The unprecedented change the retail industry has been confronted with over the last few years continues. A painfully slow economic recovery coupled with breakneck technological advances are combining to remake a retail landscape that was already having trouble keeping pace after the economy initially tanked back in 2008.
Today’s consumers continues to morph and change, carrying with them sophisticated expectations as well as a bevy of devices that keep them constantly connected to the world around them.
The boundaries between the virtual and physical space continue to blur and the need to constantly rethink the role and function of your store has become vital. While no one is predicting an end to the brick-and-mortar retail environment, the challenge remains making your physical space work in concert with your online and mobile efforts.
Gone are the days where simply stocking your shelves with the latest imaging gear and services was the bedrock for success. Connecting with your customers on a more emotional level, especially for imaging retailers, is essential to retaining your loyalists and also to attracting a new generation of flag wavers for your brand.
With all this mind, we thought we’d take a look at a few consumer trends we’re seeing that should help keep your finger on the ever-quickening pulse of today’s consumer.
Engagement Party
We hate to keep bringing up the same word all the time, but here we go again: customer “engagement” remains a huge part of the retail mix. While it’s up to your in-store personnel to tackle this in your brick-and-mortar space, more and more consumers are looking for the same level of engagement through their mobile devices. A recent Harris Interactive survey of U.S. adults found that 63% of female respondents and 73% of male respondents don’t go an hour without checking their phone. It has literally become an appendage.
Getting just a slice of that engagement could be huge for retailers, and your mobile strategy should be all about developing a strong voice and showcasing product and service offerings that make people want to share and talk about it all with their social sphere.
Big Data a Big Deal
Be careful with this one as the current discussion surrounding “big data” is about walking that tightrope between using the digitally gathered lifestyle/shopping information on your customers in a way they see as beneficial and not intrusive. There is a very fine line between offering your customers your products/services based on recent purchases and other lifestyle data you obtain and freaking them out with overly aggressive and far-to-frequent pitches that simply make them feel as though they are being watched.
Special (and not constant) mobile-offered discounts and coupons have been big winners here. Just swim these waters cautiously.
Short-Form Content
There’s lots of talk lately, and much of it controversial, about the latest memory sharing apps Snapchat and Vine. For the uninitiated, both of these image/video-based apps are about sharing the briefest of life’s moments. Vine (owned by Twitter) has a six-second limit on the clips users upload, and Snapchat images can viewed for up to 10 seconds and then automatically vanish into thin, cyber air. The notion behind both is the encouragement of capturing more spontaneous, unedited and real moments from the days of our lives.
What’s more interesting to us is the fact that consumers are now getting used to and even enjoying the short-form messaging that Twitter introduced, and these apps continue to foster. This opens up a whole new world for your mobile marketing efforts on embracing short-form content.
If you’re saying to yourself right now, “What can I possibly say in six seconds?” you’re missing the point. Rather, you should be telling yourself, “This represents an amazingly creative way to give our customers frequent glimpses into who we truly are as a business.”
Above all, it has become even more essential than ever that retailers understand that emotional connections with consumers are an extremely powerful way of getting their attention today. Whether you use humor, emotion or simply provide useful facts, those that react successfully to these trends will come out the big winners in the 2013 and beyond.
