VMSD - February 2016 - (Page 4)
FROM THE EDITOR
Designing the Experience
Smart retailers are enhancing the shopping experience,
delivering personalized, top-notch service.
If you check the headlines regularly, you've read the statistics and heard the "experts'" tales of the
death of the store at the hands of online shopping. Any misstep on the part of the retailer can
seemingly be attributed to the huge numbers of consumers ravenously flocking to online stores to
the detriment of bricks-and-mortar establishments.
But what those who make this argument fail to recognize is that there is one area where it's
virtually impossible for a website or mobile app to compete with a physical store - and that's in
the shopping experience. Though I'm much closer in age to the baby boomers than I am to the
millennials (Gen X, here), I consider myself a digital native. I came of age during a time when we
marveled at the possibilities of email, and could count on one hand the number of rudimentary
websites that married graphics and text for the first time.
As connected as I am (smartwatch, tablet, smartphone and laptop), nothing compares to
the experience of walking into a well-designed and beautifully merchandised store. Whether I'm
shopping for something in particular (I have my eye on a smart pair of handmade leather oxfords
right now), or just enjoying a bit of retail therapy, I simply cannot replicate the experience of instore shopping online. For commodity items, sure. I can't honestly tell you that I get the same emotional reward from picking up aluminum foil and laundry detergent.
But bricks-and-mortar retailers must not rest on their laurels, for consumers are
demanding better experiences each time they shop. "Consumers' increasing demand
for concierge-like services is forcing retailers to improve the connection between
digital and physical and put a greater focus on enhancing the in-store experience,"
said Gary Ambrosino, ceo, TimeTrade (Tewksbury, Mass.), in a recently released
survey of 5400 shoppers and 100 senior execs.
There's no doubt that the consumer will continue to raise his or her expectations of what the in-store experience looks like. Smart retailers will focus on a
"concierge experience," where prompt, attentive and personalized service by
informed sales associates is the rule, not the exception.
Jennifer Acevedo
Editor-in-Chief, VMSD magazine
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of VMSD - February 2016
VMSD - February 2016
Contents
From the Editor
VMSD Editorial Advisory Board
The Goods
Next Store
It's In the Bag
A Nontraditional Noel
Eye Candy
Natural Curves
Luxury in Paradise
Showroom
Ad Index
Checking Out
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