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9 Making it real.
It goes without saying that shopping extends This new reality is that all retail brands must undergo Meeting the barest minimum of customer
beyond our basic human need for material goods. a complete transformation in order to bridge the expectationsproviding easy access to inventory on
Its intertwined with our identities, our traditions, gaping divide between their digital and physical any device or the ability to pick up and return items
our patriotism, and more recently, our ethics. Its entities. And that means moving away from channel- in store, for exampleis enough to get retailers on
been called a pastime, a therapy, an art, and even based initiatives toward an experience-first approach the playing field. But to win, they must go beyond the
an addiction. Plainly stated, theres no shortage of that keeps customers engaged as they move from basics and use experience-first strategies that leave
shoppers, nor reasons they freely cite to justify their device to store and back again. no open spaces between awareness and conversion.
spending.
Blending the best elements of digitalsuch as The five best practices within this guide can help
But since the dawn of e-commerce, retailers have mobile and social channels and personalisation retailers to become experience-led businesses.
been forced into a state of constant reinvention to with those offered by physical spaces delivers huge That means not only blending digital and physical
keep customers coming back to their brands. From opportunities for retailers to set themselves apart channels into a fully connected customer journey,
managing, monetising and optimising new channels in a world full of so much virtual choice. But the but also building experiences around the customer in
to outmanoeuvring digital competitors, the learning transformation process can seem overwhelming. ways that put their needs and wants front and centre.
curve has been steep, to say the least. Retailers know they need to unify their channels into
simple, frictionless experiences that answer every
The lessons are certainly paying off. Today, question, but most are struggling to do so.
e-commerce channels are earning more revenue
for retailers than ever. Yet some of the worlds most
recognisable brands are starting to close select store
frontshighlighting the fact that online gains arent
enough to sustain even the most rock-solid retail
giants.
Many retailers have recognised this channel interdependency and have turned
their websites into digital showrooms designed to entice customers into their stores.
However, many of their strategies are still too focused on the purchase as the main
activity and dont give enough attention to the activities along the path that lead
shoppers to conversion.10
But because devices dont buy products, and people do, marketers need to shift
from selling products toward selling experiences.11
Advances in multi-event optimisation have already started helping some large brands do just that. While
testing is certainly not a new concept, the tools and data science marketers have today allow them to create Not all channels are created equal.
experiences that are much more personalised. Marketers can flag an eventlike a discount offer attached
to an abandoned cart email or a coupon in a seasonal direct mail catalogue and then track that event over a For example, a majority of customers63 per cent
series of interactions and determine whether it influenced the customers behaviour. prefer mobile web to mobile apps when interacting
with retailers. So, before deciding on a mobile app
strategy, a brand needs to understand what value
their app can offer a customer and how to approach a
Using todays customer behaviour to inform design that will make the experience better.
tomorrows touchpoints. Also, more often than not, mobile customers search
Lets say a customer decides to take up the guitar and picks up a new Fender at a local music store. That for products on aggregator sites like Amazon or eBay
customer may engage in a series of four to five conversions over the next year: maybe an amp, then a case, (70 per cent) rather than a retailer owned site
or new picks and strings. By understanding this progression through multi-event optimisation, marketers can (30 per cent). And when using their phones to aid in
accelerate the process by reaching out at the right time with experiences that profoundly affect purchases the shopping experience, their main objectives are
two to five. finding prices, store hours and available inventory.
Understanding how customers interact through
Connecting micro-moments to deliver content in a meaningful way all comes down to how well marketers digital channels can help retail marketers make their
can understand and anticipate their customers needs and interests and manage these new moments of omnichannel to-do lists much more manageable.13
truth by interacting when the customer is most receptive.12
Sport Chek, a large Canadian retailer, has made huge strides in differentiating their
brand and customer experience by staffing their stores with knowledgeable experts Check additional store inventory.
59%
who help accelerate the customer journey.
At their flagship store, all 225 members of the floor staff specialise in at least one
particular sport, providing expertise that instils confidence in customers when
making buying decisions.19 And what staff members dont know offhand is easily Look up inventory at a nearby store.
55%
accessed on tablets loaded with vendor content that can also be shared with
customers on larger screens throughout the store.20
You can order shoes from 150 retailers online, but [meeting with associates] brings
Provide basic information such as return
advice and validation to the table, says Paul Reid, VP of store operations at Sport 47% policy or warranty information.
Chek.21
At Amazons first experimental store in Seattle, customers are not only invited to
experience books, but they can also try electronics like Amazon Echo and the latest
Kindle, giving them more confidence in products before buying online.26
And although the store obviously carries fewer titles than the websiteabout 5,000
as opposed to millions available onlinemerchandising and loyalty data collected
online informs their in-store product selection strategy, letting them offer titles that
will appeal most to Seattle area shoppers. Were taking the data we have and were
creating physical spaces with it, says Jennifer Cast, VP of Amazon Books.27
While making products more readily available makes shopping much easier,
delivering effortless experiences isnt just about connecting customers with their
purchases. Its also about simplifying their buying decisions.
In a well-cited study, researchers asked food demonstrators to set up a table from which customers could sample
24 varieties of jam. Each customer who sampled the jam was given a US$1 coupon toward their purchase of a jar. Within the 75,000 square feet of their flagship
On a different day, customers were offered samples from only six varieties and were again provided with the store, Sport Chek offers a blend of e-commerce,
dollar-off coupon. Researchers found that the shoppers who were presented with only six options were more touchscreen tech and in-store sales to ease shoppers
likely to follow through with a jam purchase.28 through their journeys.
