Recently, Whippet founder Steve Stoner was invited to speak at the 21st Asia-Pacific Retailers Convention & Exhibition (APRCE), where he discussed his thoughts on the future of physical retail stores.
We sat down with Steve for an insightful Q&A debrief and find out why he’s excited for what’s in store…
Q. Steve, given your passion for retail, and the store experience in particular, you must be delighted to still see real, physical retail stores thriving?
A: It is good to know that even though digital interaction with brands is now very normal in our lives, people are still craving the tactile experience and connection that shopping in physical stores gives us, and I confidently predict we’ll still have ‘real’ stores into the foreseeable future. There will likely be an evolution of sorts, maybe with more retailers leaning into the ‘showrooming’ model, perhaps combined with community hub style stores.
Q: What are the benefits of showrooming?
A: In a showroom setting, customers interact with the brand and product more casually, without the pressure of a traditional sales focused environment. The brand only needs to carry a smaller, more thoughtfully curated selection of products, making it space efficient and opening the door to take advantage of cost-efficient pop-up opportunities. It’s a strategy that’s been working for brands like Apple and Samsung for years, where we see the focus on encouraging customers to engage with products and the brand, rather than simply make a purchase.
Q: What about technology trends? How do you see them shaping the future retail experience?
A: There are some key areas which I think will be most noticeable.
First, is the seamless integration, converging and blending of multiple technologies into the customer journey. Customers will experience AI combined with natural language voice commands, combined with indoor positioning systems, combined with inventory and shelf management systems, combined with near field technology, combined with IoT devices combined with big data and personalisation. The overlap, connection and integration of these technologies and more will enable smart store experiences that feel intuitive and natural to the customer. All of this will be geared towards anticipating and pre-empting customer needs and behaviours, so their experience is exactly what it needs to be.
Simple things like the shopping list feature you typically find in grocery store apps will become genuinely helpful. You’ll be able to use natural language input more effectively, apps will automatically help you navigate your store efficiently based on the categories - not just the items in your list - while still allowing you to shop naturally in the physical environment, and of course, the payment process is likely to be checkout free.
Most of these technologies are already with us in one form or another, but the big shift will be how seamless, automatic and effortless it will seem to the customer.
Secondly, our shopping experiences will become even more intertwined with the technologies that are a part of our daily lives. The internet gave birth to online shopping, smart phones gave us that ability on the move and in our pockets, but what’s next?
It might be smart rings, AI pins, smart headphones, smart glasses with heads-up displays, AR or VR headsets or even more powerful smart phones, but whichever tech becomes the most popular and the most ubiquitous part of our lives will inevitably become part of our future shopping experiences.
The Apple Vision Pro is a recent example of how immersive experiences are taking shape. How long will it be before this capability is shrunk into a form of eyewear indistinguishable from a normal pair of glasses?
Imagine this integrated with a personalised digital avatar, accurate to your size, shape and skin tone, usable across all online retailers via your AR enabled smart glasses. And now combine it with the kind of advanced AI generated imagery currently being trialled by Google with its ‘Try-On’ technology. You could try on clothes at home, in front of a virtual mirror and see the fit and drape of the clothes, in different virtual environments and with different lighting. This would redefine how we experience retail, merging the convenience of online shopping with the realism of in-store browsing.
Q: Sounds like something out of science fiction!
A: It could be a lot closer than we think. I remember seeing a concept film about eight years ago - ‘Hyper Reality’ by Keiichi Matsuda - which imagined the merging of physical and virtual realities, essentially what we now call AR, Augmented Reality. I remember how overwhelming it seemed and thinking that something like this surely wouldn’t appear in my lifetime. Now I’m not so sure.
Q: So, what does retail look like in this new hi-tech world?
A: Well surprisingly, I also think we’ll see a parallel trend that is the antithesis of all the advanced technologies we’ve been talking about. I think of it as ‘analogue’ retail, and it’s an emphasis on real products and real experiences in real stores.
There are still a significant proportion of people who want to shop…in the traditional sense of the word. A huge movement is currently eschewing the cutting edge and craving truly tactile experiences, not digital ones. Vinyl records, film cameras and paper diaries all celebrate a more deliberate process, and I think a stream of retail will be the same.
The pressure will be on retailers to deliver brilliantly at the most fundamental level of retail. - well designed, visually engaging stores that help the customer fulfil their retail needs and desires.
Q: Will sustainability continue to play a role?
A: Absolutely. There’s already a huge customer demand for stores and businesses adopting more sustainable practices, so we’ll be seeing more focus on eco-friendly materials, energy-efficient systems, and designing stores with minimal waste.
Q: What should retailers be doing to future-proof their stores?
A: Technology won’t fix a bad store. And by that, I mean you have to get your basics right and remember that at the heart of it, most customers just want an easy and enjoyable shopping experience. By all means embrace new technologies and innovations, try new store formats and features, and experiment with new ways to interact with customers. But don’t neglect the fundamentals in the process.
Retailers should embody their brands in their store environments. Material finishes, textures, graphics, brand communications and tone-of-voice all need to be ownable, engaging and consistent across every store. Merchandising and stock levels should be exemplary. Team members must be friendly, knowledgeable and ready to help.
Every physical retailer should, of course, be doing this right now and not waiting for a trend to trigger it. It’s retail 101 after all. At the end of the day, customers are not as demanding as we sometimes think. Yes, technology can enhance the experience, but now and in the future, understanding the customer will always be at the heart of the most effective retail. Do what we do and think like the customer thinks.
As a brand communications agency with a ‘store-first’ philosophy, we’re skilled in making sure your brand is strongest where it matters most; at the pointy end of the customer experience. If you’d like to shop our thoughts, feel free to get in touch.
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