the brave new world of brick-and-mortar: connecting devices and data to create the store of the...
TRANSCRIPT
Webinar Brief
THE BRAVE NEW WORLD OF BRICK-AND-MORTAR: CONNECTING DEVICES AND DATA TO CREATE THE STORE OF THE FUTURE
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79% of adults are connected to their smartphones up to 22 hours a day.
- IDC Research
Introduction The primary goal for any retailer is to understand customer behaviors and tailor marketing campaigns, messages and experiences to these preferences.
But over the last few years, shopping behaviors have evolved faster than ever before — largely due to the rapid adoption of new technology.
Of all disruptive tools and technologies, smartphones have had the most significant impact on the retail industry. After all, 79% of adults are connected up to 22 hours a day, according to IDC Research. While many smartphone users tap into their devices to send text messages, check emails and make phone calls, they also are using their devices to research products, look up store information and, ultimately, make purchases.
Most consumers today leverage their mobile devices to compare prices and items while in a store. With Interactions research indicating that the majority (76%) of consumers frequently conduct these showrooming behaviors, it is easy for retailers to see mobility as a threat. However, the retailers who embrace mobile and other cutting-edge technologies will be the ones that come out on top.
During the webinar, titled: Connecting Devices And Data To Create The Store Of The Future, Laura Davis-Taylor, EVP of Customer Experience at MaxMedia, and Randy Davidson, Solution Architect for Retail Solutions at UXC Eclipse, discussed which technologies will be shaking up the future of brick-and-mortar, including:
• Mobile
• Interactive touch screens
• Social networks
• RFID
• Beacons
• Advanced payment solutions
Regardless of the technology implemented in stores, retailers need to ensure that it either helps resolve friction or creates “happy speed bumps” that are unique to their brand and create strong customer sentiment. According to Davis-Taylor, “you never want to make technology mandatory; you want to make it fit seamlessly into the experience.”
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Putting Customers At The Center Of Technology InvestmentsTechnology undoubtedly has changed the ways people consume media, research and purchase products, digest content and connect with each other. However, 94% of retail sales still take place in brick-and-mortar stores, according to eMarketer research.
“As people, we have gone to shopping venues since the dawn of time,” Davis-Taylor noted. “We love to shop and we love to interact with each other. And as retailers, the store is the only outlet where we can create these multi-sensory experiences and deliver on our brand promises.”
The basic needs of shoppers have not changed. Consumers are still seeking the right product at the right price and want their favorite brands and retailers to align with their core values. Davis-Taylor noted that consumers want the shopping experience to be seamless.
“Although shopping has become significantly easier online, there is plenty of room to improve in-store.”
Supporting this point, Davis-Taylor explained that retailers used to tailor their strategies based on a standard purchase path. “But the notion of the purchase path is very different today. It’s now based on what’s happening in the moment, and it’s a new story every time.”
Technology can help retailers better serve and engage with customers, regardless of their goals, preferences and past interactions. But before building and executing new brick-and-mortar strategies, retailers need to build a strong foundation based on core human behaviors. They need to ask why shoppers are using technology in the first place and what they are looking to accomplish with it.
“Because of mobile and other new tools, our shoppers can be in more control and feel more comfortable with where they are in the decision-making process,” Davis-Taylor said. “They can be more confident.”
The notion of the purchase path is very different today. It’s now based on what’s happening in the moment, and it’s a new story every time.
- Laura Davis-Taylor, MaxMedia
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By using a wide-angle lens, retailers can better understand what makes their customers tick and recognize the following:
√ Who the customer is
√ Where the customer is at
√ What the customer is trying to solve
√ What the customer’s technographic profile is
√ How much time the customer has to shop
√ What the customer’s budget is
Then, retailers need to audit behavior patterns and friction points by asking the following questions:
√ What are the goals for the shopping experience?
√ What are the current shopping behaviors?
√ Where is the customer experiencing some kind of friction?
√ How do we reach the customer and where?
√ What kind of experiences should we create?
√ How should we prioritize the customer?
Because not all technologies and experiences drive the same business results, Davis-Taylor noted “this is a good way to get everyone around the table and wear their empathy hats. If you start with [the consumer], you have a better likelihood of putting something in front of her that’s incredibly useful.”
However, it also is important that retailers stay authentic with their technology investments by creating experiences that are valuable to consumers and are consistent with the brand story.
“Authentic and emotive stories build relationships,” Davis-Taylor shared. She used Burberry as an example of a brand that uses in-store technology as a platform to make the brand experience more unique and compelling, but still speaks to consumers in a direct, personable and intimate way.
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The Connected Retail ToolboxThere is no silver bullet solution for building a highly compelling and connected store experience. Yet there is a plethora of tools and technologies available that can help brands and retailers craft a store that aligns with their brand story and promise, and exceeds customer expectations.
The new, connected retail toolbox includes:
• Mobile: Over the past few years, mobile has become the ultimate shopping connector, according to Davis-Taylor. “Five years ago, we were limited in what we could do based on device function,” she said. “We used to reach into a cloud, but now we’re at a place where we’re living in the cloud.”
• Beacons: Beacons can provide retailers with a wealth of data that helps them engage with shoppers in a more timely and granular fashion. “You can hone in on someone in a particular area of the store and speak to them in a relevant way,” Davis-Taylor explained. “But it can turn bad if you think about it as taking control of the shopper experience. Instead, think about beacons as a way to service customers better. If that beacon was a concierge, what would you do with it?”
