As online retailers continue to dominate the retail world, the future for traditional retailers seems bleak. It’s evident that many brick and mortar stores have struggled to stay ahead in the digital age, leaving them to face the inevitable doom of shutting doors and waving the white flag.
Sure, the future looks rather dim for many traditional retailers… but we are here to discuss the retail crusaders who have ventured through the rubble and are coming out victorious, the retailers who have faced the digital age with a different approach. Instead of leading their customer to another online store and fight for competitive pricing, they have led their customers in-store, providing an in-person digital experience and one-upping their competition with the power of a simple human touch to keep brick and mortar sales high.
Through innovative approaches, they have changed the way that shoppers interact with their products, building things that can only be experienced live.
Moving Online to In-line and In-Store
- Macys iBeacons
Macy’s used an innovative approach to bringing their mobile shoppers in-store during Black Friday. With their Walk In & Win campaign, they prompted users to install their app and shop in-store to be eligible to win prizes, including a grand prize of $1,000,000. Using beacon technology, Macy’s knew immediately when app users were in-store and were able to send them notifications of special offers and instant prizes. It was an ingenious way to incentivize their digital shoppers to get a unique in-store experience.
2. Bloomingdales, Ralph Lauren Interactive Shopping Windows
Bloomingdales and Ralph Lauren took the difficulty of finding the ‚Äòperfect gift for dad’ on Father’s Day and made it fun through a 4D graphic fashion show. Window shoppers were able to use a touch screen installed on the outside of the store to select various Ralph Lauren Polo items, mixing and matching to create a gift dads would love. They could then buy the items immediately in-store completing their shopping hassle-free.
3. Walgreens- Digital Mapping
Walgreens Pharmacy has made shopping fun again. By creating a game-like application on each shopping cart, they are allowing their customers to find each item with ease while saving some major bucks along the way.
Walgreens used a special camera to add a detailed 3D view to their in-store maps. The information was woven together with the store floor plans to show where products were located and where they were on the shelves. Shoppers were also served highly contextual discounts on items as they passed by, incenting them to interact with the maps.
So, as you can see, retailers are doing some pretty amazing things within the digital landscape.
Are the retail crusaders responsible for reports like …. https://retail.emarketer.com/article/us-shoppers-still-prefer-make-most-purchases-in-store/58dd8922ebd400061c80f3cf
Possibly. But what we do know for certain is that to continue to compete in the retail space, brick and mortar stores need to continue to play to their strengths, incorporating digital instore.
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