Creating a Digital Strategy? Don’t Forget the In-Store Experience

Online shopping’s share of the retail market has been growing ever since Amazon.com and eBay first came on the scene more than two decades ago. The astonishingly fast worldwide adoption of mobile devices created another e-commerce portal, allowing people to make purchases using their phones from anywhere with a connection. Retail branded apps and the convenience of mobile shopping have increased the online share of total retail sales.

Nearly 2 billion consumers made online purchases last year, spending about $2.8 trillion. However, North American online sales accounted for less than 10 percent of total retail sales. For all the talk about online sales, you’d expect e-commerce to account for a larger portion of total retail sales. But in reality, most consumers still buy the old-fashioned way — by visiting a store.

People Like the In-Store Shopping Experience

The hype around e-commerce obscures this simple fact: people still value the in-store shopping experience. There’s no question that online shopping has disrupted the retail industry in fundamental ways, but people still like to shop in brick-and-mortar stores. That means it’s still important for retailers to focus on delivering a great customer experience every time a consumer encounters the brand, including in-store interactions. A truly disruptive retail strategy is cohesive and consistent across all channels.

So far, no online shopping experience can fully replicate the sensory immersion of visiting a store in person — the sights, sounds, scents and service customers experience in-store are still unique when retailers invest in creating a welcoming environment. And research indicates that investment can pay off since consumers spend more when they shop in person; 71 percent of consumers spend $50 or more when shopping at a store compared to only 54 percent that shop online.

Impulse buyers, “retail therapy” seekers, passersby drawn into a store by an imaginative merchandising display — all of these encounters are opportunities for retailers to not only create memorable in-store experiences for customers, they’re also a chance to compete with the Amazons of the world on physical ground where the brick-and-mortar retailer still has an advantage. Additionally, retailers have the opportunity to turn those first-time shoppers into loyal customers through offering an immersive and superior experience. And when handled as part of an overarching retail strategy, in-store encounters can bolster digital outreach efforts, too.

Blurring the Line Between Digital and Physical Worlds

These days, it’s not unusual for an in-store customer to pull out a phone and research prices or compare merchandise online. The line between digital and physical retail activities doesn’t really exist for customers, and it shouldn’t be a hard barrier for retailers either. In-store customer encounters are an excellent opportunity for retailers to collect contact information from shoppers and ask their permission to communicate further via mobile, SMS, social media, etc.

Loyalty programs are a great way to ask customers to share their data and request permission for contact. If the retailer is offering something valuable — e.g., a discount, expertise, notice of upcoming events — customers are usually willing to participate. The key is to communicate the value clearly. Like every positive relationship, a good retailer-customer relationship begins with trust.

Once the relationship is established, retailers can build on that trust by consistently offering something of value in each subsequent communication. For example, a fashion outlet could provide styling tips via text message, then increase foot traffic in the store by inviting customers to an upcoming fashion show. They could follow up on that communication with notice of a storewide sale on items made by a brand featured in the fashion show.

Creating a Cohesive, Comprehensive Communication Strategy

In this way, a retailer can build relationships with customers by delivering something of value and create an incentive to visit the store at the same time. Retailers that also sell online can fold digital demand generation campaigns into a larger retail strategy that includes the in-store experience. To the customer, it should all be seamless, whether they encounter the brand in person, on social media, via text or online.

API-powered platforms can simplify deployment of a cohesive, comprehensive customer communication strategy that covers every channel. With the right technology, retailers can carry on the conversation with customers wherever they are, obtaining permission to communicate and creating a closer relationship through digital and in-person contact that always delivers value to the customer.

As 2020 begins, retailers that are putting the finishing touches on their annual marketing strategy have an opportunity to give the in-store component of their business the attention it deserves without shortchanging other channels. The brick-and-mortar element of retail store operations still drives the vast majority of revenue, so don’t forget the in-store experience.

Tara Kelly is the founder, president and CEO of SPLICE Software, which offers a cloud-based solution that specializes in using big data and artificial intelligence, through the scalability of cloud storage and secure API connections, to create messages that drive customer engagement and the desired call to action.