Elevating the offline experience

In a world where one can buy just about everything at the click of a mouse, Rahul Dixit, a 37-year-old techie in Mumbai, does not mince words when he tells his friends “he loves visiting the store instead”. Dixit belongs to the growing tribe of millennials who place the in-store shopping experience above online shopping. The 2015 TimeTrade State of Retail study in the US establishes that over 85 per cent of consumers still prefer to shop in-store. In the last six years, e-commerce in India has grown phenomenally. Goldman Sachs estimates that the e-commerce market in India will cross the $100 billion-mark by FY 2020. The two data points prove that today marketers need to change their strategy periodically to hook the omnichannel shopper.

The need to get phygital Like Dixit, today’s consumers value phygital experiences. According to Cognizant, less than 12 per cent of retailers are able to offer omnichannel experiences. This will change as more retailers jump on to the phygital bandwagon. To put it simply, the phygital experience brings together the best of digital and physical retail. Why is this crucial? Today 95 per cent of purchase decisions are based on a combination of online, mobile and in-store interactions between a consumer and a brand.

Keeping this in mind, brands from various categories of products and services are donning a new avatar which is modest and not pushy in any way. This avatar is not just about competitive pricing. Rather, it focuses on creating a long-term devotion towards brands with the help of the right phygital experience which brings together RFID tags, digital associates, social buzz, virtual dressing rooms and after-hours pick up, among numerous possibilities.

A survey by PwC indicated that while 74 per cent respondents prefer shopping online, 66 per cent still value the offline experience at a physical store. Respondents voted for factors that are unique to physical stores, such as the ability to see, touch and try the merchandise, immediate availability of the product, and being more certain about fit or suitability. The research concludes that “even in categories where consumers predominantly buy online, a significant percentage of consumers still research online and buy in-store. According to the survey, for consumer electronics, the best-selling category online, 56 per cent of customers research online while 43 per cent prefer to buy in-store.

Like it or not, the physical store is here to stay. Consider these facts. In State of Broadband 2015, a report by the United Nations, India’s broadband penetration ranking has fallen to 155 from 113. This despite the fact that the number of people with broadband access on mobile phones has gone up to 5.5 per cent of the population compared with just 3.2 per cent in 2013. While things will change for good with the help of the Digital India campaign, computer literacy is low in India.

Designing customer experiences Interestingly, understanding the significance of a larger-than-life retail experience, many e-commerce players have invested in sophisticated experience centres. Customers can visit these large-format stores and get the touch-and-feel experience of a physical store. If they like something, the sales executive helps place the order on the company’s website. There you have it - the best of both worlds in the form of showrooming. But it is even more important to differentiate this experience from a run-of-the-mill experience in a departmental store. How?

The right mix of design and technology can ensure high engagement levels at the store, resulting in higher sales. With online-to-offline business models mushrooming around the world, today customer insight technology can blend software and hardware to create in-house data for retail brands to understand their customers better. App check-ins across airports, restaurants and clubs give retailers clear ideas on profiles of customers and their preferences. This data can be used to tweak offerings, and in some cases, in-store displays of products and promotion material.

Augmenting reality Then you have augmented reality (AR) which can enhance the retail experience by blurring lines between what’s real and what’s computer-generated. With its help, leading players in various categories of products and services have created unforgettable customer experiences. For example, toymaker Lego recently launched a new series of kiosks. When a shopper holds up a Lego product in front of the kiosk, the screen will display the completed model as if it were in her hands. In 2011, for its diamond brand Forevermark, De Beers enabled a virtual try-on AR tool.

Pokémon Go, the multi-player online mobile game, has gained immense popularity around the world. The game uses a phone’s GPS sensors to track the player’s location, and a stylised Google map as the primary game board. Your character moves in the game as you walk around in real life, and events and objects – known as PokéStops – are associated with specific locations in the physical world. Top brands such as Amazon, Mall of America and Whataburger have built user engagement with Pokémon Go.

In recent times, retailers have leveraged AR tools to grow their businesses in the business-to-business space as well. Players such as L’Oréal and Coca-Cola have invested in creating applications to simulate life-size products in-store.

Sales representatives of Coca-Cola Germany are able to access the full catalogue of coolers offline on their tablets. Later they can simulate 3D cooler configurations on-site for their customers.

This way AR can expedite the sales process and increase the conversion rate. With more global players entering India, there is a need to deploy cutting-edge technology in-store to keep the customers engaged. Both online and offline players must go back to the drawing board and re-strategise on how to make the most of one-on-one interactions with the consumers at the store.

Ashok Ghose is Senior Vice President - Postpaid, Tata Teleservices Ltd

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