No matter how lofty our ideals about business and the future are, we now know that physical brick and mortar shops will never die out. Psychologists have been trying to figure out why retail businesses mean so much to consumers. The leading theory is that we still want to have a tangible experience, something that connects us to the real world and our goods. Retail is of course subject to change and it will move with the times now. The times are lead by online businesses and their best attribute is that they offer speed and convenience. Retail business owners have come to the conclusion that retail is far from dead but boring retail is. If you’re asking yourself what exactly is boring retail then you might already be guilty of it.
Brightest foot forward
By now you’ve heard the stupendously cliche but true saying of ‘retail customers want an experience’. Well, one of the ways you do this is by tickling the senses. Firstly you need to grab their attention and since human beings are visual animals, bright colors ought to do the trick. Putting your brightest products right at the entrance of your business creates a visual attraction. It’s also a prelude for what else is in the store. For example, if you’re a grocery store, you should put your vegetables, snacks in shiny packaging and candy at the entrance so they’re the first things consumers see when they walk in.
Lack of speed kills
There must be a silent agreement between retail business owners and the customer. Each party should know, that nothing is holding the customer back from purely doing their shopping online. It’s not to say you should get on your hands and knees and praise said customers for the mere act of walking into your establishment. But you must somehow mimic the experience they would get online, in your store. With this system you get a free 10-inch tablet with stand, virtual terminal as well as a built-in reader that accepts magstripe, NFC payments and EMV chips. The checkout is where this should occur. Introduce a touchscreen point of sale system which not only helps the cashier but speeds up the process of payment. Contactless cards for example, are the way forward. From the system, you can track inventory stocks and also assign roles for your employees. Doing all this from one system speeds everything up, providing more convenience.
A little something for everyone
Every retail business owner must take lessons from the recent downfall of some retail giants. Toy R’ Us for example was seen as a separate destination to shoppers. It was purely a unique kind of store chain. However online shoppers can buy everything they want from one place, their home. Therefore, your retail store must have a little something for everyone. For example, electronic stores should also have drinks and snacks you can buy.
Retail shops must learn to take heed from online shops. Attract customers with bright colorful visuals, make their checkout experience smooth and offer something for everyone.
