Does online boom mean retail doom?
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I hope not!
We've all seen the headlines, 'online sales up again', year on year we're given the figures to prove it. What doesn't hit the headlines is how many of these 'sales' are returned! There are lots of things that can be bought online but then a lot of them are sent back! Is this the retail version of 'post truth'? Now, I'm not trying to argue that online sales do not in fact increase each year but what I am interested in is what the real figure is. And, more importantly for those of us who work in or for the industry what influence shop experiences make on peoples purchases. What influence do online blogs and 'reviews' have on consumer buying decisions? How accurate are these blogs and reviews? Are they incentivised by any financial gain? Are these reviews only for the 'big' global brands? When was the last time you carried out your own 'independent' tests? Is visiting retail stores your own form of testing and then go buy it online? How could we conduct this 'research' if those stores were no longer there? Buy blind, take a chance? Are we destined for a future of purchasing luck?
Pressures on stores to preform are increasing all the time and it's impossible to judge where the 'sale' was made but easier to know where the money was collected. Does that mean that every online sale is just that or is it merely where the money was collected after the sale or decision to buy was actually made elsewhere?
There is no 'try before you buy' online but rather 'buy before you try' and we've all experienced problems with products that we're not happy with and often the resultant time delays and cost issues of having to return the offending item which fell short of our expectations, online sales blurb or review.
Stores and the interaction with staff can offer invaluable advice to customers and the ability to answer questions and offer opinions immediately. That face to face or one to one interaction with customers is vital because it's the only time businesses are ever in direct physical contact with their customers and can often offer important insights on how the customer reacts to and perceives the products and services being traded.
Retailers who sell their own brands and goods don't suffer from online competition to the same extent as those who offer 'standard' branded products. It is often said that retailers of these standard branded goods suffer more than others because customers use their shop facilities to get advice, judge and compare the products before leaving the store to go online and make the purchase there. The only real winner in this scenario is the manufacturer, not the retailer!
Offering specific discount or free delivery codes for a purchase to be completed online or by the sales assistant online is one way of collecting the sales channel information. And most importantly, associating these codes with a particular store or even staff members would give managers proper information and a better understanding of where and by whom the 'sale' was actually made. And thereby recognising the value of the store's effort and existence. This works particularly well for 'own brand' retailers who may not have the size, colour or particular item in stock while still retaining the sale and allowing the customer the buy direct from the warehouse instead. These sales are less likely to get any returns because the buyer/customer already knows what to expect since they've already seen it, tried it and and selected it in-store and already know what to expect.
Can you smell the scent of a candle online?
What about the quality and fit of clothing?
There is still a place for the on-street retailer, it's just a matter of adjusting and gathering pertinent information and data to make important and informed decisions. It's crucial that decisions are made with a full understanding of the market place and it's changing sales mix and adapting accordingly. We know from first hand experience how our own retail customers have reacted to the online threat/opportunity. By offering customers a physical shopping 'experience' that just can't be offered online. Yes, it will require investment and imagination (or just have a look at the existing successful retailers for ideas!) and ultimately good execution of those ideas but it can and does work. Our own retailing customers prove it by actually expanding their businesses over one of the most difficult, turbulent and extended trading periods in living memory and winning awards, recognition and most importantly, loyal customers who keep returning to the stores!
"Vive la boutique"
Fabexx? light box & DIY reusable exhibition displays | Super size fabric graphics | Corporate branding & signage contactor | Digital Screens | Linexx? & track LED lighting supplier
8 年Thanks David. Agreed, there a place and a need for omni sales channels for most retailers. It seems that sometimes the dynamic, subtleties and drivers of those sales are not fully identified or understood. One of the issues is collating the relevant data to make properly informed decisions about the value of each sales channel and too often the value of the store is only measured on till receipts against overheads. This is of course is the main indicator but it's not the only one! The trick is understanding the real value and then making an informed decision on whether to retain or close a store. .
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8 年It was very easy for years and years for people that had the capitol to open a high street shop. Their main quandary/issue was making sure they were picking the right product for the markets they targeted, if they picked a bum one they just 'Reduce to Clear'. Online businesses have had to be Innovative, Clever, Crafty, extremely Agile and always looking sideways to enable them to develop and nurture audiences via many different and varied tactics. >Find the customer >Get the customer >Schmooze the customer >Close the customer >Cross sell the customer >Retain the customer >Remarket the customer and the cycle continues. Now it is the turn of the High Street to stand up and think outside the box to make sure of their worth to the customer. There is a lot to be learnt from the trailblazing online brands that have made a name for themselves in an untrusting world whereby there is no face to handle payment for you. Shopping Experience, Customer Service and so on will always have their place and hence good product and customer focused brands will sell on the high street but they cannot just survive by that alone. As you say the world of the Omni-shopper is right here, right now and these high street shops / brands will have to join up the dots to make sure the Finance Departments can make sure that there are offline aspects to an online transaction or vice-versa to ensure no more closures. On the other hand I feel it is a great thing for both the High Street and Consumer. For me the high street is full of nothing and should be reimagined with relevancy at the heart of it. Certain products work online better than others so there are opportunities for the clever and innovative thinkers out there. Leave the frivolous opening of stores 'just because' and think about fulfilling a need not just another 'knock down' price clothing outlet because we need 6 instead of 5 to only complain about the lack of sales and close down again!!! Boutique experience will never leave the High Street until VR takes a monumental turn and becomes the most ridiculous thing ever! thats pure Matrix though.