In-store experience: Old vs New
Retail technology has changed the shopping experience over the past few years as retailers need to recognise that in order to compete with online stores they need to offer their customers a better in-store experience to keep them coming back for more. See the difference between the old and new in-store experience and how retailers can reap the benefits of improving the in-store experience.
Old in-store experience
Customers enter the store
Old in-store experience customer would enter a busy store looking for particular type of shoes.
Experience in-store
The customer picks up the shoe from the display and tries to get sales associate attention. When the customer eventually gets the sales associates attention she asks to try on the shoes in a size 6, the sales associate has to go to the stock room to find out if they have the shoes in that size. When the sales associate returns and tells the customer they don’t have that size in stock, when asked by the customer when they would have it in stock the sale associate is unable to answer as they are not armed with that information.
Result
The customer leaves the store unhappy with their experience in store and the retailer loses a sale.
New in-store experience
Customer enters the store
The customer enters the busy store and with the in-store beaconing technology the customer’s smartphone will receive a message from the retailer greeting them to the store and offers a QR code for 20% off in store that day.
Experience in-store
The customer picks up a shoe and asked the sales associate if they have this in a size 6, the sales associate is armed with a tablet is able to tell the customer that it is in stock and that another associate will be down in a moment with the shoes. The sales associate arrives with the shoes, the customer tries them on and likes them. The customer wants to purchase the shoes, the sales associate asked if she is paying by card and the customer says yes. The sales associate uses their handheld mobile computer to complete the transaction without the need for the customer to queue at the till and the customer uses their 20% off QR code that the sales associate scans with their handheld mobile computer.
Result
The customer leaves the store satisfied with their experience and the retailer makes a sale, plus builds more loyalty with the customer.
With the new and better in-store experience retailers will be able to:
- Tracking customer purchasing history.
- Encourage more purchase in store with in-store offers with beaconing technology.
- Provide better customer service.
- Have sales associates armed with stock and product information.
