‘In Real Life’ is the Next Frontier of E-Commerce — And Brick-and-Mortar
With many traditional brick-and-mortar retailers struggling in the new era of retail, online-first retailers such as Warby Parker and even Amazon have become increasingly invested in getting into the physical store game.
These retailers and others like them have mastered the art of getting visitors’ attention online within two to three seconds, keeping it once they’ve got it, making it all about the customer from arrival to checkout, learning as much about the customer as possible along the way, and continuing the conversation well beyond their visit. Yet, they realize there are still three things standing between them and their customers: physical space, a human connection, and coveted in-store/in-person data.
The natural next frontier for these retailers is "in real life," and it is allowing them to move effortlessly between online and offline. At the same time, traditional retailers are taking note and realizing there’s a lot online can teach them about offline.
Here are some early signs of online’s influence in the physical space:
Retailers are transforming their physical space into experience space.
To the online retailer, determining what to do with time and space is easy: create memorable experiences. This is in contrast to traditional retailers, many who have historically filled the gap between the customer walking in and out of the door with...practically nothing. Their disproportionate emphasis on the transaction has overshadowed any opportunity for personal interaction.
Retailers like Athleta are taking this insight to heart. The athletic clothing brand continues to offer free high-end fitness classes at its Flatiron location in NYC. Capitalizing on the boutique fitness craze, Athleta drives customers into its store by providing relevant, enjoyable experiences that people can’t get elsewhere, especially online.
Stores are introducing technology that makes shopping an event, rather than a chore.
Online retailers have had to solve many problems that are a function of not having a physical presence. Some of their solutions have been so good that they’re translating to the offline experience, too. Digital fitting rooms, for instance, are helping customers find clothes that fit right on the very first try. These kinds of in-person conveniences may encourage customers to buy, but more importantly, they create longer-lasting value that makes visitors want to come back.
In-person retailers are getting serious about personalizing the customer journey.
It’s only logical that whatever personalization shoppers get online should be exceeded by the personalization they get in person. And yet, the current reality is that in-person shopping is an anonymous experience devoid of even the most basic personalization. While the experience is what makes customers enjoy being there; personalization is what makes customers feel valued when they are.
Melissa Shoes is combining these two things by providing an in-store digital experience where customers’ interaction directly influences opportunities for ongoing personalization. The retailer has set up interactive social displays that encourage store visitors to take pictures of their favorite in-store looks, and then turn their images into social and printed content.
In addition, shoppers can also view digitized look books and virtually send their favorite styles to friends and family. Along the way, visitors answer questions about themselves and their preferences, so that the next time they walk through the front door, Melissa Shoes staff can move beyond the vague, “can I help you?” and instead tailor the customer’s experience to what they already know about her and her preferences.
Savvy retailers heart macro- and micro-influencers.
Gone are the days when brands looked only to celebrities and high-profile social media influencers to spread the word about their wares. This year is the dawn of the micro-influencer: social media users who have relatively smaller audiences but are influential within their respective circles. And, bonus, they legitimately like the brand.
In-Real-Life stores provide a far better backdrop for influencers to influence than online could ever dream of. By pairing meaningful in-person experiences with fodder that encourages visitors to drop everything and let their followers know what’s up, retailers are proactively converting everyday in-store visits into social media currency for influencers of all shapes and followings.
Encouraging customers to use geotags, hashtags and/or the brand’s name in posts not only leads audiences back to the brand, but also lets the retailer keep track of their posts and determine which had the most engagement. Knowing this, the retailer can consider introducing more formal collaborations with the fans behind these high-performing posts.
Customer data makes the customer experience better.
Online retailers live and die by their data, yet when it comes to knowing what their customers are like offline, they’ve got a major knowledge gap. Ironically, many brick and mortar retailers suffer from the same lack of information about their in-store customers. That’s why brands have begun to introduce data collection components to their in-store experiences.
As technology evolves and online and offline are formally integrated, data collection will be more like data transfer, where an online retailer’s knowledge will be immediately available to its offline counterpart, and vice versa. Until then, retailers will continue to use tech-enabled, but still manual, approaches like loyalty reward program sign-ups, competitions, surveys tied to experiences, and customers’ transaction histories, to learn more about them.
Independent of how they get it, data is crucial for retailers’ ongoing marketing and sales efforts. It’s what allows online brands to continually evolve the customer experience online, and more and more, it will be what lets retailers evolve the customer experience in-store.
Offline and online retailers face different challenges, but have very similar goals. By taking the best of both worlds and applying it to the customer experience, retailers can begin to make brick-and-mortar shopping the next big thing.