Online-to-offline (O2O) marketing strategies are seeing higher growth and generating better results than stand-alone e-commerce or offline retail strategies executed disjointedly. At a time when 80% of smartphone users are utilizing their phones in-store (as per a Google study), it makes perfect sense to think outside the old strategies and build an omni-channel retail experience that amalgamates your brand’s existence across platforms.
With fast growth of online shopping, brick-and-mortar stores are increasingly feeling the chills of showrooming and loss of sales due to quick product comparisons by the shoppers. But fashion retailers must remember that shoppers still crave for the physical shopping experience, and they have a big opportunity to take advantage of this nature by offering a connected experience to the customers so that they can get the best of both worlds.
The retail world is also witnessing an all new trend; a movement from clicks to bricks, popularly termed as “e-tail to retail”. 68% of young shoppers still prefer to shop in stores (NRF report) and online brands are quick to exploit this inclination. There have been many examples of online stores opening up physical stores, like Rapha, that sells high-performance cycling wear. “It’s hard for brands to engage with their customers in a purely digital way. If you want to truly connect with a customer and create a deep, ongoing relationship with them, then a physical experience is invaluable,” says Rapha’s chief executive Simon Mottram.
The retail space is gradually seeing rise of brands that have a major online presence with a lion’s share of their sales happening online, but they are opening physical stores too for experience-based marketing. Some fashion retailers are opening “guide shops”; and pioneering the trend is menswear brand Bonobos. The shoppers can simply visit the store, touch, feel, and try the merchandise, and then place the order online for free home delivery. Bonobos founder and chief executive Andy Dunn says, “When you look at retailers who are thriving in this environment, it’s the brands focused on delivering a strong service experience.” The boundaries are blurring and the retailers who will survive would be the ones who have a channel agnostic approach.
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