Retailers need to keep up with fads and fashions. But that doesn’t just mean predicting what shoppers want in their baskets; you also need to understand how they want to shop. And you need to deliver it.
Reinventing retail
Just like the trends you serve up, you need to reinvent your business to keep it relevant and desirable. You’ve brought us late-night shopping and online shopping, taken us from coupons to QR codes, and satisfied our appetite for everything from Fairtrade products to same-day delivery slots. So, what’s next?
A new way to shop
To stay competitive, today’s retailers need to deliver a seamless, personalized customer experience – across all channels. After all, it’s what your customers expect. They want the special offers on your TV ad delivered direct to their inbox, identical prices online and in store, and the same seamless customer service whether using Facebook or chatting to your call center. But while many retailers are achieving this in part, most are failing to impress when it comes to delivering that seamless experience in store. So, what’s the reason?
Get personal
A personalized, in-store experience used to mean one-to-one, face-to-face service. That was fine for luxury retailers and a few other exceptions, but not for the masses. A single sales assistant can’t possibly understand and address the needs of several customers simultaneously. They can’t showcase alternative products, up-sell, cross-sell, or crucially, provide that final push to proceed with a purchase. But mobile technology can – and it can do much more besides.
Retail. Right. NOW.
Mobile plays a huge part in the future of omnichannel retailing. It’s a means of connecting and communicating with all shoppers in store, in real time. You can engage shoppers on an individual level and communicate personalized recommendations, services, and offers when it matters most – at the point of decision making. It’s what SAP calls “Retail. Right. NOW.” and you can find out a bit more about it – and all its possibilities – in this quick video [http://bit.ly/1foE2Sq]. Take note though, because unlike Hypercolor t-shirts or the Apple Newton (the what?), mobile commerce isn’t just a fad, soon to be forgotten about. Mobile commerce is here, and will be around for the long run.
