How to create compelling retail experiences – when retail is everywhere and nowhere

Retail is everywhere, as anyone can now be a retailer – retailers, the producers, even influencers. The level of competition is enormous, and it’s hard to know how to create competitive advantage.

At the same time, retail can now take place everywhere, as it can be embedded into everything – an Instagram image, personalized meal plans, live streams and more. This means retail actually is all about EXPERIENCE, or rather: sales equals creating a more engaging experience.

This ‘everything and nothing’ marketplace can make brands unsure of where to start, or what to do next.

Onion skin framework

To turn complexity into clarity, Insider Trends developed the ‘onion skin’ framework:

Several clients have used it to clarify what to communicate across complex, multi-stakeholder, omnichannel ecosystems. It helps retailers put the most important things first, and not worry about channels until much later in the process. Use it by starting at the center and move outwards from there. By defining one layer, you’ll know what needs to be done in the next layer.

Customer first

Every business talks about being customer-centric. To truly be customer-centric, we need to take this literally and place the customer at the heart of what we do. We need to start this process by understanding the customer.

There are some crazily successful brands that, on the surface, seem to offer similar experiences as their competitors. There’s one key difference though – the successful brands understand their customers better. Much better.

Their secret seems to lie in a tailor-made approach in everything they do. These brands know their customers – inside out – and know why customers choose them above other brands.

Below are three key questions that you should know the answer to, in order to gain the competitive edge you’re looking for.

• Who are your customers?
• What media do they use: Instagram, YouTube, e-mail or print?
• What other brands do they purchase and how do these brands set their expectations?

Finding answers to these questions will help you know where you need to be. In doing so, think way beyond the realms of pet food, to every brand and interaction your customers might have. For example, if they’re an Uber customer, they may expect one-click ordering and payment. If they’re Peloton users, they may expect personalized combinations and packages.

And remember: if you’re ever in doubt about who your customers are or what they want, just ask them! Run a poll on social media, invite feedback in the comments, or chat to them in your stores. In addition to getting crucial insights, customers will feel more engaged – they’ll see that you’re shaping the brand around them, in response to their needs and requirements.

Fine-tuning your brand

Once you’re clear on who the customer is and what they want, you can establish which aspects of your brand will best appeal to these customers.

The leading brands have a handful of clear, strong values that they express across all channels. Lush’s values boil down to 2 strong characteristics: 1) fun and 2) ethics. Customers can feel and experience these across every touchpoint and brand experience. It makes the Lush brand experience consistent and compelling, wherever the customer interacts.

Don’t be afraid to let your personality show when defining these values, and steer away from listing out vague corporate values such as ‘excellence’ or ‘responsibility’. You need 2 to 3 values that cut through complexity. Scrap values that muddy the waters further.

Reaching the customers at all touchpoints in the ecosystem

Having clarified what you want to express, it’s time to express it – clearly and across all channels.

And the more you weave channels together, the more you win. Please note that this is about much more than buying online and in-store pick-up. Real engagement at all touchpoints also means you learn about individual customers in-store, so you can tailor digital and in-store pick-up experiences and communications to their needs. Or ensuring you can fulfill livestream orders from the customer’s local store, so they can have their purchase in hand in 20 minutes. Or rewarding the customers who engage with you most online and offline with exclusive experiences, delivered offline and online. Brands’ omnichannel journeys have only just begun – there’s so much more that can evolve, to the benefit of brands and customers.

Rethinking the customer experience

The last step is to optimize each experience in each channel, so that it’s as satisfying as can be. Many leading companies are rethinking the experience offered in various channels. For example, Enjoy is a delivery company that delivers the sales experience: a salesperson visits the customer’s house, discusses possible purchases and leaves them with their choice of product.

Another excellent example is the Boohoo app: it doesn’t just sell activewear to customers, it lets customers track their fitness activity, earning discounts and rewards in exchange for exercising more. Many more websites are realizing that, alongside shoppable content, engaging written and video content should be provided, to entertain customers, keep them coming back, build relationships and ultimately sell more.