The ever present news that yet more well-known brands are struggling on the UK high street (Jessops, Blockbusters and HMV to name just three in recent examples) is sad to see, and it is a worrying time for many others. Their fate is causing many businesses to rethink how to approach their retail strategy and one of the new ideas is the development of a new style of retail stores which aim to provide a better customer experience for the shoppers and customers.
The traditional retail store is a place where all products were laid out to view, so that customers could go and see, touch and feel the products that they were buying, and in some case try the product first hand. Many brands are now beginning to realise that this is not enough and in an attempt to maintain their high street footfall, are developing new and improved stores to try and boost in store customer experience. I’ll also add a quick disclaimer that we are by no means stating that a different in store experience would have necessarily saved those businesses named at the beginning of this post.
These new enhanced outlets aim to provide us with a more interactive and engaging retail experience. They also allow us to immerse ourselves not only in the product, but also the brand and what it stands for. Furthermore, those that have launched these new stores successfully have found that the right balance of traditional and digital tools is all important. In essence, today’s high street have to work hard to persuade us that leaving our home to shop is important, rather than completing all shopping online.
Here are a couple of examples of stores I think, are offering an additional level of customer experience (and we’ll avoid the obvious example of Apple):
The Abercrombie and Fitch Group of stores certainly provide an experience for their intended audience. The stores stand out in the shopping centres as they are fashioned to look like a house from the outside, or showing a live stream from a surfing beach. Once inside, the shops are dark and filled with music, with lit house furniture showing off the products. They are also renowned for having models parading the stores.
Burberry World: Burberry has developed its flagship store to reflect its website (a really good example of multi-channel consistency) – the space is divided into rooms that reflect the different sections of its website (a great example of multi-channel consistency). When trying on something in the changing room, the mirrors will change to show the item on the catwalk or on film so the customer can appreciate how it will work in real-life. There is also a large screen and stage on which Burberry will show live catwalk shows. It’s about creating an atmosphere too – customers are under the weatherman of Burberry – digital thunderstorms can be created.
Virgin Money: But it’s not just clothing stores which have looked for a different approach. Virgin Money is developing an entire network of stores which aim to bring a “fresh approach” to banking. They include access to different technology products which giving access to Virgin Money products, free Wi-Fi and a no hard sell policy adopted by all staff. They also give customers a place to have a rest and get a cup of tea.
These stores are more than just a shop, they allow you to touch and feel the entire brand and be part of the experience.
NICE Fizzback is helping its customers to better understand the experience customers have in store. If many high street retailers are to survive it is imperative that businesses create an environment in which customers feel relaxed, comfortable and valued; and in order to do this it is important to understand customer expectations and perceptions. Finally this experience must be consistent across every channel – retail viewed as a single standalone channel will struggle to survive and maintain its place on the high street.
Natasha Holroyde
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