
With the rapid technological advancement and high experience expectation of the next generation of consumers (millennials and beyond), for retailers to be successful in the future they need to consider a minimum of three dimensional approach: online, offline and virulent (augmented + virtual reality).
Online retail experiences While online retail has always had an edge in creating personalised shopping experiences, until recently it was never able to engage beyond screens to touch consumers directly. Amazon is leading the way when it comes to testing new retail technologies. The Amazon Dash button empowers the tech-savvy consumer to reorder household products at the click of a button, using a small internet-enabled device. The internet giant also recently launched Amazon Home Services, an on-demand installation and handyman service. Online to offline experiences In the world of luxury and fashion, we have seen companies shift from online to offline experiences, from opening offline stores to merging or buying offline outlets. Independent online boutique retailer Farfetch bought one of London’s favourite boutiques, Browns, with the aim of creating a “pioneering mix of technology and in-store experience”. Farfetch hopes that the new relationship will help develop a global technology platform that will “shape the retail experience of the future”.Read more on the changing retail landscape:
- Indie retailer network StreetHub rebrands with ?1.7m from Secret Escapes and ASOS investors
- Why Camden Market partnered with a business incubator based on a double-decker bus
- A third of new businesses could be pop-ups by 2017
Share this story