Adapting to equip small businesses for the future of retail
The following is a guest post written by Ika Rodriguez from ChatGenie, an organization that enables businesses to sell inside the world’s biggest apps.
The in-store retail experience is changing
When cities locked down and businesses needed to digitalize during the pandemic, our ChatGenie In-App Commerce platform was the tool to modernize Filipino micro- and small businesses. Times are changing once again with the resurgence of in-store shopping and the declining growth of online sales, so staying flexible in our approach has allowed us to serve our merchants better. This year, our focus has shifted offline to our In-Store Commerce use cases. In-Store Commerce is ChatGenie’s hybrid retail solution that brings together the convenience and value of online commerce and the familiarity of in-person shopping. Based on a June 2022 report by Rakuten Insight, 69% of respondents in the Philippines stated that they would stop shopping online because they prefer shopping in a physical store. When our founders noticed the shift from online sales to in-person shopping late last year, they saw the potential of using the ChatGenie platform to enable customers to create preorders, pay for transactions, and pick up orders themselves, merging online and offline retail experiences.
Our visit to Bangkok in November 2022 was particularly insightful in this regard. When our founders visited the city, they saw how common the merging of digital and offline worlds already was, further proving our case. While the cashless economy has a foothold in the Philippines, there is still much to be developed in regard to the omnichannel sales experience locally with use cases like this still lacking in most establishments. The majority of local businesses in Bangkok offer at least one form of digital in-store commerce, from scan-to-order QR codes to scan-to-redeem vouchers available via messaging platforms or banking superapps. Having seen this firsthand, there is an opportunity to innovate and digitalize the retail experience for customers, making it more seamless in the Philippines.
Micro- and small businesses are no longer bound by the same expectations of in-person commerce prior to the pandemic. Having seen the convenience and ease of online shopping in the wake of the lockdowns, customers want more from their physical retail experiences.
Merchants also benefit from offering ChatGenie In-Store Commerce by gaining more customer insights from collectible customer and transaction data like emails, full names, and mobile numbers. They can use these insights to nurture their customer base with email marketing, offer exclusive promos catering to customers’ interests, give early access to specific product launches, and more.
ChatGenie’s take on In-Store Commerce is rooted in three use cases: Scan-to-Order, Scan-to-Redeem, and Scan-to-Get-Exclusives.
- Scan-to-Order makes it possible for users to touch, see, and feel a product before purchasing while still getting the convenience of online shopping. After scanning a QR code, users are then taken to an in-app storefront where they can purchase their chosen product with just a few taps. Users can also preorder products and collect their purchase in store.
- Scan-to-Redeem provides users access to vouchers and promotional offers available only to In-Store Commerce users.
- Scan-to-Get-Exclusives gives users access to special products and collections, such as off-the-menu items or limited edition lines.
Last year, ChatGenie piloted these use cases to learn how we can maximize them. Small businesses were able to offer seamless preorders via Scan-to-Order and exclusive promos to customers who made purchases via ChatGenie’s platform at Globe Telecom’s G Music Festival and the Gift Local bazaar. During this pilot, we learned that customers were excited to access convenient preorder processes, use contactless payment methods, and redeem exclusive offers. However, we also noticed that promoters are vital to encourage customers to use In-Store Commerce due to its novelty in the market. To make transactions as efficient as possible, merchants and their staff need at least a month to ease into the system. We also learned that QR code visibility and accessibility are vital to facilitate successful contactless transactions from start to finish.
Partnering with Strive Community enables us to fine-tune these use cases and promote them through various channels, providing more value and helping our small-business users succeed in an evolving market. To further drive product adoption, we have created a dedicated space for In-Store Commerce in the ChatGenie Dashboard: Smart Retail. This allows merchants to easily create the QR codes needed for In-Store Commerce and view data, such as scans and orders received from each code. The response has been enthusiastic so far, and we are working on collaborating with a mobile wallet to further refine the customer experience. Investing in customer education has also been a priority for us, since smart retail is still new to the Philippines. We are collaborating with our partners to further boost In-Store Commerce and create more awareness among the retail community.
Flexibility in business is crucial — being able to adjust our approach based on market trends and user needs has allowed us to stay relevant and competitive. In-Store Commerce is more than just a passing fad, it is the future of retail, and we will continue to invest in its development to power small businesses in the near future.
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