The In-Store Experience At Home

With so many brands competing for consumers’ attention online, merchants need to ensure that digital interactions provide rich, compelling information that helps customers make decisions with as much confidence as if they were viewing items in person.

Three-quarters of today’s customers expect companies to employ new technologies to create better experiences. It’s no longer enough to display a single still image next to a bland, unimaginative product description. Online shoppers today have grown accustomed to multiple forms of product information -- everything from demonstration videos to interactive images and augmented reality (AR) tools.

To help customers visualize how products will look in their homes or fit in their everyday lives, retailers need to include detailed photos and videos that show items in context. Instead of showing a single decorative vase against a white background, for example, a brand might display an image of the vase on a living room table, complete with flowers and matching decor, as well as in the kitchen with a completely different background. This can help bring elements of the in-store shopping experience to users’ desktops and mobile devices.

Some retailers are taking the online shopping experience a step further by enabling customers to visualize how products could look in their own homes. Rugs.com, for example, has an AR feature that lets shoppers upload photos of their own rooms so they can determine whether the size or design of a particular rug fits well within those spaces.

From The Screen To The Store

More and more customers are choosing to buy online and pick up their purchases later in stores, increasingly known by the acronym BOPIS. A Forrester and NRF report found that 75% of retailers have already implemented, or have plans to add, BOPIS programs in the near future. This helps customers save on shipping costs, and it also gets them into brick-and-mortar locations where they are often inclined to make additional impulse purchases once they are there.

Many retailers, including Macy’s and Target, also give customers the option to buy items online and return them in store. This allows shoppers to skip the hassle of repacking and shipping back unwanted items and then waiting for refunds. A survey shows that 84% of respondents would like to have the option to return items either online or to a physical location, and 42% said they would be more likely to shop with a retailer if they could buy online and later return unwanted items in person.

Offering flexible pick-up and return options not only saves customers time and money; it can also build brand loyalty, and it can lead as well to additional purchasing. Consumers who spend more time with a brand are more likely to spend on further purchases. When brands create seamless interactions across multiple channels, they have more opportunities to learn about their users and to develop new ways to meet individual needs, which is just as important for customer loyalty.

Real-Time Interaction, Regardless Of Location

A 2019 survey cited by DigitalCommerce360 found that millennials do about 60% of their shopping online -- up from 47% just two years prior. Although consumers are increasingly using store websites rather than brick-and-mortar locations, there remain some questions that are best answered by sales associates who are familiar with product lines.

Some retailers are opening up the lines of communication by allowing online customers to message store employees directly. Neiman Marcus, for example, lets customers use its mobile app to text, email, call or even FaceTime with specific local store associates. And Best Buy’s mobile app lets customers make an appointment with an associate before or during visits to a store.

When customers take the time to call or visit retail locations, they expect associates to be knowledgeable about a brand’s full spectrum of products. According to Salesforce, 73% of customers report that having just one “extraordinary experience” with a brand’s salesperson raises their expectations of other merchants. Similarly, a single sub-optimal interaction with a sales or support person can discourage a customer from visiting a store again or, even worse, lead the person to switch to a competitor’s brand. With this in mind, many retailers are striving to give store associates one-touch access to a library of accurate product information via tablets and smartphones, so they can stand ready to answer any questions that customers bring to them.

Consumers don’t care about which channels they are using -- they expect a great experience regardless of when, how, or where they shop. To do this consistently, product data and best practices must be freely shared across all of a retailer’s sales, marketing and distribution teams. Product information needs to be consistent and accurate across multiple channels, which is not to say it needs to be uniform -- instead, marketers need to put each piece of information properly in context. Studying and sharing what works and adapting those strategies so they can be put into practice on all fronts will help retailers thrive in an increasingly complex web of points of sales.