By Brian
Hannon, Voxpro
Digital is increasingly becoming the common
battleground for retailers. Brick-and-mortar stores play their part, but it’s
only when they employ efficient digital strategies that they can truly compete.
So aside from having taken the necessary steps
to join the digital retail race, what more can physical stores do to ensure
they can survive and thrive in an unforgiving retail environment?
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Bridge The
Gap
Using technology to manage customers across
various channels, enabling them to switch seamlessly between online and offline
mediums, is one method being used to address this.
Think about a customer who purchases a Prada
bag online. The profile they generate by making that purchase can be tracked in
the future to help understand their shopping habits.
But what about the customer who walks into a
Prada store and makes an off-the-shelf purchase? How can you decipher whether
they are an existing customer that also shops online? How can you further
engage with them, personalize their experience and make tailored
recommendations to them during this visit and in the future?
Beauty retailer Sephora is one company that’s
leading the charge in bridging this gap. By employing beacon technology, its
app can recognize when a user is in one of its stores, enabling it to offer an
extra personalized experience with the likes of an in-store map, daily
promotions and access to the customer’s online wish list. It makes for a much
more cohesive online-to-in-store experience.
While many retailers have already employed
this technology, it’s not without its challenges. Given that it relies on
Bluetooth technology, it means the user must have their Bluetooth activated,
with location sharing enabled — not something every consumer will be
comfortable with. Nonetheless, this kind of technology that makes the switch
from online to offline appear seamless is a step in the right direction.
Embrace
Experiential
Prioritizing inspiration and experience over
speed and convenience is another strategy being employed by stores in helping
them connect with younger customers and compete with the ‘Amazons’ of this
world.
In this regard, traditional stores can learn a
lot from digital natives — those retailers that started online but that opened
physical outlets. Eyewear retailer Warby Parker is one brand embracing all
things ‘experiential’ at its stores. For example, its recently launched Virtual
Try-On service uses face-mapping technology by Apple to recommend frames that
will best suit a customer’s face.
The company’s novelty factor doesn’t end there.
The fit-out of its new store in Vancouver is designed to resemble a library. As
co-founder and co-CEO Dave Gilboa told the Vancouver
Sun: “We’ve always thought that shopping for eyewear should feel a little
like browsing at a library — leisurely, filled with pleasant surprises, and
better with friends alongside.”
Warby Parker’s strong move into physical and
experiential retail is clearly working, as the company is fast approaching the
opening of its 100th store. It’s making informed decisions too — by using data
from its existing online customer base, it can determine the best locations to
set up shop.
Get
Personal
The market of one concept, whereby consumers
are made feel as though the brand is marketing specifically to them, is one
that helps build brand affinity — either online or in-store. It’s about getting
to know your customer and offering them a deeply personalized service. This
approach enables a physical retailer to engage with shoppers on an emotional
level, something that online retailers often struggle to compete with.
Take Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo as an
example. It uses state-of-the-art technology to help shoppers decide what to
buy based on their response to a range of short videos. After being fitted with
a neuro-headset and shown a series of video stimuli, customers have their
neurological responses analyzed in real time by a custom-built algorithm that
helps identify their current mood and make product recommendations.
The above methods are just some of the
innovative ways being adopted by physical retailers to help them better
understand their customers and provide them with a more informed and enhanced
customer experience — one that is seamless, frictionless, purposeful and
powerful.
The traditional retailer is by no means dead.
But many of the unimaginative brands that fail to redefine the store experience
— in ways that the likes of Sephora, Warby Parker and Uniqlo are — will be left
behind and, ultimately, forced to shut up shop.
Brian
Hannon is Chief Commercial Officer for Voxpro – powered by TELUS International. Hannon is
responsible for growing Voxpro’s business around the world and developing the
services, solutions and teams that address the challenges faced by its
partners. He has extensive experience in growing in evolving markets working in
healthcare, finance and with global tech start-ups. He holds a dual MBA from
London Business School and Columbia University, NYC, where he specialized in
Global Business and Entrepreneurship.