The advancements of technology of the Retail space offer both challenges and opportunities for the store operator. Have you realized the potential in possible connectivity within your core customer base?
Connectivity Between Your Store And Your Customer
Consumers are more educated than ever. In the past, customers would need to go into the store themselves to make the best choices. Today, their connection to mass amounts of information allows the consumer to weigh all their options before making a decision. This gives the consumer expertise in the form of the best brands, customer reviews, and pricing at the touch of their fingertips through their smartphones and other devices. It has empowered the everyday consumer with the ability to think like an industry expert in all things from restaurants to retail, from apparel to healthcare. This means that if you are not keeping up with the best techniques to draw in your customers then your competitors will be.
What Can You Do?
Today, not only are smartphones and tablets as common as wristwatches, they give your consumers the ability to make their purchasing decisions using the best information. Since they allow customers to communicate amongst themselves, they have access to reviews on common social media platforms that involve group discussion to increase the level of demand for quality within the consumer goods market. Customers no longer have to shop from one store to another in order to access prices and different types of goods. Reviews give the customer the ability to select the best goods at the best prices. It allows the free market to be brought to the customer and requires that goods and services to be tailored to the customer at an individual level. This gives the new marketplace the chance to thrive between the physical brick and mortar and e-commerce.
Access to Information, Connected to Your Products.
Although the increase in technology has increased the level of competition, it has also given you the chance to interact with your customer through social media and even your store’s app. Not only is this a good way to promote your products, but it allows you to pinpoint your customers and market directly to them through the goods that which they are truly interested. The access to information has two sides. Although your customer now has the advantage of choice of many sellers, it is an opportunity for you as a retailer to access the shopping demands of your customers.
Specialized Demand
Along with the access to information about their products, is the increase in specialized demand. Customers are demanding higher quality in all things. Better foods include health specific needs, and customers are becoming more conscious of where and how their goods are being made. They want high quality products and want to be sure that their purchases meet their expectations. Not only are people wanting high quality goods, they want high quality food, and high quality services. This demand is differentiated between individual customers and requires your business to identify and use these differences to identify the best type of customer for your business.
Through proper consumer decisions it is possible to combine the power of Big Data with the science of analytics to empower your real estate team to avoid those costly store openings and make the best decisions every time.
Find out who your customers are, where they are, and what they're looking for with our help at Buxton!