Last week, as we debriefed following our Mental Health and Wellbeing Conference, I wrote about how our stores can offer huge amounts to those struggling with mental health issues and stresses, both customers and industry professionals, simply by offering a dedicated space for person-to-person, peer-to-peer interaction.
Yet, after writing that particular article, I couldn’t help but wonder if I had leapt without looking and not considered how viable that model is –
With the meteoric rise of E-Commerce and delivery services; the in-person structure of our business, while important, is not guaranteed to survive or remain commonplace; no matter how much we all agree it should.
We must preserve the in-store experience! The question, therefore, is: what strategies do we need to employ to make our businesses more appealing than E-Commerce options?
I pose this question because we recently found ourselves with an unusual ally in this fight!
Veteran up-market department store and greengrocer to the Monarchy Fortnum & Mason recently opened an outlet store in Hong Kong. In doing so, CEO Tom Athron took the opportunity to espouse the virtue of the physical store experience.
“Customers are looking for incredible standards and brilliant service, unforgettable experiences, extraordinary food and done in a way that is warm and inclusive and welcoming and friendly.”
That word: EXPERIENCES, is what stands out to me!
E-Commerce is inherently experienceless. Click a few buttons and eventually your order will appear at your doorstep. Sure, this is exceedingly convenient but inherently boring. The human animal craves experiences outside of our own four walls, whether we realise that or not.
Therefore, as we look to a slightly uncertain, digital-driven future, we have to ask ourselves how we can bolster the experiential nature of our in-store experiences to make physical shopping more appealing for the customer,
AESTHETICS
In my time here at C-Talk I’ve spoken to countless retailers who’ve gone through the experience of refurbishing and redesigning their stores. Some significant, some fairly simple.
It’s hard to deny that the aesthetic quality of our stores is a huge factor in customer engagement and retention. As we fight the rise of E-Commerce, an aesthetically engaging experience is inherently a more appealing one and therefore is advantageous to us should we choose to engage with it.
We have for god knows how long often defaulted to a ‘row of shelves’ design, favouring a utilitarian approach over an experiential one. Does your store have a floor plan that could be opened up? Could you engage with the history of the building that you are operating in, or the local area; with a themed or theme-lite interior, factoring in relevant aesthetic ideas into your design? It could even be as simple as making your store more colourful and reorienting your shelving.
TACTILE & PERSONABLE EXPERIENCES
There is no substitute for being able to see, touch and even smell the product that you want to buy. Nevertheless, with the rise of convenient E-Commerce this advantage that we inherently have may not be enough anymore.
Do you offer free samples in your store? This could make you an appealing option above E-Commerce platforms by removing the ambiguity and uncertainty of investing in certain products.
Perhaps more important is ensuring that your staff are sufficiently hands-on with the customer. Often we assume that we ought to leave the customer to it and get on with our day. However, especially as our in-person customer demographic becomes a little older, should we invest our energy into a more proactive form of customer engagement? Could we offer to help our customers more frequently? Perhaps offer a quick service to grab the things that you need (should you have the manpower that is)? Be on hand to answer questions, about products!
Small things make a big difference.
COMMUNITY
I touched on this idea in our mental-health focussed discussion last week.
E-Commerce platforms are going to struggle to engage customers beyond the individual in isolation. Our stores have to opportunity to build and bolster communities around the shopping experience and consequently increase potential footfall into the business.
It could be something as simple as a community noticeboard. Could you offer out part of your space to local groups – support groups, amateur dramatics (if you have enough room) – you know what makes sense in your area and what doesn’t.
The list of potential community projects and offerings is as endless as it is bespoke. Only you will know what the best idea is for your community. I can’t speculate here. All I can say is that community engagement is invaluable, and can help your business to thrive as a community hub.
A convenience store is not Fortnum and Mason, but that doesn’t mean that we can steal their good ideas and apply them to the sector at large. Engaging experiences need not only be the domain of the monied and well-to-do! Let’s take a leaf out of their book and make it work for us.
