In-Store–

Over the past years, several major retailers have announced store closings and bankruptcies or declining store sales. While the bulk of retail sales still come from physical stores, traditional retailers are feeling the pressure to drive more foot traffic, increase in-store sales, and encourage customers to return.

In-Store | 104 © 2019

BURNING QUESTIONS

• Is physical retail really dying?

• How can I reinvent the in-Store experience?

• What tools do I need to create more engaging in-store experiences?

Today’s shoppers move between physical and digital worlds interchangeably – often interacting with multiple touchpoints and devices before making an actual purchase. As a result, expectations of the in-store shopping experience have shifted. For consumers, especially younger shoppers, convenience and experience are front and center when it comes to shopping. Retailers are forced to face this new shopping reality head on and take steps to reinvent the in-store shopping experience. The retailers that come out ahead will be those who innovate by unifying their growing online presence with an experiential physical environment.

DID YOU KNOW?

Even though ecommerce sales in the US continue

to increase year over year, over 90 percent of all

retail sales transactions still occur in the physical

retail store.63

SEEN IN THE FIELD

Many of today’s most popular

direct-to-consumer, digital native

brands are launching physical

stores, including Casper, Away

and Glossier.

In-Store | 105 © 2019

To meet customer demands, most retailers start by driving traffic to stores from digital channels and introducing omnichannel retail best practices, such as Buy Online/Return In-Store (BORIS). But these services are already table stakes (BORIS is already offered by 92 percent of retailers in the FitForCommerce Omnichannel Retail Index) and are no longer enough to “save” the traditional retailer. All signs point to the necessity for creating more engaging shopping environments that infuse digital into the physical store.

DRIVING STORE TRAFFIC FROM DIGITAL

OUR TAKE: You’ve got to step up your game

The retail store is not dead. But, you must step up your game to meet the expectations of today’s digitally-savvy

shoppers. That means introducing new digital in-store technologies that bridge online and in-store shopping

experiences and providing better training and tools for store associates.

• Online research

• Digital store coupons

• Emails or text messages

• Online store inventory lookup

• Buy online/pick up in store (BOPIS)

• Mobile and proximity alerts

• Social media mentions

SEEN IN THE FIELD

The acquisition of Modcloth,

Moosejaw, Shoebuy and Bonobos

has provided Walmart with a greater

stake in the digital marketplace,

access to higher-profit categories

and more affluent shoppers. This

strategy, combined with a huge

portfolio of stores as pickup

destinations is designed to meet

shopper expectations of blending

physical and digital shopping.

In-Store | 106 © 2019

TOOLS AND TRICKS OF THE TRADE

Modern technologies can help retailers optimize efficiencies and bring down operational costs, bring digital into stores, and empower associates to provide better and more personalized customer assistance. But, many retailers struggle to identify where to start, the resources needed, and the technologies to best support the effort.

Point-of-Sale Solutions (POS)

As the name implies, ‘point-of-sale’ (POS) refers to the time and place of a transaction. Often cloud-based and allowing for real-time data access and easy integration with other retail platforms in the ecosystem, modern POS systems offer a wide range of features, including inventory management, customer data capture, loyalty program management, and employee productivity tracking.

According to recent studies, shoppers’ biggest frustration with shopping in physical retail stores is waiting in long lines. Yet, retailers have been slow to adopt technologies that allow line busting to make checkout faster and more convenient for shoppers. Retailers can easily and quickly implement solutions, such as mobile POS to help them meet these customer demands.

IN-STORE TECHNOLOGIES

1. POS

2. CRM

3. Mobile

4. Sales Enablement/Clienteling

5. Interactive/Digital Signage

OUR TAKE: Weigh the Cost/Benefits

While the right blend of technology can elevate in-store experiences, drive sales and empower store associates,

deploying the latest innovative technology does not necessarily boost the bottom line. Retailers should carefully

weigh the cost/benefits of implementing new in-store technologies and develop pilot programs that allow them

to test before implementing across the entire store footprint.

