As the Retail Pendulum Swings
Six short years ago, I was focused on helping the world’s largest retailer to become more digital. One app or two apps? What does the visual identity system of our digital brand look like? How do we get shoppers to download our app? We had data that showed that the MOST valuable customers were those who shopped in-store and online. So it was critical to pull them into our digital ecosystem. While this traditional brick-and-mortar retailer, which has stores covering the majority of the United States, was trying to become digital, so was every single brand that sold to them.
We started to see marketing budgets flex towards digital tactics and plans. As of 2017, upwards of 70% of shopper marketing dollars were being spent on digital marketing. Then came the big retailer media networks, where they promised the delivery of their customer as close to the point of purchase as possible. We started to see even more dollars flow that way.
And what about the shelf? The shelf didn’t change much. The opportunities to make an impact at the shelf had to be done before the customer got to the shelf. Brands tried to make it easy for consumers to select their brand and not the brand two inches to the right. But, the fact is that traditional retailers have made massive investments in physical stores and the majority of their purchases still come from the store, not online.
In the past 8-10 years, we’ve seen a massive pendulum shift from the physical world to the digital world. The fancy term we use is Omnichannel or connected experiences. Take your pick. The bottom line is that everyone is trying to connect offline and online while keeping consumer experience high and brand consistency higher.
I just made my maiden voyage to the new Wayfair store just outside of Chicago, in Skokie, IL. The store had been in the process of being built for what seemed like, many years and finally opened at the start of the summer. Being an alumni of Bed, Bath and Beyond (which ironically, occupied space in the same shopping complex as the new Wayfair store), I could not wait to see how Wayfair would represent their digital brand in a brick-and-mortar setting. Bringing to life a space as massive as Wayfair’s flagship store is daunting. I know, I’ve helped with the development of flagship stores. But, what made this different was the translation of a digital-only e-tailer into a physical retailer. I couldn’t wait to experience the new store.
And the experience was more than I thought it would be. It was beautiful. It was inspiring. Brightly lit, flawlessly decorated vignettes of every space in a home. Need a coffee table? Take a look at this open wall of various coffee tables at all price points. How about a new shower? Use the experiential “shower wall” to see how each showerhead performed with actual water spouting from the myriad showerhead designs and brands. More of a DIY person? A vast assortment of peel & stick wallpaper, floor tiles, and tile backsplashes await you to transform any wall or floor of your home.
And underpinning every aspect of the store was digital. QR codes were as ubiquitous as the Wayfair purple accents throughout the store. Digital price signage, along with a QR code, was found on every displayed item in the store. Wayfair thoughtfully and methodically sought to blend the physical and digital experience into one. And it worked. I overheard conversations about how to use the QR code to see options for artwork sizes and frame styles. I witnessed shoppers using their phones to take photos of the QR codes to study how to install a certain item into their home.
I could go on about the positive store experience, but that isn’t the point. The point is that in the world of retailing and shopper, the pendulum is constantly swinging. So how can you apply Omnichannel principles to your brand?
A few ideas for you to consider:
Integrated experiences: consistently and constantly bring physical shoppers to the digital world and digital shoppers to the physical world, meeting your shoppers where they want to be.
Flawless delivery: ensure truly Omnichannel solutions at every touchpoint. For example, Wayfair did a great job integrating experiences, and while they do allow online purchase returns to the physical store, they recommend not taking that path.
Content in the right places: get your consumers to crave you through compelling, platform-appropriate content.
Build your own data set: easier said than done, but owning your customer data is critical to long-term growth. Set up a CRM strategy to build your list and offer value to your customer for ongoing brand engagement.
Leverage retailer media networks where they exist. This will help get your brand (one of 25,000 unique SKUs in a grocery store) to come to the forefront when the shopper is ready to purchase.
Let’s consider human nature—we love the ease of shopping from the sofa AND we love the immediate gratification of driving to the store and walking out with a reward. Is it physical? It is digital? It’s both. To win, it has got to be both.