What’s powering next-gen commerce experiences?
It’s a profound and weighty question to ask, especially with so many technologies evolving so quickly. During the Retail Innovation Conference & Expo, executives from ShopSimon (formerly Shop Premium Outlets), Rebag and Sune shared their answers by delving into the technologies and strategies driving their companies’ priorities.
Video Commerce Finds its Place in the Shopping Journey
Over the years, ecommerce capabilities have become more advanced, making it “such a boon for the speed and transactional side” of shopping, according to Brian Beitler, Founder of Sune. In fact, that was the value prop for sites like Amazon: shoppers could find exactly what they wanted, quickly and easily. But there is still so much to be desired on the entertainment side, which is where brick-and-mortar continues to shine.
“Obviously, we all love [ecommerce], because there are times when I just need an item now, but it loses a little bit of humanity,” Beitler explained. He started Sune to close this humanity gap and create a personal experience through live shopping: “Our whole goal was to make it more personal. If you think about Instagram, it sometimes isolates us, but it also brings us together in a new way, and it makes everything personal.”
Sune not only taps into the digital scale of platforms like Instagram, but also the human touch of shopping-centric TV networks like QVC. “Our goal is to reinvent that [QVC experience] right on small screens and in different places, where you can bring the personal side and the human side together,” Beitler said.
The Sune app provides a video-driven, mobile-first shopping experience where shoppers can discover, browse and buy items from artisans who offer everything from home décor to jewelry and skincare. “An app is a very difficult way to launch a commerce business, by the way,” Beitler admitted. “You have to convince people to not only download, but also use the app. But the good thing about this platform environment is you have all of this first-party data on everybody visiting the app over time, which enables us to make our case sooner.”
A powerful combination of high-impact content, video and personalization, Sune “brings the craft fair to your pocket,” Beitler said. “It’s that experience of wandering and serendipitously discovering, but it’s all in your pocket.”
Personalization Takes the Pain Out of Bargain Shopping
Like Sune, ShopSimon relies on personalization to create an online shopping experience that simultaneously surprises, delights and serves customers based on their distinct needs. And with such a vast target audience that spans 14 to 65 years old, the ShopSimon team needs to “nail that person down,” according to Kelly Cahill, VP of Marketing for ShopSimon.
“We’re a younger company, about five years old, but we do go kind of old school, collecting the data right from our consumers,” Cahill said. “We use our Rewards program profile to see what people are interested in. We also use AI to do a style quiz and collect information about that consumer.”
These insights are especially helpful because ShopSimon has such a diverse range of brands. “We have more than a million products on our site, so you can imagine what a diverse cart could look like from a typical consumer,” Cahill said. “Using data and even lookalikes to understand and show things consumers could be interested in is a big opportunity. We want to show what they already know they want, as well as what they don’t know they want.”
Gen Z is an especially critical target for ShopSimon, so the company has made several investments to ensure the digital experience aligns with their wants, needs and expectations. “We’re a part of Simon Malls, so we also wanted to know how that physical mall experience looks and how it has been connected to their [mobile] devices,” Cahill said. “The mall isn’t dead, but technology is shaping and influencing their purchase decisions.
“What we learned is that [these consumers] are in a constant state of evaluation. In fact, I think we all are,” Cahill added. “How many shopping carts do we have with five or 10 items? And then you remember how many tabs are open [on your device]. What will make them pull the trigger and not forget about you?”
To remain top-of-mind throughout this incredibly scattered and sporadic buying journey, ShopSimon is looking at technologies to remind consumers and activate engagement. While SMS is a tried-and-true way to “trigger” a reminder about items in a shopping cart, the company is aiming to diversify this outreach so that it’s more tied to productive habits and proactive engagement, not push messaging.
Another way ShopSimon creates a more personal and streamlined experience is offering different payment options. “A lot of that generation doesn’t have credit cards, and they’re looking at different ways to use debit cards,” Cahill explained. “We now use a cash, debit and rewards point vendor to try and attract more Gen Z and encourage them at that pivotal moment to purchase and get rewarded in a different way — through cash back or points that they can use on our site.”
Physical Retail Brings Rebag Digital Innovation to the Next Level
Rebag is a digital business by design — and it has invested heavily in digital tools and innovations to differentiate itself from other luxury recommerce players. But as the company has grown and matured, physical environments have helped bring the browsing and buying experience to the next level.
“We’re entering a world where the store is becoming a place where people still want to interact in a unique way that is separate from digital,” said Geronimo Chala, Chief Client Officer at Rebag. “And I think the world of physical retail is going to be faced with challenges if retailers don’t start to think of innovative ways that consumers can shop the product.”
By that, Chala means offering distinct services and experiences that consumers can’t find online, like Lululemon’s in-store trade-in program or Coach’s accessory customization services. Or retailers can incorporate hospitality or wellness services that complement the shopping experience, but don’t enforce a purchase.
“We have a lot of people, like big hotel chains, coming to us and saying they want to sell vintage products there because customers are on a vacation, they’re hanging out, relaxing and want to do a little bit of shopping,” Chala said. “How do you take that into more traditional malls, so it’s not just about going from shop to shop?”
Recently, Rebag announced a partnership with Bloomingdale’s that would bring 3,000+ luxury items from the company online and into stores. Although this “curated experience” is in only five Bloomingdale’s stores nationwide, it’s a central component of the partnership, because Bloomingdale’s customers can not only browse a curated assortment of fine luxury goods but also bring in their own pre-loved products to be assessed. Associates can use Rebag’s proprietary AI tool, CLAIR, to make offers and guide customers through the journey so they can find a new luxury item to take home.
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