OUR TAKE: Trust the experts

POS is a system that you would never develop in-house. Produce a formal requirements package that

documents your in-store selling service, management pain points, and business needs. As you search for

software that matches your needs, consider how you want to deploy the POS solution (in-store, hosted, or

SaaS). There are advantages and disadvantages to each deployment model.

In-Store | 107 © 2019

• Self-checkout

• Mobile POS

• Pre-order online

• Scan & Go (Amazon Go)

• Pay in App

REDUCE SHOPPER FRUSTRATION WITH LINE BUSTING

Mobile POS systems (mPOS) leverage mobile devices instead of fixed checkout terminals, allowing store associates to service shoppers anywhere in the store environment. By providing such mobility to the associate, retailers can create a more appealing and personal shopping experience – from line busting (check out on the floor) to saving a sale with endless aisle capabilities – looking up and placing orders for sold out inventory or inventory only sold at other stores or online.

To further expedite the checkout process, several big retailers – including Amazon, Walmart, Kroger and Starbucks - have introduced mobile apps to accelerate the checkout process by enabling sales associates to checkout anywhere on the floor and, in some cases, even enabling customer self-checkout.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

The CRM system is essential to optimizing the in-store experience, as it allows for more personalized services. By providing access to customer information and purchase history, the individual store and store associates have a 360-degree view of the customer, which allows them to provide personalized recommendations, offer special services to VIP customers, and resolve customer service issues.

OUR TAKE: Go 360

If your business is multichannel, consider viewing POS as another order- taking channel. A POS system that

supports the same customer experience (pricing, promotions, products, loyalty, gift cards, order history, etc.) as

your other sales channels reflects the centrality of the customer to your business. Your customer can shop from

you on the web, contact center, or store and receive a consistent and seamless experience.

DID YOU KNOW?

• 73 percent of shoppers want mPOS for

quicker checkout times.64

HEARD IN THE FIELD

“The checkout process is currently the Macy’s single biggest pain point,” Jeff Gennette, CEO, Macy’s, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Consumer & Retail Technology Conference in New York City

In-Store | 108 © 2019

Sales Enablement/Clienteling

Store associates play a critical role in the shopping journey. Yet, most are not empowered to deliver the level of service that customers expect. They are simply not equipped with the tools, data, and training necessary.

Constant access to product information via their mobile phones, combined with unsatisfactory experiences with store associates, has led shoppers to prefer to use their own devices over engaging with a store associate. To combat this trend, smart retailers provide store associates access to better information and mobile clienteling tools, empowering them to proactively provide better customer experiences.

Beyond mobile POS, the greatest opportunity for enhancing the shopping experience is arming associates with user-friendly tools that allow them to engage and guide shoppers by using customer data insights, inventory visibility, and access to merchandising content.

Sales enablement (or clienteling) tools range from basic applications built by the retailer that focus on one or two services, such as mobile checkout and inventory lookup to highly sophisticated clienteling platforms that truly empower store associates to bring the store experience to the next level.

Ideally, clienteling tools should integrate with other systems in the ecosystem, such as CRM, the ecommerce platform, order management, inventory systems, and content management, to enable endless aisle, cross sells, personalized offers, product information, reviews, and more.

DID YOU KNOW?

• 61 percent of shoppers would rather use a

kiosk than speak with a sales associate.65

OUR TAKE: Don’t let shoppers out-stage you

Shoppers are often better-informed regarding product selection, product details, and promotions than the store

associate. A few bad experiences, and they’ll stop consulting the associate all together. Invest in training and

provide the tools that enable your sales associates to provide exceptional customer service.

DID YOU KNOW?

Only 15 percent of retailers equip their sales associates with mobile devices to assists customers while

browsing the store.66

In-Store | 109 © 2019

Mobile (Shoppers)

The use of mobile by consumers continues to increase – both at home, on-the-go and in-store. Prior to making an in-store purchase, shoppers typically visit a retailer’s site or app or use a search engine to research products and brand on their mobile devices. While in the store, shoppers use their mobile device to find more product info, review, competitive pricing, etc.

