Not all brands are retailing experts, and not all retailers are experts when it comes to customer experience either. In the first half of 2021 in the UK, we have seen over 8,000 stores close on the high street. In contrast, online sales continue to grow, with £1 in every £5 now spent online. How we retail and how we shop is rapidly evolving, and it’s the combination of innovation and consumer behaviours that is driving the agenda. Consumers really do want their cake and eat it! Yes, they want choice, variety and convenience offered by online commerce, but they also want engagement, pleasure and personal experiences from their real life in-store visits. Well over 70% of all online sales start with a search that often takes your consumers directly to a product page, that’s 70% of your audience bi-passing your brands story and heading straight to the functions of a sale. Is this going to build a relationship with your potential customers? The physical store, or real life retail experience has a huge advantage to deliver your brands story through experience before getting down to the gritty end of the functional purchase. Physical stores also bring the opportunity to widen the commerce possibilities back to the online channels, ensuring a seamless and friction free experience. Combining the in-store experience with digital tools, deeper content, product comparisons and online customer reviews can be powerful storytelling when the customer is face to face with the physical product in-store.
Brands have to take advantage of this in the coming years. Consumers are looking for seamless shopping experiences that deliver both the story and the sale. Consumer’s want collaboration cocreation and transparency, the physical retail environment brings all these advantages to life, with the opportunity to capture the consumers imagination and more importantly their advocacy.
The role of the physical store really can be the hub for all shopping-commerce. The physical store brings the possibilities of social engagement, entertainment, discovery and storytelling.
Pivotal is an expert in consumer experience in-store. Not only are we creating tomorrow’s retail today, but we are delivering physical retail that takes a seamless approach to shopping-commerce. It’s our ambition to make sure you are a brand of both the ‘story and the sale’.
Our work and relationship with brands in-store is closely measured by our 5 experience essentials. A proven approach guaranteed to evolve your in-store experience to meet the changing behaviours of how we shop. Download our quick guide to Experience Essentials now and talk to us about how tomorrow’s retail can overcome your challenges today.
