TREND - Experience Is All Retailers’ over-emphasis on speed, convenience and price has led consumers to crave experience more than ever.
Trend Overview
Globalization has created something of a monotonous retail experience where corporate chains dominate and quirky or personal service gets lost in the chase for speed and efficiency.
Meanwhile, the mainstreaming of e-retail, even in formerly sacred spaces like luxury goods, has found more people abandoning bricks-and-mortar in favor of click-and-order and shoppers agree that the internet has reduced the time they spend in stores. Similarly, the growth in vending machines has found more people sidestepping the checkout line in favor of the kiosk.
More recently, the recession impelled many bricks-and-mortar retailers towards a damaging focus on discounting that eroded not only many stores’ price positioning but also any point of differentiation or exclusivity.
Shopping can and should be about more than just price or convenience. Moreover, for high street and main street retailer, concentrating only on price means losing the opportunity to build genuine brand loyalty or give shoppers a reason to enjoy their visit.
And consumers do, in fact, care about experience. In fact, in many ways the rise of quick-service formats and automated service has actually fueled a greater desire for good old-fashioned customer service, particularly in face-to-face form.
Key Action Items
present positive alternatives to price promotions
blur retail and leisure to create destination shopping or leisure experiences
combine high-tech efficiency and interaction with genuine customer service
Discounting has dictated retail to the point where many shop premises have lost their points of differentiation and there remains a belief that online retail has undermined "real," experiential shopping in stores:
Experiment with novel offline retail concepts that complement your product range, leaving a memorable experience for shoppers.
Tap into the advantage of physical stores to launch new products and services. This can be established via pop-up stores, creating publicity while using the results as a dipstick test for the viability of the new launch in the market.
Bank on creating an intense experience for your physical customers, providing a service that online marketplaces can never achieve.
What Experience Is All means for Beauty.
Beauty and drugstores are turning into more experiential stops. Virtual make up mirrors and personalised skincare advice are no longer the preserve of upmarket retailers. Brands have to give consumers a preview of what they could experience at home, while making shopping on a budget fun. We’re seeing everything from in-store quick-fix grooming services to members clubs with invitation-only events, while interactive kiosks and tips via touchscreen give consumers opportunities to express and explore.
Implications
In an era where price can often seem like the deciding factor, a return to experience may be more welcome than ever. After all, consumers can only crunch numbers or shuffle through fluorescent-lit discount warehouses for so long.
To combat the stay-at-home-or-stay-online mentality, retailers, restaurants and entertainment venues must all pay heed. They must extend their offer beyond mere retail, and act as a venue, not just a shop.
One option is to pursue brand extension – offering more reasons to visit and making it easier for consumers to do so – and for longer periods. For instance, France’s Carrefour Planet supermarket completely re-invented the traditional retailing space with a hairdressing salon, a nursery and live cooking lessons, making it easier and more productive to linger in-store.
The emergence of pop-up retailing has added a new flavor to the retail landscape, introducing an element of surprise and exclusivity, whilst playing on shoppers' assumptions about where they can shop and for how long.
