By Berkley Bowen, Cue Connect
“Experiential Retail.” The term may be new, but the concept has been around for some time. One example that we can all relate to are the food samples when you’re grocery shopping. They’ve been around forever, right? Well, package those up with a recipe and a decent demonstration and there you go! While this may not be the most sophisticated example of experiential retail in today’s shopping environment, it conveys the basic idea: provide consumers with a “taste” (pun intended) and they’re bound to come back for more.
For those unfamiliar with the modern definition of the term, “experiential retail” is the idea that consumers want more from their shopping experience than just a product. They want to test an item out before they buy it and appreciate guidance on the other products required to achieve the lifestyle they strive for. I’ve seen experiential retail range from branded run-clubs hosted by athletic stores, to white-labeled newsletters that read like a lifestyle publication unassociated with a brand. The idea is for a brand to curate what products are required to achieve a certain lifestyle without explicitly selling to the consumer.
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Given the saturation of the retail industry and the wide variety of options available to consumers today, it’s important that brands stand out as the authority on a certain lifestyle in order to achieve the loyalty that they desire. Because of the rise of fast fashion, consumers are tempted to buy less expensive versions of items – especially trendier merchandise. In order to compete, brand names must take the next step to differentiate themselves and encourage the idea that their company possesses the bigger picture of what consumers strive to achieve in order to set the mood and pace for the rest of the industry.
Seems like a pretty simple concept, but so often brands do it wrong. In order for experiential retail to be successful, it’s critical to avoid coming across as self-serving. Retailers need to first understand who their target customer is – what are their likes, dislikes and preferences, in addition to their day to day lifestyle. Then, they need to think about what type of event or offering that customer would be interested in, and deem it worth their time to attend – too often, this means an event that’s FREE. After all that’s said and done, retailers can then determine how to best incorporate their offering or brand into the equation. The key is to first act as a resource for customers and, in doing so, position themselves as icons for the kind of lifestyle the customer wishes to embody.
Experiential retail isn’t just about the in-store experience it spans channels, with digital becoming an increasingly important piece of a shopper’s path to purchase puzzle. As mobile devices become the preferred medium for purchases, finding creative ways to engage with consumers across devices is essential. Maybe that’s leveraging virtual or augmented reality, or perhaps it’s something as simple as providing customers with a really engaging mobile app. Experiential retail can be immersive without necessarily being physical. Regardless of the strategies that retailers choose to leverage, the key is to be authentic to the brand while anticipating the needs of the customer.