GradView: As consumers go virtual, how can retailers make this work for them?

By , 2 September 2014 at 11:30
GradView: As consumers go virtual, how can retailers make this work for them?
Business

GradView: As consumers go virtual, how can retailers make this work for them?

By , 2 September 2014 at 11:30

By Mark Meghezzi (@meghezzi), graduate at O2 UK

2 September 2014: As consumer habits shift towards more convenient, virtual methods to make simple transactions, how can retailers transcend the transaction and become a venue worth visiting?

By moving away from the traditional, trading centric, view of a channel, successful retailers are able to embed themselves into every community in which they exist.

To begin to answer this, we must first look at obituaries of the retailers who have walked the plank as a result of this brave new world. Woolworths, Blockbuster and HMV are the three oft-cited examples, but they share the grave alongside a plentitude of smaller retailers. In the halcyon days of the High Street, these retailers accounted for over 2,000 outlets across the UK, transacting with millions of customers per week.

Transacting was to be their downfall though. With the explosion of online retail and growth of OTT players such as Netflix and Spotify, these companies failed to recognise this egress in consumer habits, and with it lost their place in the value chain.

The leading retailers of today combine a willingness to embrace this omnichannel customer journey (see John Lewis for a shining example), with another key element.

Community. It is easy to view retail outlets as mere bricks and mortar, transacting with customers in isolations, before closing their doors at night. Successful retailers identify these venues as hubs – in which their brand (staff) interacts with their customers and potential customers (communities) on a daily basis. By moving away from the traditional, trading centric, view of a channel, successful retailers are able to embed themselves into every community in which they exist.

With the explosion of online retail and growth of OTT players such as Netflix and Spotify, these companies failed to recognise this egress in consumer habits, and with it lost their place in the value chain.

These community routes are grown through various approaches, with some excellent examples here in the UK. Apple’s Workshops are a very product-oriented approach, but bear fruit in terms of opportunities to cross-sell as well as building trust and confidence in the local staff. By offering facilities (rooms, buffets, staff) to local charities and trusts, Tesco offer opportunities for their staff to engage with their local community, as well as building key brand metrics and customer retention.

To dine at this table, telecoms retailers must recognise and embrace their current identity. Whilst product workshops are likely to be met with scepticism and distrust, there is a huge opportunity to leverage a substantial retail footprint, and drive engagement and conversation with customers at a local level, surprising and delighting customers and staff.

To find out more about our pilot programme, O2 Guru Bytes, click here or reach out to Mark on LinkedIn

 

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