It’s not been a great start to 2013 for the high street. Blockbuster has followed Jessops and HMV into administration as more of the consumer goods goliaths fall by the wayside. It doesn’t appear as if the litany of failure will end there as there are doubtless other struggling stores preparing to pull down the shutters for the last time.
Yet all is not lost; shoppers will continue to shop. With such a mixed economic picture that mixes dreadful productivity stats with strong Christmas sales figures in some quarters at least, the key to success seems simple: turn more browsers into buyers by making the most of your in-store, online and mobile offerings. So how can retailers combine these channels to boost the bottom line?
Scott Logie, Strategic Marketing Director, St Ives Group
It’s worth bearing in mind that shoppers are fast becoming better at using multi-channel to make buying decisions than retailers are at putting them in the shop window.
What does this new multi-channel browsing process mean for retailers? There are many examples of retailers meeting the needs of the consumer through a specific channel. But joined-up marketing that is consistent across all printed media, digital channels and in-store is quite uncommon.
Technology is driving many purchasing decisions as consumers ‘pull’ information towards themselves, meaning greater use of technology such as mobile, in-store wi-fi and social media recommendations.
Clever retailers are adapting to these new attitudes, using online and smartphones to create added value in-store. Combining in-store messages relevant to each shopper, dovetailed with personalised communication from other channels, is highly effective if done in the right way. New concepts are springing up like House of Fraser’s Aberdeen shop, which is more fashion boutique-cum-internet café than it is department store.
If in-store is the live sales environment, and the Web the new home of comparison, recommendation and buying at leisure, mobile is becoming the true interface between the two. Mobile will have a profoundly disruptive effect on the retail landscape: Deloitte estimates that for every £1 of purchases made via mobile, the channel will directly influence £23 of spend. Mobile gives people the opportunity to purchase at any time, from anywhere. But it also means your store could find its role relegated to that of a ‘dumb showroom’.
Clearly, mobile will be a massively disruptive force across the retail landscape. It offers opportunities to target individuals where and when they are prepared to spend. Retailers can exploit this by creating a more immersive in-store experience through the likes of Apps, QR codes and augmented reality, as well as location-based offers and promotions.
Shopping is growing up; stores remain buying destinations for some but browsing also dominates. Meanwhile, digital will never replace the desire to see and touch a product. The next leaders of retail will harness technology to forge strong connections between their in-store and digital shopping environments and deliver highly relevant offers. Consumers are steadily adapting their shopping habits with the advent of online and mobile retail technology; are you ready to change too?
By Scott Logie, Strategic Marketing Director, St Ives Group