Story: Leon Condon
Leon Condon is CEO of Engagis, a regional leader in digital display technology and customer engagement solutions. Its clients include, Telstra, Apple, Amcal, Myer, LJ Hooker and others.
Not long ago retailers were feeling under serious threat. It was a case of: Online vs Brick & Mortar, but now it’s very much a case of Online and Bricks & Mortar. ‘Omnichannel’ is being embraced; and for good reason
Customers continue to embrace the online experience, perceiving it to be faster, easier and more personal (and at times more cost effective). They are the benefits we’re hearing loud and clear from consumers when it comes to internet shopping.
The key for today’s retailers is to bring these benefits in store — to make the retail experience faster, easier and more personal.
MAKING EVERY STORE HUGE
Our company has been working on some exciting projects with small and large retailers across a wide variety of store formats, from 2500sqm flagship outlets through to 80sqm retail footprints with limited product range. But the fact remains, no matter how large the store, retailers can rarely showcase all of their stock. Their website however, can. So we’re delivering the capability to showcase their entire range in every store. With ‘click and deliver’, the store environment does what Bricks & Mortar does best — embody the essence of the brand and empower the customer to touch and feel products. With digital integration it is now also possible to showcase the retailer’s entire range of products, regardless of store size.
This is possible through what would traditionally be called a ‘kiosk’. Effectively it’s an interactive display or digital touchpoint that provides a consistent brand message and allows customers to experience your full product range. Naturally, you’ll have staff on hand to assist where necessary.
If you want an example of where the kiosk’s influence is palpable, think of an automotive dealer. Vehicles are big-ticket items and customers wouldn’t dream of buying a new car without first making a stop into a new car dealership. Today’s customers are normally well researched and of course it’s impossible for the car yard to stock every variation of a new vehicle. So a digital touchpoint (such as a touch table or tablet stand) that allows representatives to walk the customer through multiple options is a powerful sales tool indeed.
SMALL YET POWERFUL
Using larger-format interactive displays to present a unified digital front to the public is a logical development for many retailers. If you’ve not already got a plan in place then you owe it to yourself to get one. But I’d like to dwell on the role of the small-format display in retail. I believe this is where we’ll see the real growth and innovation in digital engagement.
Small screens are rapidly changing the way products are sold. Telstra has one of the largest networks of connected screens in the nation. But predominantly, these screens are small-format and provide individualised information for a particular handset or device. Fewer and fewer brochures and tickets are to be found in store. It’s all about digital engagement. What’s more, you no longer simply see a model number and a price, you’re presented with a feature set and specifications. Then, thanks to some clever security devices you can even reach out and interact with the handset. You can also directly compare the device with another beside it; contrasting the features, aesthetics and pricing all at once. You simply can’t achieve this sort of hands-on engagement with a big screen on loop in the corner of the store.
Small-format displays are also gaining influence in the banking sector. As we know, bricks & mortar branches are no longer where most banking transactions occur. Bank branches are increasingly transitioning to become advice centres and this needs to be the focus of the modern-day bank branch — to attract new and existing customers to their branches so that friendly and knowledgeable advice can result in a ‘sale’. On the frontline are small-format interactive displays: an iPad, a Samsung Galaxy tab or similar. The tablet helps you to explore what the bank has to offer, punch in loan calculations, and answers basic questions. When a consultant is available they can come to the fixed/secure unit and simply release the device using an RFID secure tag. The conversation can then continue on a couch or in a consulting area. This gives the customer a seamless user experience and the consultant access to rich information on the very device upon which the enquiry began.
Again, this is not the role of a large-format display, which will otherwise be used for one-way promotions, noticeboards and queue management.
DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT
Digital engagement is not about getting one touchpoint right. It’s about closing the loop on every touchpoint and following your customer right through the pathway to purchase. It begins from the point at which they enter the market (or are invited to enter the market via your promotional work), then continues as they browse, search, select a product, order, pay and finally, are followed up post-transaction with a reward for their loyalty.
All of these digital delivery methods should assist you to connect your customer with your brand, be it your website, your digital signage, the in-store kiosk, small-format displays or even your customer’s smartphone. Just over 6% of all retail sales in Australia are currently made online. Let’s not forget that leaves some 94% of your sales occurring within the physical confines of your store. It begs the question: why would you not offer the same level of information in-store as you do online?
How you close that loop and provide the right information in-store and in the right manner will depend on the product and your customer. But increasingly, it’s clear that screens are getting smaller rather than larger. And yes, that means interacting with the hundreds of screens already in your store: your customers’ smartphones in their pockets.
But that sounds like the topic of another column in a future issue of this magazine.
For more on Engagis’ philosophy regarding digital engagement go: engagis.com/resources for a free whitepaper entitled ‘The Digital Touch Revolution’.