• Smart surfaces: Davis-Taylor discussed smart shelves powered by NFC chips, but she focused primarily on smart watches and new commerce and the marketing opportunities retailers may have if they embrace these devices. “The notion of the physical cookie comes to mind,” she said. “You can control your level of intimacy you have with a store.”
• RFID: Chips are more affordable, ubiquitous and powerful, Davis-Taylor noted. Disney is one company using RFID chips to reduce friction and personalize experiences in parks. “Everything they do is seamless. They know who you are, where you are and what your preferences are.”
• Touch screens and augmented reality: In Rebecca Minkoff’s New York City store, touch screens empower consumers to interact with products, access outfit recommendations and connect with store associates. This case of augmented reality should encourage retailers to “think of how they can use this technology to change the notion of how we shop.”
Traditionally, the POS has solely been transactional. Although you can access a lot of information from a standard POS device, you can’t engage someone in the same capacity as with a mobile device.
- Randy Davidson, UXC Eclipse
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• Smart stores and contextual content: Consumers have access to branded and personalized content through responsive screens. A smart store, however, “can be a responsive store, so every consumer experience can be manifested by smart content,” Davis-Taylor said. For example, imagine an apparel retailer serving universal content to everyone on the store floor, but the closer a consumer gets to the shelf, the more curated the experience gets.
• Advanced POS: While consumers still value the brick-and-mortar experience, they still hate waiting in lines. Retailers can adopt new technology to reduce this pain. For example, mobile POS can empower associates to not only complete transactions anywhere within a store, but also help them better connect with shoppers, according to Davidson. “Traditionally, the POS has solely been transactional,” he said. “Although you can access a lot of information from a standard POS device, you can’t engage someone in the same capacity as with a mobile device.” However, it is not just about taking a traditional POS and making it accessible on mobile hardware. Retailers need to make relevant
customer, brand and product data available to associates as they use these devices. “Consumers know we have information about their shopping habits and preferences,” Davidson said. “Retailers need to make that information available to everyone.”
• Social stores: “Social is woefully under-represented in retail,” Davis-Taylor shared. “That’s due to the legacy fear of ‘If we let people connect with each other, will we lose control?’” However, best-in-class retailers such as Nordstrom are embracing social media as a way to inspire and excite customers in the store. The department store retailer uses signage to promote “most-pinned” items on Pinterest. Whole Foods also has social screens in its Alpharetta, Georgia store to promote images and content generated by local farms.
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Building Customer Relationships With Social ListeningShoppers are tapping into social networks to connect with their friends, like-minded peers and even brands and retailers. Clearly, it is vital that retailers track consumer feedback across Facebook, Twitter and other social networks and respond to questions and comments in a timely fashion. Organizations also need to track conversations that mention them, but may not be directed towards them, Davidson noted. Retailers can optimize social listening by tracking:
• What customers are saying
• Where the conversation is taking place
• Why they are sharing this feedback
• When it happened
• How to best engage with the customer and address the situation
“You may not be on social all the time but your customers are,” Davidson said. “It isn’t about just having a Facebook page to get likes and comments, or tweeting information about new promotions. It’s about getting involved in the conversation and understanding what the experience means to the customer.”
It isn’t about just having a Facebook page to get likes and comments, or tweeting information about new promotions. It’s about getting involved in the conversation and understanding what the experience means to the customer.
- Randy Davidson, UXC Eclipse
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Refining And Optimizing The New Store ExperienceOnce technology is deployed in-store, retailers need to consistently track and measure consumer response, and then react and revise their strategies.
“Technology is digital, and digital has been embraced because it’s measurable,” Davis-Taylor noted. “If something is not resonating, change it. Then after you change it, watch and respond again. This is agile marketing and it is marketing as we know it.”
Retailers can measure the effectiveness of their in-store experiences by focusing on three core pillars:
• Behavioral response
• Emotional response
• Transactional response
Once retailers understand their target consumers and their pain points, they can test strategies and tools that are designed to help resolve these struggles, Davis-Taylor advised. “Then you figure out what’s working and optimize accordingly.”
Technology is digital, and digital has been embraced because it’s measurable. If something is not resonating, change it. Then after you change it, watch and respond again. This is agile marketing and it is marketing as we know it.
- Laura Davis-Taylor, MaxMedia
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Conclusion: Embrace The Art Of The Possible
The emergence of new tools and technologies presents retailers with plenty of opportunities to add excitement to the brick-and-mortar experience.
“Just looking at the trends and technology available, there is a tremendous amount of opportunity for retailers,” Davidson said. “But it’s not just about how we do the same old thing in a different way; it’s about how we do different things to truly engage with the consumer.”
To truly see success, departments and team members must converge, collaborate and be unafraid to explore the possible.
“With internal groups, there’s always going to be fear of the unknown,” Davis-Taylor said. “You need to urge people to not fear it but be excited by it. If you focus on removing friction or creating happy speed bumps, you cannot fail.”
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About Retail TouchPoints Retail TouchPoints is an online publishing network for retail executives, with content focused on optimizing the customer experience across all channels. The Retail TouchPoints network is comprised of a weekly newsletter, special reports, web seminars, exclusive benchmark research, an insightful editorial blog, and a content-rich web site featuring daily news updates and multi-media interviews at www.retailtouchpoints.com. The Retail TouchPoints team also interacts with social media communities via Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
About UXC EclipseMicrosoft Dynamics Gold Partner UXC Eclipse is the Retail ERP Specialist. The preferred implementation partner for large and complex retail solutions, UXC Eclipse offers business consulting & project management, applications development, corporate performance management and business process management.
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