Omnichannel
Don’t mourn the loss of the pre-pandemic retail model — reimagine shopping possibilities
Holly Draher, a national account director at Harbor Retail, shares three steps retailers can take to embrace a retail reinvention and create all-encompassing customer journeys and touchpoints.
October 1, 2021 by Holly Draher — National Account Director, Harbor Retail
In the retail industry, evolution isn't always a slow process. Sometimes, it happens with the force of an earthquake — or, in last year's case, a pandemic.
COVID-19 upended consumers' lives in unexpected ways. It also changed the way they felt about purchasing goods. Almost overnight, shipping, curbside, and BOPIS (buy online, pick up in store) became the preferred methods of contactless shopping. Consumers appreciated being able to find out whether a product was in stock, pay for it from their home, and avoid lines.
To be sure, all forms of e-commerce were showing acceptance in 2019. COVID-19 just normalized the practice. According to research from Total Retail, about 76% of retail stores offered BOPIS in mid-2020, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 10 percentage points. And signs indicate BOPIS isn't going anywhere.
Consequently, the big conundrum for retailers is how to ride the wave of prevailing retail trends without giving up the important brick-and-mortar presence. After all, brick-and-mortar browsing and buying is still a top source of profits when compared to things like shipping and curbside, which are the biggest budget busters for retailers. This puts the onus on brands with physical locations to implement great retail experiences that surprise and delight — not to mention getting customers to choose BOPIS and then stick around and make additional purchases. In other words, a never-before-seen blend of online and in-person engagements truly seems like the future of retail.
Further enhancing customer experience
All of this will require some innovative thinking for retailers. The key will be to figure out how to leverage the attractive elements of BOPIS to achieve bigger baskets and reduced return rates while maintaining foot traffic.
As explained by Anthony Pastore, former director of store design at Ulta Beauty, many of the in-store experiences retailers viewed as "normal" before the pandemic had underlying pain points for everyone involved. COVID-19 simply amplified those issues, which required urgent solutions.
The rigid process of shopping in stores had to adapt toward safer omnichannel shopping solutions, allowing retailers to assuage customers in terms of when, where, and how they make purchases. Still, the pre-pandemic conventions that will survive after COVID-19 will depend on specific retailers and the options that best suit their store experiences and customers. Many of them will live harmoniously alongside new pandemic-era innovations, providing consumers with fresh in-store and online experiences.
So, what's the bottom line? It's time to lure consumers back to stores in a way that honors their need for safety, openness toward BOPIS, and changed habits. Brands ready to embrace a retail reinvention process can start by taking three steps to form all-encompassing customer journeys and touchpoints:
- Put a premium on stock transparency. Inventory management might sound like a back-office function, but it needs to be front and center in the form of stock transparency. Shoppers appreciate being able to check out the availability of the items they want through apps and websites. This helps them engage in BOPIS and enjoy rapid fulfillment. For instance, Walmart made a move to keep up with inventory by adding robots to its stores (although it has since rethought this plan). Not every retailer needs to put this kind of investment toward staying ahead of stock, but all brick-and-mortar stores should be upfront about product availability. Shoppers are less upset about having to postpone picking up merchandise than about making a trip to a store and finding empty shelves.
- Allow consumers to bypass lines. There's a reason that the rental car and restaurant industries showcase their reservation systems: They remove the pain of waiting in a line. Being able to bypass a check-in desk or immediately get seated at a favorite table encourages loyalty and boosts enjoyment. BOPIS is about convenience; if you want to build your baskets and create positive touchpoints with your brand, shoppers just won't stand for, well, standing. Certainly, checkout lines will always exist in some capacity. Nevertheless, self-serve kiosks and self-pay apps can minimize the sometimes-annoying distance between finding a product and paying for it. New payment apps like Snabble are trying to bridge this gap and erase the problem. It's not difficult to envision a time when consumers can walk into a retailer, browse at their leisure, purchase what they want, and leave — engaging with staff members in positive ways throughout their purchasing journey without the need to wait in line to check out.
- Promote tech-driven and personalized "impulse" buying. Impulse purchasing typically brings to mind individually wrapped candy bars and brand-name lip balm. However, this last-minute shopping experience can be elevated with a little help from technology. For instance, online shoppers are often matched with higher-ticket product suggestions based on what's in their cart or other SKUs they've browsed. This same experience could be translated into brick-and-mortar shopping.
Consider BOPIS shoppers. Before finalizing their baskets, the system could show them other add-on items they might want to purchase. And when they visit the store to pick up an order, they could see anything from skincare samples and sweaters to just-launched products. Or they could be digitally directed to a section of the store for a unique introduction to carefully curated items.
The past year's major shopping shifts have caused consumers to form habits that are here to stay as part of the future of retail. Rather than resisting those shifts, retailers should lean into the trends. Those that do will find themselves on stronger financial and branding ground well into the future.
Holly Draher is a national account director at Harbor Retail
About Holly Draher
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