One of our most precious goods is time. Everyone has only a limited amount of this valuable raw material at their disposal, and often we ourselves cannot determine how this good is used freely. The part that we are free to design – namely: our free time – is therefore all the more valuable.
So the question of which activities we consider valuable enough to devote to them this last bit of time, which we can freely decide on, is anything but trivial.
So why should we put on our shoes, take the car/bus/train/bicycle and go to a shop whose range of goods we can definitely find on the internet. From the couch. In pajamas. Without shoes. The store that is vying for our time must therefore come up with an offer that can not only be displayed on the World Wide Web, but goes far beyond that. Because our demands as customers are growing.
The store that loves me
Even if it sounds superficial and a bit trite: the first impression counts. Nevertheless. Still. Within milliseconds we know if we like someone – or something. If it fits. Of course, this also applies to retail stores. How a store presents itself to the outside world – before the potential customer has even set foot in the door – says a lot about the target customer. A holistic example is provided by the new GALERIA flagship store at Frankfurt’s Hauptwache. The shopfitting and product range have been consistently adapted to the zeitgeist and the target group. This also included the integration of dozens of LED, LCD and touch-enabled screens, which brilliantly showcase the new face of the brand both in the shop windows and indoors.
Seamless shopping experiences
Screens and games are chic and nice, but it is important to underpin the initial hype about the new and to persuade customers to come back. Or even better: accompany them straight home. Seamless shopping is the magic word of the hour, promising customers a seamless shopping experience. The skilful, intuitive and value-added linking of online and offline. The customer should and may choose from various ways of finding, receiving and possibly returning his goods: Click & Collect, Click & Reserve, Ship from Store, Return to Retail, etc.
No matter where he or she finally found the object of desire, the customer should be able to buy the product intuitively and without hurdles at any point on the ‘journey’. Regardless of whether this happens on a mobile phone during a train journey, on a desktop computer at home or directly on site in the retail shop. The seller (i.e. the shop) can be found easily and without any problems – offline as well as online.
New = Sustainable
If a completely new store is developed or renovated, no company can avoid the topic of sustainability. While this buzzword primarily evokes the use of environmentally friendly materials and energy-efficient systems, sustainable investments should also be considered here. Especially during the Corona crisis, retailers were repeatedly faced with rapidly changing requirements and were obliged to develop hygiene concepts. Among other things, there was a temporary restriction of customers per square meter. Many retailers solved this with automatic, sensor-controlled admission controls: Sensor on the deck, screen at the entrance – done. But what happened to the expensive screen when the personal restrictions fell again? Couldn’t it be integrated into the store concept as a beautiful digital signage concept? And voilà – killing two birds with one stone: the regulations for admission control were met, and the new DS system was installed almost immediately.
Self-service systems are also becoming increasingly popular; whether as info points or self checkout tills. These meet the uni sono customer request for more self-sufficiency and also equalize the queues at the checkouts.
