Top Retail Takeaways From 2020 To Leverage In 2021

By Kate Prohorchik, Iflexion

2020 has become an endurance test for many industries. Retail also was unable to escape the crisis and, as a result, had to face the fact that digitization is inevitable. Brick-and-mortar shops have been rather slow on the digital transformation uptake and had to pay a high price. Many of them know little about their customers, can’t engage them across channels, and, what’s more important, can’t reach them when offline shopping is out of the question, thus making it easy for savvier competitors to expand their reach. According to Salesforce’s Q2 2020 Shopping Index, the global digital revenue reached 71% compared to the previous year.

Let’s review how changes in customer behavior and expectations have formed the retail agenda in 2020 and promise to grow into 2021 trends.

Physical And Digital Experiences Are Blending

Customers long for convenience even more than for personalization. Having an enormous choice of where and how to shop, they’ve got used to satisfying their shopping needs in a nonlinear way through their unique combination of channels. If a retailer can’t play by the customer’s rules, this business can disappear from the customer’s map of favorites.

To switch from just planning to following an omni-channel approach, retailers need to not only adopt custom retail software but also integrate it with all customer-facing systems and create a single unified hub for customer data and operations.

This hub should serve as a base for connecting online and in-store experiences and bring the convenience of online shopping to brick-and-mortar. It will provide a single view of customer preferences, purchase history, and loyalty information to help retailers engage and retain customers even during challenging times. For instance, such a system can allow customers to shop online while in-store, return goods bought online via in-store drop-off points, or have access to a single history of online and offline purchases.

Fast Reactions Are Powered By Data

The pandemic is akin to the evolution — only the fittest will survive. It’s particularly true for retailers. In many cases, it’s about either going bankrupt or quickly reinventing the approach to doing business. However, to rebuild the strategy, retailers need to understand where their efforts should be directed.

The most important tool in such a situation is analytics based on comprehensive real-time data. By spotting spontaneous activities and revealing new opportunities, retailers can instantly react to changes. For example, they can stock up different products based on fresh inventory insights or drive more attention to the channels with sudden activity spikes.

More Delivery Options

Retailers who haven’t offered delivery in 2020 have no other choice but to start providing the service. Those who had a delivery option had to expand their offer: contactless home delivery, curbside pickup, buy-online-pick-up-in-store, you name it. Under these circumstances, brick-and-mortar stores have to adopt certain practices that ensure a safe and seamless purchasing and pickup experience:

• Health checkups for employees responsible for any delivery stage.
• Clear instructions for different delivery options for customers, with the needed ID, store details and directions, and support contact details.
• Updates on the order status via notifications.
• A dedicated area for in-store pickup with clear signposts and a possibility to contact assistants.

During the lockdown or when footfall is extremely low, brick-and-mortar stores can be turned into distribution centers. This way, retailers can outrun online shops by providing same-day delivery from the stores closest to customers. Having an ERP platform or an order management system in place, retailers can activate inventory in stores and warehouses to be sold online and leverage AI algorithms to optimize stock and logistics.

Self-Service Becomes A Must-Have

Modern customers, particularly millennials, prefer having self-service as one of the support options. According to the Zendesk 2020 Customer Experience Trends Report, 69% of customers say they prefer using self-service channels for simple questions and issues to contacting customer support. In retail, self-service can become a part of the following operations:

• Order status tracking via a personal account or with an order ID number
• In-store or online return arrangement via a help center or a chatbot
• AR/VR assistance in selecting items in-store or online
• Contactless checkout via self-check kiosks or mobile checkout apps

Social Commerce Cements Its Presence

Brick-and-mortar visitors are no strangers to social media and are strongly influenced by them. Those retailers that move their storefronts to social media channels can get an additional competitive advantage. It is particularly relevant for smaller businesses that earlier existed in the shadow of successful brick-and-mortar and online giants.

To nurture their customers, retailers can take to social media to demonstrate featured products, complimentary product combinations, unboxing experiences, discounted items, and more. When viewing items right on their phone, customers will have all the tools to clarify details via personal messages or in the comments and then need to make just one step — to visit the store and get the product they fancy.

By partnering with local influencers, retailers can try product placement. This marketing technique can make potential customers want a part of the same beautiful story they’ve seen in their social media feed. Here it’s important to showcase authentic rather than overly staged situations. For this reason, it’s better to partner with those influencers who already tried and liked your products. Try a video format for such collaborations. For instance, your partner can visit your store and test your product right there.

Empathy Is Worth Staking On

Amid uncertainty and unrest, customers highly appreciate empathy-induced care. Those retailers who are ready to engage in rapport-building interactions and to bend their rules are more likely to win customers. With their loyalty rates high, customers can be more tolerant to mishaps, be it order delays or missing items.

The best approach retailers can try is to make things easier for customers based on the immediate context, like offering delivery even for small orders, providing flexible payment schemes, or adjusting return rules.

It’s also important to make in-store visits safe by redesigning interiors to maintain social distancing, providing contactless communication options, and equipping assistants with personal protection.

Start 2021 Fully Prepared

2020 hasn’t killed brick-and-mortar but instead revitalized offline shopping in many ways. It pushed retailers toward rapid digitization and made them find creative ways to adjust to the new normal. Retailers are learning to use data to understand their customers and probe for opportunities across new channels. In this regard, 2021 will surely see further retail reinvention directed at building agility and empathy.

About The Author

Kate Prohorchik is a Technology Observer at Iflexion.