Future of Retail: Offline and Online Experiences Integration
Omnichannel retail design specifications are becoming more clear. Customers want the advantages of both physical and online retail – wide selection, detailed product information and tips from digital channels combined with personalized service and an immersive shopping experience.
COVID-19’s impact has quickly propelled retail evolution and retailers and brands have responded by quickly adopting innovative customer-facing technologies such as buy online/pick up in store, virtual styling tools, on-demand delivery options and more.
Retailers are leveraging technology to create immersive and social shopping experiences.
Retailers are turning to technology to create immersive and social shopping experiences for their customers, including virtual reality showrooms, social gaming environments and new ways of purchasing products. Furthermore, customers have become more demanding of retailers as well as increasingly interested in buying sustainable or ethically made goods.
Traditional retailers must stay competitive by improving their digital capabilities by adopting the innovative strategies employed by tech-first retail brands, increasing spending on innovation, hiring more staff and increasing spending on innovation – yet remaining flexible enough to adapt with changes quickly in order to remain agile enough for success.
Companies need to understand the evolving consumer landscape driven by online sales and higher expectations, rather than trying to force people into conforming with an outdated business model. Companies must be capable of tracking and analyzing customer data across channels, personalizing offers and making recommendations, while offering seamless experiences both online and in stores. Companies should leverage their physical stores as an investment in marketing and customer service – to set themselves apart from competitors. Luxury fashion retailers such as Gucci and Prada differentiate themselves by creating an immersive shopping experience in their stores that allows customers to discover more about them while trying on clothing from these designers and witnessing their design and craftsmanship in person.
Customers expect a seamless shopping experience.
Customers increasingly value a combination of digital and physical customer interactions as part of the shopping experience, whether through text message shopping, virtual or augmented reality experiences or text message banking. Businesses must deliver authentic experiences using mobile devices in order to stay competitive in today’s marketplace. This trend should continue as customers increasingly value having both experiences.
Customers increasingly demand an experience tailored to them, delivered in their preferred form and timeframe. Retailers must adapt quickly and learn from past mistakes in order to fulfill this need.
Covid-19 caused bankruptcies at some store-first retailers, yet also gave some incumbents new life. Incumbents who could adapt to lower demand by focusing on core businesses were left standing. Integrating online and offline capabilities, adopting agile ways of working arrangements and remaining at the top of their omnichannel game are best poised for long-term success.
2023 will witness the convergence of online and offline retail. Traditional retailers will hone their digital games by learning from tech-first competitors and adding capabilities pioneered by disrupters – those that fail to do this will face stiff competition from rivals and fall behind in an ever-more-dynamic marketplace than it was during COVID-19 pandemic.
Retailers are integrating online and offline experiences.
No matter if they maintain physical stores or transition exclusively online, retailers need to integrate the best elements from both worlds into their strategy. From digital signage that helps customers quickly locate what they need faster to contactless checkout (popular during COVID-19’s pandemic), retailers can take advantage of numerous technologies to enhance customer experiences in-store while simultaneously connecting online with offline marketing efforts.
Furniture retailer IKEA made use of augmented reality to integrate their print catalog and in-store experience, using smartphones to scan pages from it and see how pieces would look in their homes before making a purchase. This integrated marketing approach proved successful for the brand by driving both in-store and online sales.
Retailers must provide an exceptional shopping experience across all channels as more consumers become channel agnostic. In an age where customers expect predictive insights and intelligent customer care regardless of which channel they use to interact with brands, retailers must integrate online and offline marketing strategies for an unparalleled customer journey that sets them apart from their competition.
