The Future of Retail Customer Journeys

Shopper expectations are evolving faster than retailers are innovating and they expect to be put at the center of the shopping experience.

Shoppers have a new and maturing set of expectations of retail. Many of the shifting attitudes of customers are being led by people currently between the age of 18 and 34, often referred to as the Millenials. There are two billion Millennials and they are estimated to spend $2.5 trillion by the year 2020. Millennials expect to have a much more active relationship with brands and retailers than previous generations and they have a low tolerance for inefficiency and are looking to more sustainable modes of consumption.

So what are the customers of the future expecting?

Customers are looking for fluid, seamless, frictionless shopping experiences. They want what they want, when they want it, and how they want it. And they want to get it as quickly and as easily as possible. The last thing a consumer wants is that their customer journey is interrupted, whether that is caused by a website glitch, an inattentive sales assistant, or poorly designed in-store technology. They simply want to get in and out of stores more quickly. There is clearly an opportunity to reduce friction throughout the entire customer journey, and also to deploy technology that helps people quickly find and select the products and services they need.

An increasing number of customers want certain types of shopping to be an experience, and not just be a speedy acquisition. Interactive technologies that embrace natural interfaces and that span multiple senses of the shopper can create memorable experiences for shoppers that create deeper relationships with brands. Shoppers are increasingly also looking for products, services and experiences that have been customized to meet their individual needs. This is particularly true of Millennials.

Beyond customized products and services, shoppers are seeking personalized shopping experiences so retailers will need to examine their businesses and look for areas where it is appropriate to offer personalization. They will need to find ways to customize experiences for their customers but they will at the same time need to understand each shopper as best they can and have the intelligence and analytics capabilities in place to enable them to make every experience in the store both personal and relevant.

Shoppers of today sees one shopping experience, spread across multiple channels. They will increasingly want those channels to be as integrated and seamless as possible—one experience that matches across all channels.

Shoppers don’t see a difference between online and in-store shopping. It’s all just shopping to them. And with a shopper population that is now connected 24/7, every moment is a potential shopping moment. Shoppers are engaging with brands and products using a range of devices that varies depending on time of day: desktop, smartphone, tablet and laptop. Retailers should imagine a range of shopping experiences in the future that span gracefully across multiple channels in this way.

Retailers need to be able to hold and maintain a conversation with shoppers that spans across all these devices and also across the physical retail space. They need to do so seamlessly and without creating any friction for shoppers. Retailers must also have a consistent message across the shopper journey between the physical and digital worlds, and there must be no distinction between physical and virtual inventory.

So how do you meet these expectations?

Retailers are increasingly looking for products, processes, design, and technical solutions to meet the ever higher demands from their customers. Solutions to provide better customer experiences exist today and they come in many forms. These solutions include:

• Appointment systems that integrates not only with your web and mobile experiences but that also integrates with the in-store experience to provide fluid and seamless customer journeys across channels.
• Mobile solutions to allow customers to shop while they wait for services or products regardless of where they choose to be or when they choose to shop. Solutions that allow you to reach and maintain conversations with shoppers both online and in the store.
• Integrated Digital Signage solutions that provides personalized communications and marketing messages that are relevant to the individual customers behavior and expectations.
• Smart business apps for mobile devices to empower your frontline staff and create better first impressions to ensure high quality, personalized customer experiences.
• Business intelligence solutions gathers detailed data from the customer journeys and allow you to analyze and improve your customer experiences in high detail.