Despite all the reflections concerning the death or at least the loss of attractiveness of physical stores, the latter remain a privileged mode of access to products. It is obvious that e-commerce sites have changed the panorama of consumption, however, this channel cannot meet all the needs of consumers.
The question is how to revitalize stores? How to highlight the advantages of physical stores? How can the store evolve with consumer habits? Does local commerce have a bright future ahead of it?
Local commerce and digital
The question of the integration of technologies in physical stores is widely explored on the web through cross-channel studies, for example. Physical stores make it easier to create an optimal customer experience, however, it remains more complicated for this type of distribution to integrate additional services such as retargeting (in order to offer complementary items) or tracking customer (allowing to better understand the decision-making process of consumers).
The "phygital store" has been trying to establish itself for several years with the integration of technologies such as tablets, interactive terminals, etc. in the physical space. Nevertheless, these tools are not integrated everywhere, their price is quite considerable and the ROI is quite difficult to measure.
As for the consumer, he uses his smartphone very frequently throughout his purchasing journey. In stores, he uses his mobile to compare products, consult opinions and even sometimes with the aim of buying a competing product. Why not take advantage of this new mobile use?
Consider mobile as a real asset at the point of sale
In order to improve the customer experience, physical stores could bet on the smartphone to develop the relationship with consumers. In this way, in store, visitors also use an online channel. Instead of demonizing consumer showrooming practices (in-store visits and online purchases), companies should capitalize on these multi-channel practices on the part of individuals to make them real elements of differentiation.
In this sense, according to Ifop (2016 study), more than one in two French people would find it interesting to receive promotional offers in real time on their smartphone when they move through the various departments of a store. Companies should therefore exploit this element in order to truly link the journey made by the consumer in the physical store and the elements of communication offered to him via his smartphone.
A local business can put the odds on its side in order to offer a smooth and pleasant shopping experience to consumers using digital services. For example, it is possible to personalize offers using detailed knowledge of purchasing behavior. By using information from consumer profiles and data, it is possible to offer much more relevant commercial offers through push communication on smartphones, for example.
It is also possible to offer in-store visitors the opportunity to download your application in order to give them real advantages (discount, small gift to be collected at the checkout). This application can also offer the comparison of your products with others. By encouraging consumers to use their smartphone for certain purposes, you ensure that they do not think about going to see your competitors' offers from their mobile. Clever!
As a local business, it's up to you to bet on the use of mobile and integrate it as a real additional asset to the services you already offer! And besides, why don't you propose the solution " mobile point of sale " in your shop ? This solution avoids the creation of long queues and facilitates the collection of customers using an application that acts as a cashier. Get in touch for more information on this offline solution that optimizes the in-store customer experience!
