Let’s Get Personal
A friend of mine is a devoted customer of a bath and body products shop in her local suburban town. There is nothing exclusive about the merchandise — most of the products can be bought online or at a number of other stores, often for a slightly lower price. My friend doesn’t care about any of that.
“They know me there by name, and they know what I like,” she told me. “They even email when new products come in that they think I would like. So what if it’s a little more expensive? I don’t mind paying a little extra for personal service.”
My friend is not alone in the premium she places on personal service. Even in a digital age — or maybe especially in a digital age — consumers are hungry for it. Of course, small, one-off shops have always had a built-in advantage when it comes to building one-on-one relationships with shoppers. But advancements in technology and business analytics have leveled the playing field, providing retailers across the board with opportunities to speak directly to the shopper. Those opportunities also bring with them some challenges, a theme that is explored in our annual State of the Industry Report, the centerpiece of this issue.
Prepared by Interbrand Design Forum, the report is entitled “Retail Gets Personal,” and it makes a strong case for the importance of truly knowing the customer in a retail landscape where shoppers are just as likely — or, in some instances, even more likely — to go to an online aggregate site as they are a traditional retailer.
The report also offers valuable insight as to how brands can capitalize on the personal services trend. And as consumers grow increasingly concerned about privacy violations, it offers critical advice on how a retailer can use technology to provide a better shopping experience and improve overall performance without disturbing — or creeping out — customers.
And if you’re wondering why Tory Burch is so hot, don’t miss the report’s annual review of brands to watch — and those in need of some help. And look for bonus coverage of more hot and cold brands online at chainstoreage.com/soibonus14.
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As the Annual State of the Industry Report makes clear, physical stores are still the heart and soul of retail. A recent survey and study by A.T. Kearney, “On Solid Ground: Brick-and-Mortar is the Foundation of Omnichannel Retailing,” drives home the point in bottom-line terms: Ninety percent of all retail sales are transacted in retail stores, and 95% of all retail sales are captured by retailers with a brick-and-mortar presence. Even online sales are influenced by offline retail: Two-thirds of consumers who purchase online use the store before or after the transaction.
But nothing illustrates the importance of stores in a digital age as much as the number of upstart online retailers that are opening and investing in physical stores. This issue highlights two of them, featuring an interview with the 26-year-old co-founder and CEO of custom-tailored menswear retailer Blank Label, and a look at the brick-and-mortar debut of beauty subscription company Birchbox.
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