The Future of Retail

In a world where everything is online, are brick-and-mortar stores still relevant? Well, according to Shopify’s Future of Ecommerce in 2022, the retail industry is here to stay!

Some Interesting Retail Numbers

- 81% of Gen Z consumers in the United States prefer to shop in-store to discover new products

- 58% of consumers purchase from brands who they’ve experienced excellent past offline customer service with

- 54% of consumers are likely to see the product online and buy it from the store

- Omnichannel customers shop 1.7 times more than single-channel shoppers

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Trend 1: Purely online brands are moving towards retail where they can experience the brand

The movement of brands into the retail space will certainly increase competition. Retailers will have to create interesting and unique experiences within the store to keep the foot traffic and win customer loyalty.

Factors influencing Trend 1

• Brands are focusing on creating experiential retail stores as consumers are more interested in in-person shopping experiences
• Higher retail vacancies are resulting in favourable commercial lease terms making direct-to-consumer brands more interested in moving to brick-and-mortar stores – the best time to negotiate favourable lease terms
• Rising digital advertisement costs and a crowded e-commerce marketplace are making brands move to physical retail to lower the consumer acquisition costs

How to go about creating experiential moments in retail stores

• Use pop-up shops to identify the demand for retail store
• Create unique in-store experiences like workshops, events, collaborations, and more to build brand loyalty
• Use existing customer data to personalize the shopping experience
• Improve in-store shopping experience by training employees and store staff

Trend 2: Omnichannel shopping is the new normal

With the right omnichannel strategy, brands will be able to increase the average order values and customer loyalty.

Factors influencing Trend 2

• To stay in the competition, brands have to build relationships with customers by creating unique experiences through omnichannel
• Buying journeys have changed – consumers’ online and offline shopping expectations are not restricted to one channel
• Brands must offer a consistent experience across all channels
• Technology can help brands create fully connected physical and digital shopping experience – buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) can help increase order values

How to create an omnichannel technology for your brand?

• Convert retail store into a showroom for better discovery and brand awareness
• Carry less inventory and free up space for experiential retail
• Track the customer data and product data across all the channels
• Sync product information and inventory across all channels
• Use retail shops as fulfilment centers for online orders

Trend 3: Reimagining staff and employee roles

If the employees are happy, they are definitely going to offer a better shopping experience to their customers, whether it is in retail or online.

Factors influencing Trend 3

• Customers expect top-class service in stores
• Retail staff expects higher salaries and better opportunities
• Brands need to reimagine the roles and offer better compensation to retain and attract more employees
• Technology can help staff to deliver a consistent top-class customer experience

How to meet customer expectations and improve the employee experience?

• Create specialized roles and compensation packages accordingly
• Provide a positive and healthy work environment where employees are treated with respect and offer them the flexibility

How Brik + Clik is redefining the retail experience in a brand new way 

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Summary

Though the world is all focused-on e-commerce right now, the retail industry is not going anywhere. After the changes brought out by 2020, consumers are craving to go out and shop. They are looking forward to in-person shopping experiences. They want to have exceptional buying experiences both online and offline.

With all the available retail vacancies, digitally native brands can venture into physical retail while offering unique shopping experiences to win foot traffic.

While there is a move to retail, the brands must also keep up with their omnichannel strategy so that the shopping experience is perfect everywhere. To do this, brands need to train employees in new technologies and evolve their roles to meet customer expectations.

Credits Anyaa Mittal 

Reference:

1. https://www.shopify.com/research/future-of-commerce/future-of-retail
2. Shopify eCommerce Market Credibility Study, 2021: Data Review, a commissioned Forrester Consulting study conducted on behalf of Shopify, September 27, 2021
3. https://brikclik.com/
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MugeGYxkrTk