The face of retail has changed dramatically in recent years. Simply put, online activity continues to impact how consumers buy a growing array of goods. However, stats still show that, despite the growing number of traditional malls closing, many retail purchases still happen in person.
Of course, when digging deeper into the numbers it’s clear that significant change is in order. For a brick-and-mortar location to attract today’s consumer, they need to find creative ways to expand the experience. After all, we are knee-deep in the new and ever-evolving experience economy.
Rethink the space
Consumers want an experience. As such, physical spaces need to consider opportunities for diversification. Not sure? Take a look at the most successful retail spaces. Mixed-use is rapidly emerging as the new norm for modern development and regeneration.
Sure, the ultimate goal remains to sell products, but a big part of selling to the new consumer starts with the ability to deliver the expected experience. Consumers want a reason to actually visit, especially at a time when same day delivery is a reality. So much so that McKinsey research predicts as much as 25 percent of all package deliveries will be same day by 2024.
Audiovisual (AV) deployments can play a key role here not only in entertaining the consumer, but also providing heavily customized and immersive experiences (especially if your guest enables you to leverage their mobile device). The right mix of high definition multimedia displays and audio can create attractive environments that make your space a true destination.
Enhanced shopping
One of the main reasons why Millennials, in particular, use online shopping is access to product reviews. According to a survey by CouponFollow, most popular reason cited (43.0%) was the availability of online reviews, followed by prices (41.0%).
AV solutions can help retail outlets address this issue. Specifically, interactive displays strategically positioned within store environments can instantly provide shoppers with the type of information they desire about whatever product they are considering. The added benefit the store has? The shopper isn’t just reading a review, they can see, touch and try out the product they are considering.
Of course, when enabled to recognize a shopper via mobile device or rewards login, the use of interactive displays can further add to the experience by providing customized service. For instance, alerting floor associates that a guest is considering a certain item and making instant recommendations based off shopper history.
