What does the future hold for retail stores?

Isn’t it such a pleasure to be back in stores again??I don’t think I’m alone in feeling that. ?In fact, I get the impression there’s huge pent-up desire to be able to finally experience retail in a physical sense once again.

Yes, ecommerce is great. ?And the pandemic has shown the benefits to so many more people around the world. ?But for some retail categories, there just isn’t anything to compare with being in the store itself.

As I always say, it's really hard to experience the joy of catching up with a friend over a cup of coffee or smelling the newest perfume on-offer from your favorite retailer remotely. ?Some things just have to be experienced in person.

What comes next?

So we can all celebrate footfall returning to physical retail. ?But at the same time, we do need to be thinking about the future. ?And how stores should evolve so they can keep on meeting customer needs in the most effective—and profitable—way.

This profitability point really is important. ?One of the big challenges for retailers is making sure that the pivot to omnichannel doesn’t negatively impact the bottom line. ?If digital and physical retail channels aren’t properly integrated, increases in ecommerce sales can simply incur extra costs.

So future retail stores have to address the question of omnichannel integration. ?And at Accenture, we’ve just published a new report on the Store of Tomorrow setting out our thinking.

Our concept proposes rethinking the retail store from the ground up as a collection of integrated components: a space for physical browsing and innovative retail experiences, a ‘dematerialized’ space for commodities and other products, and a micro-fulfillment center for fulfilling both in-store and ecommerce orders.

What are stores for?

On one level, our concept is about combining the speed and simplicity of digital shopping with the automated efficiency of modern warehousing. ?But on another level, it’s about asking what a retail store is actually for?

I like to draw the comparison with libraries. ?When books and bookshops went digital, successful libraries adapted. ?Yes, some are still mostly places to read, study, and borrow books. ?But many others are also now a place to work, a place for new parents to meet, a community space for seniors, and so on.

This kind of hyper-localized adaptiveness will be key for retail stores too. ?On the one hand that means using stores for omnichannel pickups, for returns, for the touch and feel of products. ?But also new kinds of retail experiences. ?And the flexibility of the Store of Tomorrow concept enables this.

Stores as community hubs

Think about all the interesting opportunities for partnership. ?Maybe the retail store is also a secondary post office, which fulfills all your pickups and returns? ?Maybe it’s a place for social gatherings and events? ?Maybe it’s a space for promoting local brands, linking with community retailers and helping keep small towns economically alive.

Maybe the retail store is also a place for partnering with brands on pop-ups and in other interesting ways. ?We saw, for example, how much attention the Adidas/Gucci mash-up got earlier this year. ??We’re also seeing partnerships like Bed, Bath & Beyond going into Kroger, Sephora going into Kohl’s, and Ulta going into Target. ?It’s a really vibrant and exciting store-in-a-store concept.

Convenience beyond the doorstep

A lot of this is about rethinking convenience for an omnichannel world. ?Yes, getting deliveries to the home can be super-fast and easy. ?But what about the convenience of having both the right product selection and the right services in the local store? ?And how could store technology and store employees work together to support that?

A few weeks ago, for example, I was travelling into New York for a meeting with a retail client. ?I wanted to showcase their merchandise, but I knew I wouldn’t have much time when I was there. ?So one of the store personnel ended up styling for me remotely. ?And she was then able to pre-arrange a selection for me to try on when I got there.

It was all super-efficient, and a really great experience. ?But why couldn’t all retail stores be thinking about this kind of creative multichannel offering—for categories like home décor and beauty, as well as apparel?

Stores are an integral part of retail’s future

In the end, retail stores are still the best way to deliver those physical and social experiences that customers crave. ?And they’re still also an incredibly powerful way of legitimizing the brand—it’s no great mystery why so many successful digital-native retailers are now looking to open up their own physical outlets.

For existing retailers, the imperative is to rethink their stores—including their purpose, function and operations—and make them a truly integrated part of the community and the brand’s overall consumer experiences.

Read our new report on the Store of Tomorrow. #retail

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