This month’s Ragtrader Magazine features a piece by our co-founder and CEO Andrew Maver where he discusses what remains key for Omnichannel Retailers to succeed in 2021.
With over half a million people rushing to Melbourne’s premier shopping precinct when restrictions eased, bricks and mortar remains the beating heart of any omnichannel strategy and an unequalled opportunity for customer engagement. If anyone was thinking that in-store shopping was a thing of the past post-COVID… think again!
Melbourne City Council reported 526,391 pedestrians flocked to the CBD on October 18 – the day COVID restrictions were lifted and stores re-opened. That’s over 10% of the population of metropolitan Melbourne. Far from being ushered to the corner of your omnichannel strategy, physical stores offer unrivalled opportunities to engage with your customers and should again be taking centre stage for retailers.Physical stores enable the full omnichannel orchestra to play together, offering consumers their choice of when and how they want to shop. Those retailers who didn’t take the opportunity to tune up during recent COVID lockdowns, are likely to be left behind.
Successful brands embrace omnichannel retailing
Recent research from Abode Analytics shows big-name companies looking to unify their eCommerce and in-store strategy is skyrocketing… even in the middle of a pandemic. Retailers who were amongst the first to embrace Click & Collect, saw a significant rise in Click & Collect orders during and post pandemic compared with 2019.
The human touch
At stockinstore we’ve seen over 8 million customers searching for products in-store (up by 119% from last year) and, during the Click Frenzy and Black Friday sales, a 40% increase in online shoppers checking product availability in-store. So while we carry on seeing a rise in online shopping, over 80% of shoppers still prefer going in-store to try on and purchase.
Australia is ready to shop
The Australian consumer has more confidence about shopping in-store relative to others around the world, according to Deloitte’s State of the Consumer Tracker, with 72% of Australian consumers feeling confident about shopping in-store, compared to 61% in the US and 55% in the UK. Customers are now looking for convenience to know that when they do go into store the items they are looking for are there. Retailers are readying themselves too. stockinstore data shows a 150% increase in the number of retailers choosing to provide customers with a ‘Find in Store’ solution.
A new wave of digital devotees
That’s not to say you don’t need digital too. The IHL group reported 52% of customers expect new buying behaviours to remain. Neilsen’s Global New Shopper Normal Study found that while only “9% of global consumers were shopping online before the COVID-19 pandemic,” once lockdown and restrictions set in 23% made a purchase online for the very first time.
Customer expectations
To succeed in the current climate, retailers must provide flexible ways to shop. Customers expect a world of integrated, convenient shopping experiences. Choosing the right technologies that unify your digital and physical stores will help your business not only survive, but thrive.
Looking for other ways to drive customers in-store? Read more here.
About stockinstore
stockinstore is unifying eCommerce and physical stores. Developed for retailers, franchises, wholesalers and manufacturers; stockinstore creates an exceptional shopping experience for customers while providing highly valuable insights into customer demand for products across store networks. The award winning technology has continued to bridge the gap between online and in-store through a myriad of ‘Find In Store’, ‘Click and Collect / BOPIS’ & ‘My Nearest Store eDM Widget’ software solutions, and most recently their innovative ‘Google Local Inventory Advertising (GLIA) Integration‘ solution.
Join a growing list of businesses choosing stockinstore including: Scanlan Theodore, Scotch & Soda, YETI, 2XU, T2, Adairs, Sheike, Triumph, Sportsgirl, Aquila, Kidstuff, Early Settler, PETstock, Kookai, Alice McCALL, Florsheim, MyHouse, Bevilles, Pillow Talk, 99 Bikes, Intersport, Nique, Billini, Toyworld and Tentworld.
