Piers Fawkes of business intelligence platform PSFK reveals how retailers are delivering immersive, deeply felt shopper experiences
By Barbara Thau
Yes, online shopping has forever changed the retail landscape. But when it comes to forging that merchant-to-shopper bond, the store’s still the thing.
Brick-and-mortar, face-to-face retail provides “an emotional connection that online shopping doesn’t,” says Piers Fawkes, president, founder, and editor-in-chief of the business intelligence/trend research firm PSFK. “It’s about knowing the customer, and being able to respond in a contextual way.”
Fawkes says retail’s offline opportunity lies in providing value beyond the transactional moment. That means “retailers need to leverage content, education, and experiential activations to close the confidence gap and align the shopping experience with customer lifestyles and aspirations,” he says.
Unpacking four key retail trends from PSFK’s recently released Future of Retail report, Fawkes discusses here how merchants are driving shopper discovery, nurturing shared experiences, facilitating healthy living, and delivering unprecedented convenience to forge an emotional—and lasting—connection with today’s demanding consumer.
TIP #1
Foster Revolving Discovery
Fostering revolving discovery [calls for] programming locations with a constant overhaul of brands, products, and experiences to reinvigorate customer interest and introduce shoppers to the new and the next.
MAKE THE CONNECTION:
Footwear brand Timberland’s Tree Lab is a retail location in Pennsylvania’s King of Prussia Mall that presents shoe collections as rotating galleries. Customers can come to the Tree Lab to enjoy a new rotating product gallery every six weeks, each curated according to a central theme, such as streetwear or feminism. The U.S. retailer’s rotating galleries also help build excitement about the next coming attraction.
TIP #2
Cultivate Third-Space Connections
Create communities that bring people together around the halo of a brand and offer new occasions to visit outside of the shopping trip.
MAKE THE CONNECTION:
Selfridges’ Music Matters campaign is turning spaces within the retailer’s London, Manchester, and Birmingham locations into live music venues. The Music Matters campaign includes a list of special artist performances, fun family activities, DJ lessons, and silent discos that happen in-store after traditional shopping hours. By creating events around the topic of music, the British department store establishes a more authentic connection to its music-inspired fashion and beauty collections.
TIP #3
Offer Integrated Wellness
Capitalize on the continued growth of the wellness marketplace by making healthy lifestyle (and even spa) experiences a part of your offerings.
MAKE THE CONNECTION:
Saks Fifth Avenue’s NYC flagship department store is home to The Wellery, an entire floor dedicated to health, beauty, and fitness, providing customers with a range of wellness-related experiences. The Wellery features juice kiosks, futuristic fat removal processes, a nail studio that offers guided meditation along with its manicures, salt rooms to detox, and group fitness boot camp classes taught by ex-convicts from ConBody studio. By addressing fitness, beauty, and mindfulness together, The Wellery positions U.S. retailer Saks Fifth Avenue as a holistic health partner.
TIP #4
Deliver Frictionless Convenience
Use a mix of automation and expedited services to remove friction from in-store browsing, transactions, and returns.
MAKE THE CONNECTION:
E-commerce company Alibaba is introducing Tao Cafe, a cashier-free retail store that uses facial and voice recognition systems. Customers scan a QR code at the entrance and are tracked with facial recognition cameras while shopping. When a customer is ready to leave, they are able to pay through their phone, allowing them to shop in the Chinese retailer’s stores without ever having to wait in a line. By allowing people to leave as soon as they have all the products they want, Tao Cafe alleviates the stress and delays often associated with busy stores.
DID YOU KNOW?
The National Retail Federation (NRF) gave EB’s Retail + Market Editor Barbara Thau its coveted "Influencer" award at the NRF annual Gala in January.
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