Drawing on its network of experts across 40 countries, Mood Media — the world leader in elevating in-store customer experiences – has launched a global trends book looking at businesses across five continents and providing 30 examples of successful in-store customer experiences today. Those positive customer experiences center around four key trends: customisation, immersion, community and convenience.
A global viewpoint showing extremely consistent in-store trends across the individual countries
One of the key learnings from this analysis is the consistency of the observed trends across countries. Of course, the individual customer experience will be very different depending on geographic areas and the economic development of countries, but for the shops at the forefront of customer experience, strategies and applications are often the same. From Nigeria to Chile, Vietnam to France, the vision of the in-store customer experience is becoming global in its design and activity. It is also no longer only retail brands that are investing in an elevated customer experience.
This trendbook also notes the incredible international evolution and subsequent success of shopping malls. In Colombia, 24 new shopping centres will open their doors by the end of this year! Now more than simply destinations for shopping, malls increasingly serve as cultural and entertainment venues: housing theme parks in Indonesia, organising festivals and concerts in Morocco, hosting theatres in the Ivory Coast, or even housing universities.
Proximity is also growing in importance as brands redefine convenience and create smaller store footprints closer to their shoppers. 7Fresh in China and Cartier in Japan are two such examples. With small, local shops the brands respond to both the new imperative of fast delivery and the expectation among consumers that brands adapt product offerings and general atmosphere to meet local specificities.
Increasingly, across the globe e-merchants and digital start-ups are joining the physical retail space: with Amazon in Mexico or Alibaba in China, the giants of online trade are investing in small independent businesses and creating new standards of phygital commerce, be it click and collect or by modernising the payment options.
For Valentina Candeloro, Mood Media International Marketing Director, “Today’s consumers are extremely well informed and very aware that they’re in a position to demand better in-store experiences. They want everything to be available right when they desire it, and delivered to them they want it. Brands face a life-threatening reality and must create more personalised and engaging customer journeys. Stores are reinventing themselves to stay competitive, and we clearly see a new type of retail emerging.”
4 major trends for a renewed customer experience in store
Mood Media has identified four major global trends that put the customer at the centre of the experience.
1. Customisation
Used occasionally in stores with technologies such as 3D printing, customisation is primarily a physical concept, as it is in Levi’s Tailor Shop. Artificial intelligence will also become an important ally, but has not yet penetrated our daily stores. Some early stages of AI are interesting; in Vodafone Kiri, a digital assistant, is present in the store to welcome customers and address simple requests. Another exciting example is the conquest of customisation by Adidas with their Speedfactory project.
2. Brand immersion
This is a way for brands to immerse their consumers in their own universe. For this, they have two amazing tools at their disposal: art and play. The Canadian Samsung store looks like a piece of art within a shopping centre. General Pants in Sydney also has a half-basketball court in its retail store so customers can experience their products in action.
3. The store as a community
Brands are creating greater opportunities for emotional engagement with consumers which transcend the products and create a sense of community. Having both physical and digital spaces where like-minded consumers can gather fosters this. There are three types of in-store experiences that are great examples of this:
- Collective: Pirch in New York encourages customers to feel at home in their household equipment store. Guests are greeted at the kitchen counter with a hot coffee and fresh lemonade, and all devices in the store – ovens, faucets, showers, grills, etc. – are fully functioning and available for use.
- Gathering: Increasingly, the store is a meeting place or a place to relax, complete with a café or restaurant. Banco Galicia in Argentina offers a Starbucks cafeteria service with free Wi-Fi, a coworking space and expert advice. This is also the expression of a “selected” community, as is the case with Revolve Clothing in the United States, where access can only be gained by invitation.
- Collaborative: A collaborative environment is exemplified in stores that can act as a community living space where customers can learn together, plays sports, train, or discover together. An example of this is the Lego store in China where families are invited to go to the store to design innovative constructions, while having a good time together. The Canon Collective store in Australia also organises a variety of weekly activities, including photography guides for beginners, photo tours, and editing workshops in the store.
4. Convenience redefined
The digital world has profoundly impacted the physical world and has renewed the importance of this fundamental element of retail: to be of service to customers.
- 7Fresh in China is the next-generation supermarket dedicated to food, with smart trolleys that guide customers through the aisles, a mobile payment app with WeChatPay,a 30-minute delivery service, and a restaurant where products purchased by customers can be prepared.
- Woolworths 3.0 in Australia, the neighbourhood store that includes a new car park collection area; using an app, customers warn the store of their arrival and park in a designated area, removing the need to get out of the car to pick up their items.
- The Nike Store in LA and the newly opened NYC store use NikePlus data to personalise the in-store visit: with entry recognition, item availability and on-shelf payment, customers can also book items for pick up in the store and apps allow shoppers to make a return or exchange while never getting out of their car. Smart lockers also unlock unique offers and products in a large vending machine and style consultants offer on-the-spot personal recommendations.
About Mood Media Corporation
Mood Media Corporation is the world’s leading in-store media solutions company dedicated to elevating the Customer Experience. We create greater emotional connections between brands and consumers through the right combination of sight, sound, scent, social mobile and systems solutions. Mood reaches more than 150 million consumers each day through more than 500,000 subscriber locations in 100+ countries around the globe. Mood’s clients include businesses of all sizes and market sectors, from the world’s most recognised retailers and hotels to quick-service restaurants, local banks and thousands of small businesses.
For more details: www.moodmedia.co.uk