Brands embrace technology to keep brick-and-mortar outlets real for customers
High-end brands are integrating technology into their physical stores, allowing customers to see what they want to buy in every colour and configuration
When you step into Burberry’s flagship store on London’s Regent Street, you are immediately greeted by a floor-to-ceiling screen displaying runway footage. Broadcasting the latest looks from London Fashion Week, the screen provides a foretaste of the audio-visual experience you can expect to enjoy in the rest of the store.
Nearly 500 speakers pump out sound to accompany the images on the 100-odd screens within the store, instantly engaging with the customers.
The screens and mirrors also show bespoke multimedia content relating to certain garments and accessories that have radio-frequency identification technology woven into them. When a customer approaches a mirror to try on a product, the mirrors – as if by magic – become screens showing runway footage and other exclusive videos.
Technology is not just integrated with the immersive audio-visual experience. According to the brand, the flagship store experience is a marriage in which “online insights meet offline interactions to create the ultimate in luxury customer service”. Store associates are all equipped with an iPad that provides a detailed log of customers’ purchase histories and their preferences.
Burberry’s chief creative officer and CEO, Christopher Bailey, says:
“Our Regent Street flagship brings our physical and digital worlds together to create amazing experiences that encompass everything from fashion, to heritage, to music, to the Burberry foundation.”
Since it opened its flagship store in 2012, Burberry has become a trendsetter in the integration of technology with the physical retail space, creating a seamless experience for customers. Other brands are also tapping into this trend.
This may seem a strange direction to be moving in, given the ease with which shoppers can buy clothing online, these days. Aren’t brick-and-mortar stores supposed to be at risk of becoming obsolete? As one industry expert says: “Retailers have long resigned themselves to the ubiquity of online retail and how its growth displaces physical store visits.”
So why are brands still choosing to up the ante with their physical stores?
According to the Total Retail 2016 report, published by PwC, “the physical store is still operating from a position of strength, even as foot traffic slows”.
Data from the report shows that, while many consumers prefer to research product categories online, they often still desire some sort of physical interaction with a product before deciding whether or not to buy it. And the higher the price of a product, the more a consumer is likely to want to touch and feel it before deciding whether or not to make the purchase, the research adds.
While only 33 per cent of consumers prefer to research watches and jewellery in brick-and-mortar stores, 50 per cent make their final decision to purchase inside shops, the report says. Similarly, 52 per cent and 59 per cent of consumers prefer, respectively, to buy electronics goods/computers and household appliances in stores, compared to 29 per cent and 35 per cent, respectively, who conduct their research in stores.
It is important for brands to create a store environment that encourages shoppers to make their purchases once they are in the retail space, experts say. This involves creating a space that shoppers can enter with the expectation that their needs will be satisfied.
