This post is part of a Sustaining Relevance series, covering different industries, pinpointing areas of focus for companies to maintain their relevance while withstanding the advent of disruptive innovation.

Retailers are getting pushed into oblivion. That may sound blunt, but that is exactly what is happening. Every couple of months, there is news of a retail giant having to shutter a staggering number of outlets. To be honest, Toys R Us was the one that hurt the most.

Why? There are many reasons that can attributed towards this retail apocalypse with e-commerce taking the lion’s share of blame. Price and convenience are two important aspects of online shopping that is driving shoppers to their devices. Retailers are battling their online rivals with technology such as apps and other ‘initiatives’ such as discounts.

Taking a step back, technology and retail seem to be at opposite ends of the spectrum. Technology companies build small and fast, with the objective of learning through failures while opening doors for fresh perspectives. Retailers operate on a much larger scale, rely on the traditional methods of selling and often restrict outside thinking.

To sustain any semblance of relevance in the shopping world, retailers need to revamp how they operate, to provide customers an enhanced and seamless shopping experience. How? Read on and find out.

Bridging Digital and Real-Life

Designing a great online shopping platform and app is great. But do any of those initiatives drive traffic to your retail locations? Linking a consumer’s online and offline experience is vital to keeping customers engaged with brands. Connect online shoppers with in-store executives through a range of digital channels and carry forward that conversation when the customer enters the store. Create a link between online shopping assistant chat support with in-store visits, providing a cohesive experience to the shopper. 

This multi-channel communication builds a relationship that can leveraged to cater to the customer’s varying needs, expectations of an experience as well as behavior. Need to make a quick online purchase? Done. Want to look at products online and then come in-store to make up your mind? Also done.

Segregating the online and offline shopper does not add value to the business. Designing a high touch shopping experience combining technology and sales teams will add significant value.

Immersive Experiences

When was the last time retail stores went through a major visual revamp? Hard to say. This is where technology needs to be utilized to boost customer engagement in a store, engagement that may or may not be directly related to products and items for sale. Topshop in the UK did exactly that, by installing a VR water-slide in a London store, resulting in customers waiting in line to experience the installation.

Shoppers are increasingly researching products online while most often completely the purchase offline. This infographic by Adweek highlights the shopping and decision-making process of an omnichannel shopper.

Going a step further, a start-up in California is revamping store aisles with a display kiosk that provides shoppers with content relevant to a product – mimicking the digital research most shoppers conduct prior to a purchase. The information displayed is curated for product discovery, comparison and configuration. This product data can be sent to a mobile device for either more research or a final purchase.

AR also has a significant role to play in customer interaction. Imagine using a mobile device to visualize a particular color on a wall or what furniture would look like in one's home. Though AR technology has been around for a while now, there are small advancements being made that can radically change the shopping experience for the consumer. It can enable a whole new "try before you buy" revolution, solving a whole other set of problems for retailers. 

Redesign retail experiences to emulate what customers are expecting from their daily digital experience.

Personalization

Gone are the days where shoppers needed to spend hours in a store looking for something “designed for them.” The proliferation of digital allows shoppers to identify relevant styles, designs, brands and prices at the touch of a button. While most purchases are done to fulfill a need, impulsive purchases are the result of an intrinsic need to fulfill certain motivations or goals of the shopper.

Retailers need to study, analyze and track customer behavior to provide contextual and personalized suggestions, to boost sales revenues. Each suggestion needs to align itself with what the individual is looking to obtain from that particular brand or product. Technology is now allowing retailers to gather this data not only from digital channels but also from PoS kiosks at physical stores.

Combining the power of predictive AI with a human touch can be a game-changer for brick and mortar stores.

Loyalty Programs

Rethink loyalty programs. How can digital and physical be combined to sustain customer engagement and retention? What program will make customers complete their purchases in-store?

Incentivize customers to visit store locations for privileged access to product lines and the ability to earn extra points. Personalized offers should make the purchase more lucrative, offers which can also revive any members who have not active for a certain time period.

Go beyond offering points on purchases and birthdays and/or anniversaries. Tarte Cosmetics’ loyalty program, Tarte Rewards, has three different tiers with customers being offered points for clicking on links in email, visiting the website and even sharing content on social media!

Brand partnerships can also play a significant role in sustaining customer loyalty. A quick look at the most popular airline and hotel programs highlights that members can earn points while shopping products completely unrelated to travel. Recognize potential partners that cater to the core target market to make the most of any such partnership.

Loyalty programs provides brands enhanced insight into customer behavior, translating into the ability to offer customized and AI-driven product suggestions – positively impacting customer experience. Track customer movement through the omni-channel shopping funnel and make data driven decisions to win-back customers. Rewards programs can also be designed to be offered in a subscription fashion, think Amazon Prime and the benefits customers are willing to pay for annually.

Overhaul how loyalty is viewed and encouraged by your competitors by using technology with the end-game to provide a superior experience and stronger relationship with your customers.