By Jamus Driscoll, Moltin
We’ve
all read the “retail apocalypse” headlines about the imminent end of in-store
shopping, and it’s easy to accept the demise of brick-and-mortar retail at the hand
of e-Commerce as a fait accompli. However, the industry has shown that this
couldn’t be further from the case. The shifting retail landscape is instead
bringing new opportunities for brands, allowing them to change the way
consumers interact with them. Think of Amazon buying Whole Foods and announcing
3,000 new Amazon Go stores, and hypergrowth brands like Burrow and Outdoor
Voices opening new brick-and-mortar locations.
Recent
reports have shown that the in-store shopping experience is still alive and
well. In fact, The National Retail Federation reported
that in 2017, 174 million Americans shopped over Thanksgiving weekend, with 51
million purchases occurring in-store only and 64 million purchases a mixture of
in-store and online.
Advertisement
So
as consumers continue to desire in-store shopping experiences, how can
retailers take inspiration from digital marketplaces, and what opportunities
lie ahead to improve brick-and-mortar locations?
(Magic) Mirror, Mirror On The Wall
The
try-on process for shoppers has seen a major overhaul thanks to digital
innovations that merge the best of digital product browsing with the tangible
benefits of seeing, holding and experiencing a product in person. In the case
of apparel, “magic mirrors” are doing just that through interactive dressing
room experiences that allow shoppers to take images or video of what the
garment looks like on them, check inventory for other colors or sizes and
request more options from store associates.
Luxury
retailers such as Neiman Marcus have already invested in these technologies,
adding magic dressing room mirrors to 34 locations.
Like any new technology, luxury brands typically strike first, but that doesn’t
limit other retailers from adopting similar services. With the help of application programming interfaces (APIs), retailers can connect their
mirrors to their transaction systems, allowing customers to share or buy what
they are wearing while still in the fitting room. These flexible tools allow
pieces of software to “communicate” with one another, such as connecting web sites
to chatbots, mobile apps to smart speakers, etc. As a result, stores are able
to close sales, upsell matching accessories or connect with online inventory
within weeks of greenlighting the project.
Accelerating
The Checkout Process
Long checkout lines have been the Achilles’
heel of retailers and shoppers even before the days of e-Commerce. As retailers
begin to innovate the in-store experience, the long checkout line may soon
become extinct by adopting a few processes from e-Commerce.
Mobile self-checkout is reimagining the
in-store checkout process, and sock retailer Stance
is one of the disruptors changing how in-store purchases are made. Through the
use of APIs, Stance has created a service where customers can purchase products
directly from their smartphone without the hassle of downloading a separate app
or waiting in long checkout lines. They just access a unique URL, scan the
barcode on the back of the product and use their
own mobile wallet to pay. Voilà. The purchase is complete and another
customer can be served.
While this may sound like a complex
implementation, Stance was able to launch the service less than two months
after the idea came to light. No extended ramp-up or significant store
reconfiguration was required. And with a 30% take-up rate in the first store
they launched in, expect lines at Stance stores to be shorter, even when the
stores are packed with shoppers this holiday season.
Data:
The E-Commerce Workhorse
One
of the beauties of digital shopping experiences is the access to endless
amounts of information. Need specs to see if a piece of furniture will fit in
your home? Just scroll down the page. Want to see if a product is in stock?
Your answer is only a click away.
Adopting
the magic of e-Commerce within physical retail stores will bring endless
amounts of data to the shopping experience, benefitting both retailers and
consumers alike. For consumers, it means having product, inventory and shipping
information right in front of you. For retailers, it means having previously
untapped information on customers without the awkward transaction of obtaining
personal information like addresses and emails at the cash register. In the
case of Stance, mobile checkout users are asked to input their email address,
resulting in a 91% email capture rate.
Speed & Flexibility: The Keys To
Retail Innovation
Retail as we know it is changing at an exciting pace, and
organizations have an immense opportunity to continue to innovate as long as
they continue to invest and reinvent. This means identifying shopping trends,
noticing what benefits new technologies are providing consumers and devising a
plan for adopting similar services within your store. That plan needs to be
fast and flexible. By not fighting digital and allowing these services and
experiences to converge with traditional retail, retailers will find themselves
with happier customers and retail stores that thrive.
Jamus Driscoll is CEO of Moltin, an
API-first digital commerce solution that embeds commerce into any channel,
device or experience. Follow @moltin.