Retailers can turn mobile in-store activities into opportunities to reach and engage shoppers by:

• Making it easy to find information via mobile

• Using mobile for loyalty programs

• Delivering relevant offers and content

• Offering options to view and buy out-of-stock items

• Enabling store associates to deliver better and more personalized customer service

• Leveraging new technologies such as in-store beacons to collect real-time customer data

HOW CONSUMERS USE MOBILE IN-STORE

Look up info Compare pricing Check Reviews Get advice from friends

$

$$

$$

$$$

OUR TAKE: Turn mobile into your strongest asset

One of the greatest advantages of mobile is that it bridges online and offline experiences. Mobile can drive traffic

to stores and elevate in-store experiences. Understand how your customers use their mobile devices and build

programs around those habits and behaviors.

In-Store | 110 © 2019

Smart retailers realize that they cannot stop shoppers from using their smartphones in stores, and therefore, welcome this behavior by offering free wifi access. This tactic is paying off. Research shows that customers who use mobile in stores are more likely to make a purchase in the store. Yet, according to a recent study, only 39 percent of retailers in the US offer customer wifi in stores and 22 percent have no plans to implement it.68

Another way to turn shoppers’ use of mobile in stores into a competitive advantage is to leverage beacons or location-based sensors to gather data about in-store shopping behaviors and encourage sales through proximity-based, triggered messages. Although location-based technologies show promising results for personalization and targeted offers, retailers have not been as quick to adopt these technologies as was originally expected. In a recent study, only 10 percent of retailers stated they had implemented location-based sensor technologies for marketing and communication and 40 percent had no plans to implement the technology in the near future.

Future expectations from shoppers include the ability to look up size and colors without engaging with a sales associate, augmented reality features that let them preview products in their homes, and location features that will provide them with in-store maps based on their digital shopping lists. The technology for these services already exist. The adoption rate is still low, and the ROI not completely proven, but smart and proactive retailers are experimenting to find the best approach.

DID YOU KNOW?

• 92 percent of shoppers prefer stores that

offer mobile experiences.67

DID YOU KNOW?

82 percent of smartphone users consult

their phones on purchases they are about

to make in-store and 45 percent read

reviews before making a purchase.69

SEEN IN THE FIELD

Nike Inc. is using its mobile app to remake

and rethink the in-store experience by

letting consumers use the brand’s app

to check out on their smartphones, scan

articles of clothing to be delivered to

dressing rooms and reserve items to

pick up in lockers.The brand launched

the first of its app-integrated Nike

stores in Los Angeles last July and in its

68,000-square-foot, six-floor New York

City flagship store in November.

In-Store | 111 © 2019

Interactive Store Signage, Mirrors, Augmented/Virtual Reality

Some retailers have raised the bar when it comes to in-store shopping experiences, experimenting with interactive and intelligent mirrors, digital pricing, robots, and virtual reality/augmented reality applications. Even though it is still too early to truly gauge the effectiveness of these innovative features, retailers should not shy away from bringing digital signage, touchscreens, kiosks, or other interactive tools into the store.

Although digital and interactive displays can require robust and integrated technology as well as a significant hardware investment, retailers that offer these tools are one step closer to providing a more innovative and differentiated shopping experience.

SEEN IN THE FIELD

Nordstrom is investing heavily in engaging customers with highly experiential store environment. The new

Men’s Store in New York City takes the shopping experience up a notch by blending high tech and service.

The store offers the option to buy online and pick up in-store 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It also

offers reserve online and try in-store, three-hour same-day delivery, personal stylists, digital personal stylists

though Style Board, tailor shops, shoe shining, cell phone charging, a bar and a coffee shop. Nordstrom Local

is a ~2500 square foot “store” that has no merchandise. Instead, Nordstrom Local is used for BOPIS pick up,

returns, tailoring, and other services.

OUR TAKE: Store experiences are not just digital

From niche players like Lululemon and Casper to larger brands and retailers like Nordstrom and Nike, store

formats are shifting, focusing on experiences to drive traffic and engage shoppers. Your stores can be your

greatest differentiators. Understand what your customers value and create experiences that will delight them

while showcasing your expertise.

