5 ways retailers can improve the in-store customer experience

In a hugely competitive sector, creating a truly unique retail customer experience can be the difference between gaining a new customer or fading into the background. With screens popping up all over the high street, self-ordering kiosks available at most quick serve restaurants, and a click & collect point available within metres, it’s easy to see how digital customer experiences in-store are no longer a nice-to-have, but a customer expectation.

But does that mean you have to refit your entire store to keep up with the Kardashians?

It might be nice, but we’ve got a few ideas to get you started, no matter what your budget is.

1. Increase footfall with high bright screens in windows

Creating a great customer experience first comes with getting your customers into your store. The number of ads that consumers are exposed to on a daily basis is huge (Google estimates that the numbers range from 50 times a day to 10,000) so just getting your store to stand out can be a challenge.

Creating a great experience before someone even steps foot in your space, can really do wonders to elevate your brand and increase your footfall. High bright digital screens installed in your windows are designed to work at different light levels and with the right software (we’re looking at you, Evoke Cloud), you can update your screens from anywhere, at any time. Maybe you want to tell your customer about a new product range or new services, or perhaps you want to take it a step further and you want to make it interactive (JD sports did a great campaign the other year on Oxford Street). Gamifying your content to link to your social and online activities can definitely help your brand stand out.

It's not just the high street that can be updated like this – retail parks are also undergoing changes. We’re seeing more and more brands opting for large outdoor displays on their buildings. Whilst arranging planning permissions and arranging this sort of display may seem a huge task, lots of brands will help manage this for you too.

2. Take your visual merchandising to the next level

Interactive screens and digital mannequins in stores are no longer a thing of the future. Technologies are being developed every day to improve how customers engage with your product. We’re seeing interactive mirror technology in fitting rooms, RFID tech that help customers browse product information, and digital wayfinding solutions to help your customers find what they need, all to help reduce the friction from the customer journey.

Why not try a well-placed screen that draws the attention to low footfall areas of your store or showcase your product as a digital-mannequin? Or how about using digital podiums to direct your customer flow or implement RFID tech that allows your customers to find out product information easily? Adding just a bit of tech in the right locations can really improve your customer experience.

3. Turn browsing into sales with range extension

If you’ve got your customer in your store and engaged you’ll want to turn them from a browser into a buyer. However it’s not that simple if you have a smaller store footprint, or you’ve got a greater range of product than you can display, causing stockholding issues and risk losing your customer when they leave the store.

Range extension solutions allow your customers to shop your entire range right in your store. They can browse, purchase and arrange delivery or click and collect right there, increasing store sales. Plus, most range extension solutions include a brandable kiosk and an additional to increase your number of contact points and opportunity for engagement.

Why not have a look to see how JD uses range extension in this case study?

4. Swap out your posters

We know how it goes – the delivery arrives to store and it’s time to give your store a refresh with new season advertising or offers. Cue stacks of paper and card, posters that may (or may not) end up in the right place, and your team focused on store set up rather than customer service. But what happens when items go missing, or turn up damaged and you have to replace them? Or worse, what happens when you realise some stores don’t have the right audiences to fit that campaign? Sure, your marketing and merchandising teams have done their jobs to make sure everything looks great, but what if you could do things differently and make their lives a little easier?

Digital screens and LEDs come in all shapes and sizes and can be updated from anywhere at any time. You could test and learn from real interactions at a store level before rolling out across your entire range. You can update or change on a store-by-store basis for a more personalised approach based on real feedback from your store managers, and your head office team are able to control more of your campaign.

Plus, we’re all trying to be that little bit more environmentally-aware and businesses are no exception. Digital screens can help reduce the impact of printing, shipping and disposing of paper-based merchandising and signage too. You might be surprised how much this can cost. Find out how Midgard Storage saved money and time by installing digital signage in our case study.

5. Create points of interest

Screens are great – we love screens. Bcrut when you really want to plan your space, really understanding what your customers want out of your retail store is crucial. Digital engagement points can be designed specifically for your use case. Maybe it’s light boxes to highlight key product, wayfinding solutions to help direct people to the right location, or even ticker tape that is clearly visible across your store to point out points of sale, collection points or fitting rooms.

Whatever it is, with a bit of creativity, you can create a space that truly works to engage and win your customer.

So that’s it! Are we missing any that you would include?

Digital futures
evolving retail.

From the most up to date consumer trends, how creating an experiential space for customers is driving sales, to the commercial opportunities that business are looking for, this ebook covers everything you need to know for the changing future of retail stores.

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