Tech ups the customer engagement game for High Street retailers
I read somewhere the other day that customers are still staying off High Street because they are taking the online route instead – to research and buy at the best price. However, there is now enough evidence out there to suggest that High Street may be starting to bounce back a bit – by bridging the physical and digital divide that had characterised their space for a while now. There’s a bunch of technology that’s helping High Street retail reposition itself and that’s what makes this all the more remarkable because retailers hadn’t exactly been early adopters of technology.
While technology is the enabler, at the heart of this change is a massive shift in consumer behaviour. Consumers have found legitimate grounds to stay away from the High Street stores. The use of social media as a tool in the purchasing process has skyrocketed, across all categories. And then there’s this phenomenon called showrooming, in which people use their phones while out shopping in physical stores, to examine whether their prospective purchases are available cheaper online or elsewhere. Retailers have realised that this phenomenon is here to stay as long as the customer has a connected smartphone on her/his person and Google works as expected.
There are other interesting manifestations of our insatiable appetite for online shopping. One of these is the so-called dark stores that do not allow any customers inside but exist purely to aid the ‘click and collect’ business. Tesco has been dabbling with ‘dark stores’ for a while now and has already got a number of them open in the UK, with more to follow surely.
How do retailers, specifically those dealing in luxury goods (and services) and fashion (hence High Street) get customers back in their physical stores and engage them in ways that lead to conversion and purchase? I have hinted at the answer earlier in the blog but what are the specific pieces of technology that are helping provide the answer here?
Following closely on the heels of the ecommerce movement, were innovations on the supply chain, fulfillment and distribution fronts. There has been much talk about the intelligent use of RFID tags and other technologies that enabled retailers to have a better view into their supply chains and enhance customer experience by being more efficient about getting goods in the hands of the consumers. Back in 2014, Zara had already implemented their RFID based system that allowed them to track every garment from factory to final sale.
Now, there is a new set of technologies that is helping brands create newer and different ways of communicating with their customers. Visualisation technologies in particular, are getting a lot of attention. They are helping accelerate purchase and minimise returns (of furniture for e.g.) by bridging the gap between the place of purchase (ecommerce site or a physical store) and place of consumption (the home). Combine that with some Augmented Reality (AR) and we are able to see what items look like in place too. And, this goes well beyond the dreary world of furniture.
Several brands have already deployed camera-equipped mobile devices and apps in their stores, which can take detailed personal measurements to ensure clothes will be a perfect fit. Increasing maturity in AR, where professional grade, marker-less tracking and mapping are now available, is opening up a whole new range of possibilities. Burberry has taken all this to a completely new level altogether. In their flagship stores in London, Hong Kong and Chicago, AR technologies and intelligent mirrors show the outfit a prospective buyer is trying on, as if she/he is a star of a catwalk show. One can even experience weather – simulated rain showers/sounds of thunder – just to remind the customer why she/he might need a Burberry trench coat.
And, this is great. Historically, a chink in the online shopper’s armour has been the relative absence of guidance or assistance when selecting what they need or want. AR creates the possibility of a seamless and tailored omni-channel purchase journey. Customised consultation (that AR enables) is a mighty effective tool when it comes to high-end products. Even for beauty brands, AR is helping the brands and the customers transcend the tangibility barrier, which had relegated ecommerce sites (in that space) to being mere discount channels.
As we have all been told a myriad times, the more things change the more they are the same. On reflection, I can see the same principle holding true here as well. Ultimately, brands on High Street are going to remain relevant by implementing different ways to communicate with their customers. Technology is providing the ability to engage efficiently across different channels. The trick, as always, is to engage meaningfully with people who are passionate about the brand. Brands will thrive through the loyalty of these folks. Embracing the right technologies at the right junctures is just a step in the overall journey to secure that loyalty.
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