same kind of experience that you might get from a highly-knowledgeable and particularly passionate retail colleague.
Some brands are going further still. At the Consumer Electronics Show in January this year, haptic feedback company Tanvas announced a partnership with fashion retailer Bonobos that allows shoppers to “feel” the texture of clothing via their tablet or phone screen before they buy. Courier companies like Shutl and Stuart are capable of delivering purchases to shoppers in 90 minutes or less, and Amazon’s Dash buttons are redefining the meaning of ‘one-click ordering.’
Tangibility and immediacy, qualities that were previously unique to in-store retail, are now beginning to creep into the digital world, and that has major implications for traditional stores. Store traffic fell by some 3.8% in the U.S. in 2016, while in the UK, 2017 began with the steepest quarterly fall in retail sales since 2010. The easier it is for customers to buy online, the harder stores need to work in order to bring them back through the doors.
For some, solving that problem means appealing to a customer’s desire to be entertained, to be engaged by retail as an experience, not just a transaction. Borders once tapped into that demand, offering not just a store but a destination too. Today’s Apple Store shares some of that DNA, providing a place to play and explore as well as buy.
For others, the answer means fundamentally reimagining what the store can be, even to the point of removing the headache of actually having stock on site to sell. Bonobos may be experimenting with touchable virtual fabrics, but their Guideshops are equally innovative, allowing customers to browse clothes and find the right fit using sample products before their order is processed digitally.
Much like those clothes, there’s no ‘one-size-fits-all’ answer to the challenges facing retail stores, and physical stores have no shortage of ways in which to refine their offering. Emerging in-store technologies are creating incredible new ways to engage, serve and earn the loyalty of customers. But for these to be anything other than a novelty — “one-shot” gimmicks that fall by the wayside — they need to be employed in a way that captures the imagination of the customer not just in an instant, but over the longer-term too.
Ultimately, this comes down to physical retail rediscovering its purpose, and the only way it can do that is by seeing through the eyes of the customer. Digital retailers have thrived by using the multitude of data gathered on customer demands and refining their offering based on the insights they can glean from it. Physical stores too need to attain a level of understanding that helps them not just respond to dynamic customer demand, but to predict and cater to it before it even emerges.
In the UK, for instance, our work with one major retailer is expected to generate significant savings by the end of the decade, by applying lessons learned about spatial layout in one test store and applying them across the entire branch network. Exploring everything from point of sale layouts to promotional placements across months of testing and analysis, this iterative process has now given that retailer a clear view on how to customize its store layout to maximize customer spend.
It’s this kind of insight that is essential if physical retail is able to fight back against the wider trend towards digital. Brick-and-mortar stores might not be set to disappear any time soon, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t need to work harder than ever to entice, engage and delight their customers.
Ian Jarvis, Head of Corporate Sales (Europe), joined The Smart Cube in 2015 and is Head of Corporate Sales for Europe. In his current role, he is responsible for the development and growth of our retail offerings and customer base. Jarvis, a Chartered IT Professional and member of the British Computer Society (BCS), is a veteran of the retail industry, having spent over 25 years working with some of Europe’s most influential brands. He has had senior roles at Deloitte, Cognizant, Oracle and Standard & Poor’s with a range of leadership, operational and entrepreneurial experience within the Retail & Consumer Goods Sector. Jarvis holds a Master of Science (MSc) in Information Technology from Staffordshire University.
