So far this holiday season, online sales are up 14%. This indicates a growing trend to buy online rather than shop in store. In response, brick and mortar retailers are re-imagining the in-store shopping experience. Their goal is to make the in-store experience easier and more entertaining.
This week Target opened its new concept pop-up shop, Target Wonderland, in New York City. Upon entering the store, a customer doesn’t get a shopping cart. She receives an RFID enabled key that lets her tap what she wants to buy and automatically transmit it to a digital shopping cart. “We want to make it inspiring to shop at the new Target and as easy as scanning your token,” offers Jeff Jones, Executive VP/Chief Marketing Officer for Target.
The interactive experience at the store includes a giant etch-a-sketch, interactive video games, and a visit with Santa via satellite from the North Pole. All this is intended to keep customers in the store and shopping. “We are testing different things all around the country. The more we can make the shopping experience fun again, exciting again, and easy, that’s really the magic,” adds Jeff Jones.
Ashley Lutz, editor of Business Insider notes, “Target has to improve the in-store experience. Otherwise, people will just shop online. Target’s really trying to increase the convenience factor so people will come to the stores.”
Other retailers are also re-inventing the retail experience. Ralph Lauren and Rebecca Minkoff are adding interactive mirrors to some of their stores. Customers get to see items, change colors, and make their selections on screen to add to their rooms before trying them on. Monitors at make up chains are offering personal skin care and fragrance suggestions at the touch of a button.
One huge advantage for brick and mortar retailers is that 80% of online shopping carts are abandoned before checkout. Conversely, in-store shoppers are much more likely to complete their purchases. More importantly, in-store shoppers make impulse buys whereas online shoppers seldom make them. Thus, once retailers get shoppers into the store, customers are likely to buy and buy more than they anticipated.
The challenge is to get the customer into the store. Target is checking out different ways to do this. Small shops do not have Target’s staff and research dollars at their disposal. Nor do they have the money to spend on interactive fun and games. However, they can find out from their profitable customers why the customers shop at the store. From that information, the retailers can offer more of what brings the customer through the doors in the first place. Then the retailers can merchandise impulse buys to increase the sale.
If all stores offer entertainment that will be too much of the same and will quickly lose its effectiveness. The key to increasing customer frequency and retention is to find out what the customers want and give them more of it.
Why do your customers shop your store?
This week's marketing trivia challenge is Why do you regularly shop at a brick and mortar store? E-mail me your answer.
This week Target opened its new concept pop-up shop, Target Wonderland, in New York City. Upon entering the store, a customer doesn’t get a shopping cart. She receives an RFID enabled key that lets her tap what she wants to buy and automatically transmit it to a digital shopping cart. “We want to make it inspiring to shop at the new Target and as easy as scanning your token,” offers Jeff Jones, Executive VP/Chief Marketing Officer for Target.
The interactive experience at the store includes a giant etch-a-sketch, interactive video games, and a visit with Santa via satellite from the North Pole. All this is intended to keep customers in the store and shopping. “We are testing different things all around the country. The more we can make the shopping experience fun again, exciting again, and easy, that’s really the magic,” adds Jeff Jones.
Ashley Lutz, editor of Business Insider notes, “Target has to improve the in-store experience. Otherwise, people will just shop online. Target’s really trying to increase the convenience factor so people will come to the stores.”
Other retailers are also re-inventing the retail experience. Ralph Lauren and Rebecca Minkoff are adding interactive mirrors to some of their stores. Customers get to see items, change colors, and make their selections on screen to add to their rooms before trying them on. Monitors at make up chains are offering personal skin care and fragrance suggestions at the touch of a button.
One huge advantage for brick and mortar retailers is that 80% of online shopping carts are abandoned before checkout. Conversely, in-store shoppers are much more likely to complete their purchases. More importantly, in-store shoppers make impulse buys whereas online shoppers seldom make them. Thus, once retailers get shoppers into the store, customers are likely to buy and buy more than they anticipated.
The challenge is to get the customer into the store. Target is checking out different ways to do this. Small shops do not have Target’s staff and research dollars at their disposal. Nor do they have the money to spend on interactive fun and games. However, they can find out from their profitable customers why the customers shop at the store. From that information, the retailers can offer more of what brings the customer through the doors in the first place. Then the retailers can merchandise impulse buys to increase the sale.
If all stores offer entertainment that will be too much of the same and will quickly lose its effectiveness. The key to increasing customer frequency and retention is to find out what the customers want and give them more of it.
Why do your customers shop your store?
This week's marketing trivia challenge is Why do you regularly shop at a brick and mortar store? E-mail me your answer.
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