Results Count ... everything else is conversation.: Resurgence of “Soul” in Retail Stores … Experience Matters

If stores are dying, why do Amazon and Google want store presence?

Image: Stuart Miles; Freedigitalphotos.net

In the era before "big box" retailing, stores were called showrooms, galleries and even exhibition centers. As stores grew to create breadth of assortment at "everyday low price", retailers lost their soul. Today, nothing beats online ecommerce in terms of convenience and efficiency of searching online for specific items. If stores merely pursue the path of being just places where people come to buy products, their days are numbered. However, physical stores have the power to create something entirely unique that you can't get anywhere online. In the age of digitally distracted consumers, consumer experience matters … a lot.

Somewhere along the line, retail stores lost their soul

In the age before "mass merchants" and discounters, retailer stores were seen as "showrooms", with the emphasis on "show". For example, furniture stores were often called galleries or showcases. Stores were destination locations where you went to touch, feel, and experience the product. The very best stores enabled you to actually tryout the products as you would use them at home.

With advent of "big box" retailing, stores become more focused on competing based on wide assortments and low price. To drive out costs, retailers racked, stacked and packed more products in less space. The strategy was to become the one stop shop convenience where consumers would come to purchase most items.

In the process, retail stores removed space for product demonstrations. They reduced costly sales assistants the floor. Many even installed self-checkout. By virtue of eliminating as many operating costs as possible, retail stores also eliminated most of what created an interactive personal experience. Fast forward to today's ecommerce models and the bricks and mortar stores simply cannot compete with online selection, prices or convenience.

The science behind why experience matters in stores … a lot!

Jay Stephen wrote a recent piece for Fast Company entitled: Experience Matters: the Science Behind the Resurgence of Physical Stores. He makes a compelling case for why and how "experience" makes a major store differentiator. Immersive, real-world experience compels humans to have more focused attention, and it creates more permanent memories.

Harvard psychologist George Miller conducted research, which concluded that most people can hold a maximum about 7 things (+ or – 2) in short term memory. This becomes a formidable challenge when trying to gain and keep the attention of online shoppers focused on details. Online shoppers can readily get lost and distracted with the overwhelming amount of information online, especially when trying to compare across sites.

When immersed in a personal experience in store, consumers quit trying to "process information". If consumers focus on tactile and sensory qualities of experiencing products first hand, it is a lot less likely that they will be distracted. Said another way, nothing trumps the power and salience of firsthand experience. Perhaps, this might explain why both Amazon and Google are exploring ways to get into the physical retail arena.

Digital offers novelty … Stores create immersive, fun personal experience

Image: Stuart Miles; Freedigitalphotos.net

Make no mistake about it. Mobility and online shopping are changing consumer behavior. There is nothing more convenient and efficient in searching for known items and commodities at a price. If you know exactly what you want, if you have purchased it before, if you know your size, style, and what the produce feels like, then it is increasingly likely that you will make more future purchases online. But where's the fun in that?

What if you don't know exactly what you want or have never purchased an item before? Physical stores CAN have the upper hand by creating a holistic personal experience. As humans we like to explore and find new things. We like to be entertained and surprised. A huge part of the shopping experience is from the heart, not the head. Stephen's Fast Company article includes stats from a survey of 7,100 shoppers across seven countries:

54% preferred shopping in store
13% on a mobile app
7% on social media

The shopping experience in store still has emotional, social appeal not found online.

Stores are the last place brands can get attention from consumers

Shoppers still prefer stores because of the personalization aspects of the experience. It is a place for exploration, dreaming and entertainment. Shoppers can easily be overwhelmed by the abundance and options online. They highly value a physical place where they can explore new lifestyles, and even learn new things about products they already have.

But, here is the catch … stores must create that excitement and experience. They can't survive by being a big box where consumers come to simply transact a financial purchase. Knowing that consumers value and remember a great experience is the easy part. The challenge lies in the creative execution.

Retailers must evolve their "soul" and experience to differentiate

Image: Stuart Miles; Freedigitalphotos.net

Simply merchandising products, setting them on fixtures might be necessary, but certainly not sufficient. In fact, this product centric approach to store merchandising of the big box era is serious historical baggage hindering meaningful in store experience. To survive and thrive, retailers must create personal consumer experiences that can be executed in store in ways that can't be duplicated online.

5 Examples of ways to create Differentiated Store Experience:

TOUCH – It sounds basic, but you can't touch and feel products online. Real experience means products taken out of the packaging so that consumers can experience first-hand with as many senses as possible.
DO & DRIVE – Experience comes alive when the consumer gets to drive. What's more emotional, powerful … looking at parked automobiles, or driving one?
LIFESTYLE USE – People can gather most all of the "facts" they need online. What they really want is to be able to see, feel and learn how products fit their lifestyle in ways that they will use them. Consumers need to experience benefits and value.
PERSONAL – What's more meaningful … a canned video/demo, or someone who will take the time to understand what you want and show you what best fits your needs? The power of personalization comes through people … something you can't find on the web.
WOW – We all value the unexpected … the WOW factor. While the internet is great on delivering facts, it is unable to deliver a multi-sensory experience. Would you rather read about stoves and cookware, or participate in an in store cooking experience where you get to "eat about it" with fellow shoppers?

It is certainly possible for retailers to rediscover their "soul" by creating compelling consumer experiences which can't be replicated online. But it is neither cheap nor easy. The alternative is the high probability of going broke while competing with the web on price in order to get consumers to come in store to make a "purchase".

Disney thrives by creating a Magic Kingdom experience, not selling tickets to rides.

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Sources:

Fast Company; Stephen Jay, Experience Matters: The Science Behind the Resurgence of Physical Stores, June 27, 2013
Photos: Stuart Miles; Freedigitalphotos.net