Your stores: places to BE? Or just places to buy things?

One of Retailing’s Hottest Trends: Selling Experiences

“After years of choosing the speed and wide selection offered by big-box retailers such as Home Depot or online merchants like Amazon.com, customers are demanding higher engagement if they’re going to buy something in a store,” reports Lindsey Rupp of BloombergBusinessweek.* Stores must be “exciting destinations rather than places to make a quick purchase.” 

Some brands or chains, Rupp reports, already are selling experiences along with their goods. Consider:

• Lululemon Athletica offers yoga classes in its stores
• Apple holds in-store digital art and video workshops
• Some Cabela’s (outdoor outfitters) stores have indoor archery ranges
• PetSmart opened its first Pet Spa store, focused on the “pet lifestyle experience” for pets and their pet owners
• Teen retailer Urban Outfitters last year bought a pizza chain

Beyond "Product Demos"

In our view, each of these examples goes well beyond the merchandise, and focuses on actively engaging the customer.

• These experiences are not “product demos”. Instead, they showcase and celebrate using and enjoying the merchandise.
• Plus, customers engage not only with “experts” who use the products (those leading the sessions), they engage with other customers (people like themselves?) who also use the products.

In other words, compelling reasons to come to your store! Hands-on participation and involvement are essential for today's customers. So, what are you waiting for?

• Specialty retailers are well-positioned to deliver these in-store experiences. You have the product knowledge, the love of the merchandise, the respect for your customers. 
• And what a great way to energize your staff! Ask for their ideas, and try them all! Test different times of the week: What appeals during a weekday? How about weekends? Or evenings?

For retailers, synergism and involvement is the new competitive edge.

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* Pizza, Parks, and Pet Spas: Shoppers Will Pay More for Retail Experiences. Lindsey Rupp, BloombergBusinessweek, October 19, 2016.

The ApplePay "Wow!" Effect

 Consider these early experiences with ApplePay:

• Both cashier and customer say "Wow!" as transaction completes.
• Cashier explains "I haven't yet processed a return, but let's try it. Oh, it's done. That was easy!"  
• The really telling sign: customer admits to feeling giddy(!) when paying.

Talk about a new "Wow! effect" in retailing. But for paying?!

Apple as "Enabler" of Online Retail Success

With the iPhone and iPad, Apple pioneered the user-friendly devices for accessing the web. In our view, Apple thus became the enabler for the success of Amazon and all online merchants.

Now, the ApplePay "Wow! effect" may make Apple the enabler for brick-n-mortar retailers as well. 

Seems only fair, doesn't it?

Google and Amazon As Retailers?!?

Amazon's best-selling holiday item was its own Kindles. And now Google is selling its Nexus One smart phone online, directly to the customer (bypassing Google's previous customer, the phone carriers.)

Yep, selling to the ultimate consumer IS the definition of retailing. Increasingly, manufacturers assume that only they can "do justice" to their product line.

We all know what these companies are trying to do. They have immense confidence in the merits of their respective products, and they think retailing is easy. But it's not just the product. And retailing isn't easy.

The real test is whether these technology giants-turned-manufacturers-turned-retailers actually can be merchants? That is, can they consistently provide value to the customer?

Value: the benefits received for the burdens endured.

In our view, Google and Amazon are asking consumers to assume most of the burdens in these transactions.

• Go to the website, learn about the product, choose the item
• Ring up the transaction; send the money to us safely
• Be available to take delivery of the product
• Have questions? Use the online help forums.
• Have a return? Box it up and send it back.
• And "trust us" about receiving the credit.

Remarkable cost savings for the manufacturer. All those burdensome "retailing" issues have been shifted to the customer. Granted, maybe 10% of the market will think this is wonderful. No muss, no fuss.

Still this nagging question: Will the rest of the customers willingly endure these burdens?

Hasn't Apple proven that there's a role for storefronts "for the rest of us"?