Many online retailers with inventories that contain millions of products use data-driven product organisation For instance, customers can swipe the RFID tag or bar
to present customers with items that are relevant to them in the moment. This approach allows customers to code on one of the stores 400 sneakers to quickly
consider several items at once without feeling overwhelmed, adding to a truly effortless shopping experience. call up the products description, price and availability.
Conversely, even a small percentage of what other retailers display can derail the entire shopping experience.29 And once theyve added an item to their physical
cart, they have the option of completing the purchase
through the checkout line or on their own mobile
devices.
Location. Location. Location.
After extending these digital capabilities, along with
Improper placement of products can impact sales in-store as well. Jewellery chain Alex and Ani uses Bluetooth several others, to their physical locations, Sport Chek
sensors to track customer movement within physical stores, similar to heat mapping, so the merchandising team saw a 20 per cent boost in third-quarter profit, from
can see where customers are getting hung up and adjust the organisation of their products to make shopping US$172 million in 2014 to US$199.7 million in 2015. 31
easier. 30
AR and VR are great examples of how consumer technology and adoption forces
retail to adjust and adopt, says Gary Hawkins, CEO of the Center for Advancing
Retail and Technology. Retailers need to be watching very closely because when
VR hits the market adoption tipping point, its going to go fast, and shoppers will be
expecting to shop from home with an experience very akin to what they have in
the store.35
SapientNitro, in partnership with virtual reality studio Wevr and New York boutique
The Apartment by The Line, created quite a buzz with their recent venture into the
world of VR retail. Their demo shows how one day, shoppers will be able to have a
brick-and-mortar experience without ever leaving home.
While they are in the experience, eye movement and focus control the view,
allowing shoppers to move into adjoining rooms and turn 360 degrees to see all of
the stores displays and sale items. Focusing on an item prompts a pleasant female
voice to relay product details, such as the maker, materials used, or even a brand
story. From there, adding the item to the cart is as easy as tapping the headset. 36
At the end of the day, customers just want to shop. They dont care, or even think, Experience-first means making it possible for customers to continue their journeys
about channels or devices or the customer journey. They want to explore, find from mobile device to in-store, extending digital channels into brick-and-mortar
what they want, buy it, and start enjoying it as soon as possible. The only role of locations. And connecting real-time micro-moments along the way. It means
the retailer, as the customer sees it, is to provide shopping experiences that are as leveraging beacon, RFID and Bluetooth technologies that make it easy for customers
effortless and enjoyable as possible. to discover and purchase products, or even simply giving customers the ability to
seamlessly order online and pick up in-store.
Putting shoppers at the centre of everything with an experience-first strategy will
place retailers in a position to win over and keep their customers, simply by giving It means implementing the right in-store technologies that transform shop assistants
them what they wantan amazing experience with unexpected value. into knowledgeable and trusted experts who can help customers explore products
more easily and streamline their path to purchasewhile still connecting with them
Adopting an experience-first approach means that retailers are no longer offering on a human level.
products in a vacuum, but creating story-driven, in-store contexts that emotionally
resonate with customers and that help them visualise what products make possible. Retailers who adopt this approach will win. And those who dont will start closing
their doors for good.
4 Gary Lee, Why Retailers Need to Reinvest in the In-store Experience, 19 Christopher Reynolds, Sport Chek Blends Physical and Digital with New 33 Reinventing Customer Engagement with Experience-driven Commerce.
CMO.com, 9 July 2015. Square One Store, Thestar.com, 9 November 2015.
34 James Rogers, Macy's Harnesses IBM's Watson Supercomputer to Help
5 Chris Isidore, Sports Authority to close all remaining stores, CNN Money, 20 Sport Chek Changes the Game with Retail Lab in Toronto, FGL Sports Ltd., Shoppers, Fox News, 20 July 2016.
18 May 2016. press release, 28 January 2013.
35 Chantal Lode, Are Retailer's Ready for Shift to Virtual Reality Shopping?
6 Michael Klein, Suhcarita Mulpuru, and Dave Finnegan, Retail Super Session, 21 Sport Chek Blends Physical and Digital with New Square One Store. Luxury Daily, 26 April 2016.
Adobe Summit, March 2016.
22 Jim Bassett, Reinventing Customer Engagement with Experience-driven 36 Retail Super Session.
7 Maria Halkias, Neiman Marcus Shuffles Execs to Merge Stores and Online Commerce, S824, Adobe Summit, March 2016.
into a Single Team, the Dallas Morning News, 9 June 2014.
23 Argos goes Underground, Transport for London, November 2014.
8 Retail Super Session.
24 Reinventing Customer Engagement with Experience-driven Commerce.
9 Ibid.
25 Fast and free is now even faster, Amazon.com, www.Amazon.com./
10 Why Retailers Need to Reinvest in the In-store Experience. b?node=8729023011.
11 Brad Rencher, Day Two Keynote, Adobe Summit, March 2016. 26 Alexandra Alter and Nick Wingfield, A Trip Through Amazon's First Physical
Stores, New York Times, 10 March 2016.
12 Errol Denger, Reinventing Customer Engagement with Experience-driven
Commerce, S824, Adobe Summit, March 2016. 27 Jay Greene, Amazon Opening Its First Real Bookstore --at U-Village, the
Seattle Times, 2 November 2016.
13 Retail Super Session.
28 Barry Schwartz, More Isn't Always Better, Harvard Business Review,
14 Florence Fabricant, Times Square Wakes Up to a Restaurant From Kelloggs, June 2006.
New York Times, 5 July 2016.
29 Retail Super Session.