The notion of omni-channel retailing is old hat. In fact, Stephens said if businesses are just now thinking of turning their operations into a multi-channel affair, they’re “already five years behind”.
“You’re better off thinking of purchases along a path the customer is walking,” he said, whether that be in a tweet, or a video.
Stephens pointed to eBay as a good example of the future here. The company has been testing a courier service, so users are able to purchase a product and have it delivered to them in a couple of hours no matter where they are – they simply track the customer through their mobile device.
“Our whole concept of access has changed,” he said. “We no longer wait to get distribution; we believe we can get it wherever we want.”
While it’s probably too much to ask businesses to start sending out couriers for all their product, it’s a legitimate point to make – businesses should be catering to customers’ expectations that deliveries can be made at any place, and any time.
With retail now so disjointed, offering a buying opportunity to customers is more about capturing them at the moment they want to buy, rather than offering an experience they don’t really want.
In practical terms, this means you need to be everywhere. If a customer is browsing Twitter and feels like buying, helping them do that gets you a sale. Interactive videos and other media work the same way.
“It’s less about conversion,” Stephens said, “and more about creating those moments.”
By investigating different types of media like videos, even things like blogs and infographics, you’re creating more opportunities for customers to experience a ‘moment’ of wanting to purchase something.
With the store becoming less prominent, the need for huge floor spaces will change.
This much has been obvious for a while – companies like Borders have suffered and ultimately collapsed due to their hunger for vast physical footprints.
“Many stores are downsizing their footprints and are making their stores less relevant,” Stephens said.
If you operate in the physical store business, then don’t be surprised if you find yourself downsizing any time soon. Remember, the purpose of your store will be different – so the square footage isn’t going to be as necessary.
If the purpose of the store is diminishing, then what exactly is the purpose of a retail store at all?
Stephens said the function of the physical store is to deliver experiences, rather than products. Just look at an Apple store, or some of Net-A-Porter’s physical experiments. They’re based on experiences, rather than simply shipping product.
When people come to your store, they need to be able to create or experience something, rather than simply buy.
“It’s going to be about making something, experiencing a product or simply creating something. That could be with a computer, or even in more specialised shops, like building a bicycle,” he said.
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Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
