Bring In-Store Efforts Into Harmony With Modern Customer Expectations This Holiday Season

By Steve Jeffery, Brickstream

During the festive holiday season, consumers turn out in full force, shopping lists in hand, and eager to buy just the right gift for everyone on their list. Many holiday purchases transpire online, providing retailers with an abundance of valuable and easy-to-capture data about consumer trends and e-Commerce activities. But information about in-store activities has traditionally eluded retailers who operate brick-and-mortar locations.

Smart retailers are increasingly turning to in-store analytics technologies to gather the insights they need to fine-tune seasonal promotions and optimize strategies for merchandising, staffing, and service. According to a 2014 A.T. Kearney report, about 90% of all purchases still occur in physical stores. Retailers simply can’t afford to neglect the wealth of information that is available about this critical sales channel.

Here are a few examples of ways retailers can use in-store analytics to bring operations into harmony with the behaviors and expectations of modern consumers during the critical holiday season.

1. Use multichannel data to staff intelligently. Many retailers experiment with multichannel strategies that merge online options with brick-and-mortar services. These tactics include opportunities for customers to order online and pick up in-store, and sending notices via email about special offers at store locations. To deliver successfully on campaigns like these, retailers need real-time information that correlates online consumer activity with in-store shopping patterns so staff can be deployed at the right place and time.
2. Reduce wait times at checkout. Holiday shoppers typically have a lot to do and limited time to do it. A lengthy wait at checkout can spoil an otherwise positive shopping experience. Smart retailers use in-store analytics technologies to get timely information about store traffic and store metrics so they can quickly deploy staff and open additional checkout lanes as needed. These technology solutions can also communicate estimated wait times to shoppers.
3. Coordinate holiday promotions with in-store trends. Decision-makers and managers at physical store locations need information about consumer behavior in stores in order to optimize merchandising efforts. In-store data capture devices positioned in aisles and near displays can be used to collect and analyze metrics about how shoppers move through the store, what end caps they peruse, and what items they examine. This is valuable insight that can be used to make intelligent decisions about product positioning, where to display promotions, and when to make adjustments.
4. Deliver a modern holiday shopping experience. Today’s holiday shoppers are tech-savvy. Many consumers research products online and arrive at stores armed with smart phones to check competitors’ prices. In recent years, there has been concern about showrooming — the consumer practice of examining merchandise in stores and then purchasing online. But smart retailers realize that these multichannel shoppers present an opportunity rather than a threat. In-store data empowers staff to better cater to tech-savvy customers at store locations. By leveraging the latest in-store analytics technology, retailers can provide shoppers with a seamless experience across all channels.

The National Retail Federation predicts an increase in holiday sales this year over the previous lackluster seasons. Retailers can take advantage of in-store data and analytics to bring their merchandising efforts into harmony with the expectations of today’s Internet-savvy consumers. The results include an improved experience for customers and optimal sales environments for merchants.

Steve Jeffery is Chief Executive Officer of Brickstream, the in-store analytics market leader.