In-Store | 112 © 2019

Other retailers are slow to adopt even simple signage. In-store signage (both digital and printed) that provide in-store advertising, promote social media channels, mobile apps, and even a simple ecommerce URL, are only seen at 44 percent of retailers surveyed by FitForCommerce. That leaves over half of retailers missing out on the opportunity to promote products, cross-promote channels, and provide omnichannel services.70

OUR TAKE: The data byproduct

In addition to enabling a more engaging customer experience, digital initiatives in stores allow you to capture

data that is otherwise unavailable. It’s a win/win wherein you can use this newfound data to optimize your store

layout, inventory planning, personalized communications, and tailored offers.

SEEN IN THE FIELD

Target recently launched the Target Beauty Studio, an AR technology tool that is integrated into

select brick-and-mortar stores and on its desktop and mobile site. The feature allows consumers to

virtually experiment with products and shades before making a purchase. As part of the program,

Target also introduced a concierge service that provides advice and product recommendations

from Target representatives through text message or a chat tool on the website.

In-Store | 113 © 2019

SPOTLIGHT ON DATA

Digital commerce has the advantage that everything can be captured, tracked, and analyzed, from a customer’s browsing behavior, to her purchase history and preferences. This is a bit harder to do in-store, but it is just as important. Baseline store analytics range from store traffic counters and customer conversion analysis tools based on sales. More sophisticated tools measure in-store traffic and customer path analysis through sensors, heat-mapping and beacons. Savvy retailers leverage a new breed of in-store analytics that link customers’ online purchase history with their in-store activity, providing deeper customer insights that are fed into the overall system of record. These systems provide a complete 360-view of the customer, regardless of channel, and enable retailers to personalize the entire customer experience.

Smart retailers can also leverage web analytics to improve store performance. Crate & Barrel, for instance, makes sure that store merchant teams have insight into web analytics to better understand what people are searching for and how people look at products from an artistic perspective.

To improve and personalize the in-store experience, retailers can benefit from implementing tools that provide sales associate with access to customer and product data. Real-time data enables them to provide service that truly support the customer’s needs such as finding inventory, promotions, sharing product content and completing a transaction.

Arm associates with insights into:

• Purchase history

• Browsing habits

• Customer preferences

• Inventory across channels

• Merchandising content – style guides, videos, etc.

• In-store sensors to track traffic patterns and shopping behaviors

THIS REPORT IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY–

OUR MEDIA SPONSOR–

ChannelAdvisor has been on the front lines of e-commerce since 2001, helping retailers and brands connect with customers, optimize operations and grow sales channels. We’ve grown from a small company in a young industry to an industry leader at the forefront of a global revolution — with thousands of clients and billions of dollars in transactional revenue flowing through our platform every year. For more information, visit channeladvisor.com

Adweek is the leading source of news and insight serving the brand marketing ecosystem. First published in 1979, Adweek’s award-winning coverage reaches an engaged audience of more than 6 million professionals across platforms including print, digital, events, podcasts, newsletters, social media and mobile apps. As a touchstone of the advertising and marketing community, Adweek is an unparalleled resource for leaders across multiple industries who rely on its content to help them do their job better.

Adweek is part of the Beringer Capital portfolio that also includes BrandShop, a leading full-service partner that works with major consumer brands to employ digital commerce to increase sales, gain valuable consumer insight and create the type of end-to-end experiences that build loyalty and keep brands ahead of the competition. Learn more at adweek.com and brandshop.com

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FitForCommerce is a leading boutique consultancy that helps hundreds of online and multichannel brands and retailers make informed digital, ecommerce and omnichannel retail investment decisions. Leveraging years of experience, state-of-the-art tools, strategic diligence and tactical planning, FitForCommerce helps brands and retailers define strategies for growth, improve the customer experience, plan and hire the right organization, and find "best fit" technology solutions. | www.fitforcommerce.com

Foundation Merchandising Planning/Sourcing Content User Experience

MarketingAcquisition

MarketingRetention

SellingMarketplacesOrder Management

Analytics/ReportingFulfillmentCustomer ServiceIn-StorePayments

DOORSTEP

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