The internet is making standard retail shops slowly start to die a death, which is a real shame. A good retail store is about a nice environment that you can browse or purchase items from and that customers can enjoy. A shop environment is, at best, a place brimming with personality, and at its worst, it’s just not your type of place. But the internet is reducing the act of purchasing products down to a click, which is a representation of today’s society. But what are ways in which modest businesses can fight back their E-nemies?
Play The Game
While many companies are purely trading online, there are many that are combining the efforts of online and in person. You could start up an app linked to your store, where customers can purchase an item from you and can come to pick it up. Many companies talk about interactive marketing, and you can use this to your advantage by having tailored marketing promotions, much like on Facebook, but actually have it in person via the app. Recommendations for items based on past purchases that have been made from the store can literally be pointed out for people. In 2017 interactive marketing is making a massive leap online, you could harness this into real life, combining the online and on-hand customer services approaches.
Make The Personality Ooze Through The Walls
If a store isn’t getting many customers through the doors, it could be down to a branding or personality problem. What is your business brand? Can it be reflected in how you dress and design your shop floor? Because it should be apparent to the customer when they walk through the doors what your style and sensibilities are, so they can make an informed decision about if it is suited to what they are looking for. Doing a makeover by adding in a futuristic angle by adding a metallic sheen, or emphasizing a rustic business by using textured Slatwall and brown colors are two extremes of putting your store across to the public. The design of your store, as well as the layout, needs to be as if your store is like another member of staff. Clichéd, it certainly is, but personality is the name of the game, and your store needs to ooze it.
Learn And Grow
From customer feedback to increasing your methods of contact with them, to having regular keep in touch sessions with your staff, there are many ways you can take stock in your store and your staff. Ask customers what they expect from the store, and what would make them set foot in there again. The competition is much bigger now, and e-commerce is leading the way in prices and items. Figuring out what exactly you need to heal and grow is vital, of course. But we need to implement strategies that can get the customer to come back to the store. Much like in the 60’s when music shops had a thriving atmosphere with listening booths and lively conversation, one can only hope that the standard retail store can capture something like that to make it relevant again.
