According to retailers, the store remains alive and well.
Data from Jumpmind shows that 85 percent of retailers said the store remains the company’s top target for growth. Three in four retailers said customers still enjoy browsing and purchasing in stores.
But as they think about where the store is headed in the next few years, 65 percent of retailers indicated that the current technology deployed in their stacks isn’t well suited to handle the future of shopping and the future of the store.
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Jumpmind’s data shows that, for some retailers, that may be attributable to lagging point of sale (POS) systems; among retailers that have not upgraded their POS systems in more than five years, more than half said their POS prevents them from offering customers a differentiated experience.
However, the data also showed that those with more advanced technology systems in place were more likely to have a continued interest in upgrading systems to create further impact. That could easily allow them to garner positive consumer sentiment, particularly in a time when the consumer is feeling price sensitive and cautious about the economy, said Lauren Cevallos, director of strategy and customer success for Jumpmind.
“The winners were more likely to critique the state of their technology and their stores, and to be less in denial about it and aware that there’s work to be done,” she said. “That’s important because it is true that retail is evolving; consumer needs are evolving. That mindset of always looking at what more could we do to enhance our customer experience, that’s really important.”
Competition continues to loom large over retailers’ psyches, so controlling consumer experience to the best of their ability seems to be important to companies. When asked to rank their top three external business challenges, 41 percent of retailers cited the rise of online competition and 38 percent of retailers said that direct-to-consumer brands are “undermining the significance to the store.”
Cevallos said that, while she wasn’t surprised to see retailers’ concern over competition, the No. 3 answer to that same question stuck out to her: 36 percent of retailers noted that shoppers’ increasingly being informed and demanding is a business challenge. She noted that, with the right mix of technology and human knowledge, retailers can easily overcome that challenge.
“The only time that’s a threat is if your channels aren’t synced, or if you’re not giving your associates the tools that they need to at least be as informed as the customer,” Cevallos said. “When your channels are in sync, your associates have tools to look up inventory, to see product information, then you can provide a great experience.”
Some retailers are looking directly at automation to give them an edge on consumer experience; 75 percent of retailers said that, in order to be able to provide better service to shoppers, they believe that “every non-selling function in stores” needs to be automated.
Simultaneously, 88 percent of retailers noted they believe the store should be easier and more fun for consumers to shop. But Cevallos said retailers should prioritize the latter, not the former.
“We’re all shoppers, and the reality is, we want stores that are clean, that are easy to navigate, [with] pricing consistent with what we see online. When we go online and look up inventory, we expect that to actually be in the store. If we need help, there are associates available that we can talk to, and they’re knowledgeable,” she said. “Those are foundational table stakes that we should get right before thinking about fun.”
Cevallos said that though bespoke experiences have changed the store over the past five years, she doesn’t expect to see rapid advancement in the coming five years. She said that retailers have listed technology upgrades like endless aisle, interactive displays and more as priorities for years, but haven’t always acted on that in a meaningful way. In the coming years, she expects retailers will finally implement the tools they’ve long talked about, making the stores more efficient.
“We’re just going to have better experiences. I don’t think it’s going to be some kind of spacey, totally AI-driven type of [store],” she said. “More brands and retailers are going to be able to deliver on the promise of buy anywhere, buy how you want, which will be a really good thing.”
