How to reinvent your retail space: tips from industry expert Rich Brecht

To get insights about the current state of the retail industry, we partnered up with Rich Brecht, the Director of Customer Care for ImOn Communications in Iowa, US. He gave us interesting tips about how to evolve in the digital landscape, where video is leading the way. We’ll share them with you in this article.

Video is the future

In the current e-Commerce world, video will continue to dominate the landscape. It’s so easy to show your products in real-time from your retail store through Live Broadcasting or Live Video Shopping. This way, you can engage with your customers in real-time and increase your sales through interactive shoppable live streams – that’s the future of retail. 

‘’Video is the closest thing to a real-life experience in a virtual way.’’

According to Rich, we will continuously see ways for consumers to not have to drive or go to physical stores. Everyone out there is searching for convenience, and retail stores should be able to provide this convenience in every step of the way. That’s where video comes in and will benefit brands tremendously. It’s exactly how retailers ride along the current digital wave.

Another benefit of introducing video in your store is that video is the closest thing to a real-life experience in a virtual way. Video enables brands to keep the face of their company in front of their customers. Everyone is going to want to have these types of conversations, like they never have before. Video is not going to slow down anytime soon, it became a necessity and is now going to be the new normal.

The need for speed

Fast, faster, fastest – do whatever you need to do to keep up with the competition. In the end, the fastest delivery wins and everything involving speed will continue to grow. It’s a fast paced world and everyone is looking for conveniences so we can enjoy our family and friends more. We live in a world where we want products on the spot, our patience is shortened and our attention span is about 10 seconds. To keep up, retailers need to realize the shift happening and adjust their strategy.

‘’Reinvent your retail space to adapt to the way that people visit your store now.’’

Think outside the customer experience box

It’s essential for retailers to think outside the box, especially when it comes to the customer experience. Reinvent your retail space to adapt to the way that people visit your store now. Again, there’s a huge opportunity to leverage video in store – it’s definitely worth pursuing. Meeting the needs of your customers plays a huge part when it comes to increasing your sales conversion. It also provides retailers with tremendous flexibility and creativity with allocating labor costs at the right place at the right time. Give the customers what they want, only then you will convert. But keep in mind: the end goal is not to just get customers, it’s to keep them. Therefore most brands have video as a part of their future customer experience strategy. And if you’re not on this yet, it’s time to shift your focus.

Another part of the customer experience is how to manage customers publicly. When your customers are posting on social media, you need to come up with a sharp, accurate reply. This is because you’re actually trying to impress everyone else who sees the post. Public perception has everything to do with your customer experience, and this is why it will also affect your sales. Something to keep in mind while you’re defining your customer experience strategy. 

Marloes van Vliet

Product Marketing Manager