By John Federman,
JRNI
“You will never see eye-to-eye if you never meet
face-to-face.”
So are the words of Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of
Berkshire Hathaway. He emphasizes the importance of human interaction despite
today’s environment where relationships often exist behind email, text or
phone. We’ve spent the last several years building new ways to interact — chat,
click-to-call, FaceTime — yet none build the intimacy, or effectiveness, of
face-to-face conversations.
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In today’s business climate, technology has been used to supplant
face-to-face engagement. In retail, consumers are researching and purchasing
goods via smartphones, tablets and computers, swapping the in-store experience
for at-home convenience, while retailers rely on email to communicate with their
best customers. However, according to Harvard Business Review, face-to-face requests were 34 times
more likely to garner positive responses than emails.
Retailers need to bring consumers back in-store to not only
strengthen their relationships with them, but because it’s a good business
move. When retailers can move online consumers in-store, basket size can
increase by 3X–10X by providing consumers with an experience — an opportunity
to interact with products and services, or exposure to ancillary and
complementary items. According to a First Insight Report, 71% of shoppers spend $50 or more when
shopping in-store, confirming that consumers purchase significantly more per
visit in-store than online.
To drive conversion, retailers must create omnichannel
experiences by personalizing consumer experiences through in-store
appointments, powering seamless online-to-offline journeys and developing loyal
customers via in-store events. These omnichannel experiences can help retailers
generate exceptional in-store experiences for their customers that will leave
them feeling valued and returning to their brands.
Personalize Consumer
Experiences Through In-Store Appointments
When consumers schedule in-store appointments with staff,
retailers can provide them with customized recommendations that create more
engaging brand experiences and present easier ways of doing business. For
example, stylists can meet with consumers who schedule in-store appointments for
fitting consultations to help them identify the best styles for them, a service
customers can’t receive online.
Meeting with consumers in-store builds relationships, where
in-store experts can have tailored and in-depth conversations with shoppers,
leaving customers feeling more valued because of the time and attention given
to them. In fact, nearly 45% of respondents said that having the
ability to speak with someone during their final decision to purchase was
critical, according to JRNI’s 2018 Consumer Behavior Research.
Power Seamless
Online-To-Offline Journeys
An astonishing 88% of consumers use the web to research
products online before buying in-store, according to the Ecommerce Foundation,
indicating that the Internet heavily influences customers’ online and offline
purchasing decisions. Retailers can use online platforms to collect insights
into customers’ shopping habits and produce streamlined customer journeys — essentially
creating a catalog of their personal interests. By knowing their consumers’
behaviors, retailers can offer individualized recommendations and incentives in
brick-and-mortar stores, thereby allowing customers to experience the ease of
online with the traditional experience of in-store. With incentives, retailers
can make consumers become more brand loyal, which shows that customers value
their experiences with them.
Develop Loyal
Customers Via In-Store Events
In order to drive significant conversion, retailers need to
foster loyal customers, and one of the best ways to do so is by hosting in-store events. Retailers can entice customers
to become more loyal to them by immersing themselves in live experiences at
their stores. With events, retailers can invite customers to the launch of new
products, or they can have them attend VIP gatherings with exclusive promotions
or offerings.
The more brands convey that they care about their customers,
the more their customers will value them and purchase from them. Hosting events
and providing entertainment in physical stores can even boost retailers’ annual
sales by 14% on average, according to Barclaycard.
Omnichannel experiences allow retailers to successfully
bridge the digital-to-physical divide. By doing so, retailers can create
engaging experiences that can move consumers from their devices into stores.
When consumers are in-store, retailers have tremendous opportunities to
strengthen their customer relationships, upsell and cross-sell, and increase
their conversions. If retailers aren’t creating omnichannel experiences to
drive their businesses and expand their foot traffic, they’re going to quickly
lose to their competition.
John Federman is CEO
of JRNI, the leading customer engagement platform
for omnichannel conversion. Prior to JRNI, he served as CEO of Webcollage, the
leading cloud-based content management platform for the publishing of rich
product information, and syndication across retail sites globally, through its
acquisition into the Syndigo platform. He also serves as an advisor to
Boston-based Salsify and sits on the Board of New York’s
T-Ink.
