By Susan Wall, Oracle + Bronto
Consumers today want it all when they shop. Like an intrepid explorer, they want to be masters of their destiny, to plot their own journey. But they also expect a helping hand guiding them along the sales path.
As time goes on, and as consumers continue to weave seamlessly in and out of channels, their expectation for a smooth, frictionless shopping experience will continue to rise, making it vital that retailers meet their needs every step of the way.
Advertisement
But with consumer behavior ever-changing, how can you ensure you’re meeting their expectations today while setting yourself up for success tomorrow? With technology that creates a seamless shopping experience and insights from your data.
Technology That Transforms
The right application of cutting-edge technology not only improves the shopping experience — it helps drive revenue and build trust with your customers.
Some of the industry’s most innovative brands are already doing this.
Not long ago, Gap unveiled its virtual dressing room, and at Bronto Summit 2017, Uri Minkoff talked about all the ways he and the team at Rebecca Minkoff are using technology to transform the in-store experience.
Rebecca Minkoff is an especially fascinating example. The luxury retailer is tackling several pain points consumers encounter when shopping in-store by using technology to deliver a hyper-personalized shopping experience that bridges the gap between the online and offline experience — all while letting the customer control their shopping journey.
The moment a customer walks into Rebecca Minkoff’s flagship SoHo store, they’re greeted by an interactive wall display that shows suggested outfits. They can select multiple items to try on and continue shopping or leave the store altogether and receive a text message when their fitting room is ready. The entire process is designed to deliver a seamless and customer-focused experience.
Once inside the fitting room, the store uses RFID tags to catalog everything brought into the dressing room and display the items on “smart mirrors.” Shoppers can request alternate sizes and can even select different lighting options while trying on clothes. They’re also offered product recommendations for the items they’ve selected and can command their entire shopping experience from the fitting room.
Thanks to its innovative use of technology, Rebecca Minkoff has taken many aspects consumers enjoy about the online experiencing and applied them in-store.
Data Driven
If technology is the vessel to providing a better shopping experience, then surely data is the fuel.
Here’s the best part: your brand already has access to loads of data — from your own back-end systems and e-Commerce platforms to social media and point-of-sale systems.
But to create the frictionless journey that your customers desire, you must invest in making insights from that data available across every channel, and you need to bring data together across all shopping channels so you can anticipate your customer’s unique needs and treat them like individuals rather than part of a crowd.
This means integrating data from across your organization (inventory, price, product description, customer behavior, etc.) to provide insights for every touch point in your customer’s journey.
Imagine how much better the customer journey would be if, for instance, their online product preferences were paired with in-store stock levels and trending products and then shared with your in-store reps. The in-store rep doesn’t have to rely on intuition alone to provide relevant recommendations. Instead, the data can help inform their recommendations, leading to a more relevant customer experience and increased size of purchase.
Smarter And Faster
We’re edging ever closer to these interactions becoming reality. In fact, Rebecca Minkoff is already experimenting with new ways to access and utilize data.
The luxury fashion retailer recently demonstrated how they can access their data quickly and easily with the help of Amazon Alexa. Want to know what the most popular item sold in the last 30 days was? Forget sifting through a spreadsheet. Just ask Alexa.
While technology can be a boon to your customer experience, it can also help make your business smarter. Finding ways to leverage technology both ways is key to both immediate and future success.
Ready For Today And Tomorrow
Retailers have the power to do all the above and more, but it requires a different way of thinking about and using technology. For retailers to succeed, they need to stop thinking of technology as a superficial instrument to attract attention, and instead start using it as a thoughtful mechanism to deliver a better, frictionless customer experience.
By integrating technology that’s designed to improve the quality of life of your customers, and by intelligently using your data to gain unique insights into their shopping behaviors and preferences, you’ll provide a better, more personalized experience that they’ll want to return to again and again.
As Vice President of Marketing, Susan Wall is responsible for Oracle + Bronto’s marketing strategy and leading all lead generation, branding and positioning initiatives. She brings an extensive background in brand marketing, product marketing, marketing research, media and advertising to Oracle + Bronto.
