Embracing technology to make shopping fun again
Deb Bee, Group Marketing & Creative Director, Harvey Nichols
Drawing parallels between the 70s teenage shopper, and the typical millennials’ predominately online-only experience today, the decline of the modern high-street shopping experience was the theme of Harvey Nichols’ presentation.
Over the past three decades, the British consumer has lost trust in high street, with brands not living up to what they should be doing, leading to a decline in footfall as consumers turn to online. Yet, with customers also lacking the authentic shopping experience by opening a generic cardboard box when it arrives at the doorstep, the key to reviving the shopping experience, is therefore, to engage the consumer via ‘real’ experiences, to make shopping fun again, and rebuild brand trust.
Embracing technology, and using it to assist human interaction, as opposed to replacing it, is one way retailers can link the digital world with bricks and mortar retail. People still appreciate the joy of human interaction, and technology should be used for what it’s good at to enhance this interaction and the retail experience. Gathering data in an effort to better understand your customer to deliver relevant and authentic shopping experiences, and better communicate with them through innovative media channels, are examples of how the future of tech can help in putting the fun back into the shopping experience.
