Updates on Boundless Retail: Diversified Shopping Experiences As Differentiator
Editor’s note: This is a follow-up on our Boundless Retail series, in which we examine the current state of retail and try to map out where the industry is heading. In this update, we zoom in on how retailers, both online and off, are revamping the shopping experiences they offer with new store designs and emerging technologies so as to leverage that as a differentiating factor to stay competitive.
Shopping used to be a pretty homogenized experience — you browse the items on display, you pick out the ones you want (sometimes after trying them on) and then you go to the register to pay for what you selected. Sure, the level of attentiveness and assistance that you receive from the salespeople varies depending on where you’re shopping, but by and large, the experience boils down to the same process at its core.
For the most part, the same process has been carbon copied for online shopping. You search for what you want, browse and compare the items available, pick out the ones you want, and then make the purchase. However, with the rise of ecommerce, it is becoming increasingly evident that the online shopping experience can more malleable in focus and design, allowing e-retailers to offer a more flexible, personalized shopping experience. Case in point: Amazon’s data-driven algorithm that recommends related products at checkout is certainly more efficient than a static checkout aisle of candies and gums.
Three Popular Approaches For Physical Retailers
In order to keep up with the competition, some physical retailers are reacting by upgrading and diversifying their in-store experiences to draw customers to their stores. One popular approach that is catching on among brick-and-mortar retailers is to create dedicated in-store spaces for hosting events that match the interests of their clienteles.
Bandier, for example, opened their Fifth Avenue flagship store with a fitness studio upstairs where customers can take yoga, barre, and dance classes for a fee. There is also a lounge space for customers to hang out or attend events the activewear brand occasionally hosts there. Similarly, Nike’s new SoHo flagship store puts experience first by jamming a jogging simulator, a mini-basketball court, and a mini-soccer field into the store so that customers can try out the sneakers of their choice in action.
Perhaps the best example of a retailer that combines the best of the two approaches would be Apple. The spacious, airy design of the Apple Stores does a great job at subconsciously inviting shoppers to hang around and play with the neatly displayed gadgets for as long as they want. In addition, the Cupertino company recently announced “Today at Apple” program, which shoppers access to hands-on educational sessions with artists, photographers, and musicians in Apple Stores around the world. Turning the retail stores into a tech playground and learning center is undoubtedly a great way to add to Apple’s brand equity.
Another approach that’s gaining momentum among brick-and-mortar retailers is to lean in on new digital technologies to create unique interactive experiences in stores. For example, NYX’s flagship NYC retail store utilizes a slew of touch screens and digital installations to guide makeup lovers throughout the store and pick out products. (Disclosure: The Lab is involved in the creation of NYX’s digitally-enhanced shopping experience.) Other cool examples include Lowe’s providing customers with a home renovation lesson in virtual reality and Rebecca Minkoff installing smart mirrors for a faster fitting room experience.
A third popular approach for physical retailers to revamp their in-store experiences is to enlist help from non-retail businesses to open experiential pop-ups, as traditional retailers are starting to realize that products alone aren’t enough to draw in the foot traffic. For example, Nordstrom launched a Style Bar within its beauty department in six select stores, allowing customers to get their hair done while picking out makeup products. Other Nordstrom locations are planned to feature restaurants and cafes so as to give customers a reason to linger and extend their shopping trips. Urban Outfitters is another brand retailer that has been actively testing out mix-use retail spaces like department stores of yore to provide customers a well-rounded experience.
Reinventing The Online Shopping Flow
As brick-and-mortar stores explore the varying approaches to diversify their in-store experiences, some online retailers are also trying out new ways to tweak the traditional “browse-select-purchase” flow and make their shopping experience stand out from the herd.
Phlur, an online-only perfume retailer, came up with an innovative online shopping experience to introduce customers to its product lineup. Landing on its elegantly crafted online store, customers are presented with an engaging digital experience where each perfume is explained with a unique audio-visual narrative supported by curated images and a mood-setting Spotify playlist. Then, customers are instructed to select two from the six Phlur products and have samples sent to their home for $10. If they like the sample and come back to purchase a full bottle, the $10 sample fee will be credited back to the customers.
With the recent rise of chatbots, some brands are also trying to incorporate a conversational element into their online shopping experience. Meal-in-a-bottle substitute maker Soylent has created a virtual assistant named Trish for its online shop to guide customers through the purchase process. Instead of leaving the shoppers to browse the online store by themselves, Trish offers a menu of topics and answers that they can click through to learn more about Soylent and its different product flavors. Once they select a flavor they like, Trish will prompt customers with a question of how many bottles they’d like to purchase and redirect them to the shopping cart for checkout. In China, brands such as Apple and Nike on Alibaba’s Tmall uses bots to greet shoppers and answer generic questions.
Then there are online retailers like Bonobos and Casper that opened physical stores as an experiential offshoot of their online sales channels. For these retailers, the brick-and-mortar stores establish a presence for their brands in high-traffic areas and function primarily as a showroom for customers to try out the products before committing to purchasing them online. This type of real-world experiences integrates a tangible dimension into the online shopper journey and serves to propel conversion by building trust between customers and digital brands.
Retail As A Service
As a popular adage goes: People may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel. The same holds true for retail experiences.
In both sectors, it is clear that winning shopping experience is best positioned as a customizable, frictionless service that offers true convenience and value for shoppers. Amazon Go, a cashier-less convenience store concept from the ecommerce giant, is a good blueprint for the kind of seamless, “pick-up-and-walk-out” model that grocery and CPG retail is evolving towards. But that does not really apply to all retailers. Sometimes, people don’t necessarily know exactly what they want when they walk into a store or land on an online store, or perhaps only have a vague idea of what they want to get. This is where the on-site customer service, human or digital, steps in and offer their help and suggestions.
The bottom line here is that there are so much more retailers can do to better serve their customers. While it may be hard for most physical retailers to match the logistical prowess of Amazon and Walmart, at the end of the day, the convenience of fast-shipping and on-demand delivery is but a part of bigger the shopping experience puzzle. Retailers can learn from American Girl, which started offering on-site doll customizations for kids, to bring more options of personalization into their stores. Or, they can take a page out of Hermès’ playbook and turn post-sale service into a unique experience. Last year, the luxury fashion brand tested a series of pop-up laundromats for cleaning and dyeing Hermès silk scarves for gratis.
As a popular adage goes: People may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel. The same holds true for retail experiences — they may eventually forget what they bought, but they will never forget how you make their shopping trips feel. And how to make customers feel good while they shop requires retailers to think beyond the confines of traditional shopping experiences and leverage new digital tools to provide an engaging and efficient experience.
