By Matthias Vandecasteele, Senior Sales Manager for Lifestyle
Once you get consumers through the door, research shows that there are big gains to be made. This is illustrated by the increasingly popular practice of ‘buy online, pick up in-store’ (BOPIS). A study by logistics technology firm Doddle found that 85% of consumers who pick up an online order in-store go on to make an additional purchase.1 This is quite simply because being in a physical location gives brands many more opportunities to engage with customers.
This is because the in-store environment makes it much easier to tap into consumers’ emotions. Harvard professor Gerald Zaltman has spent years studying consumer behaviour and has concluded that most purchase decisions are based on emotion, not rationality.2 This means that no amount of scrolling on the internet can compare to the gut feeling you get when you see a product in person. An omnichannel strategy can therefore facilitate stronger emotional connections with customers, driving engagement and brand loyalty.
Can omnichannel help you get closer to customers?
Opening a physical store also allows you to capture consumers who have hybrid shopping patterns. 70% of fashion shoppers surveyed by retail software provider Bazaarvoice prefer a ‘hybrid’ shopping experience that combines the physical and the digital.3 An example of this is ‘showrooming’, where shoppers research a product in-store and then buy it online. Provided they buy from your brand’s website or app, showrooming can be very beneficial as it increases the customer’s ‘face time’ with your brand – allowing for more connection-building moments.
How can omnichannel improve the customer experience?
In addition to the brand affinity benefits of opening a physical store, it can also be a valuable tool to help your brand adapt to changing market conditions. For example, at times of the year when many shoppers tend to visit the high street – such as the January sales – online-only brands can lose out: if you don’t have a physical store, you won’t have a chance to capture any of the footfall that occurs at these peak times.
An omnichannel model can also be beneficial from an inventory management perspective. An increasingly popular practice is for brands to use physical stores as ‘mini-warehouses’4. This can facilitate inventory management, reduce the risk of stock-outs and help speed up delivery times during peak periods such as Black Friday. This means that an omnichannel strategy can be crucial to getting these sales moments right and ensuring customer satisfaction every time.
How does omnichannel unlock data-driven customer insights?
Finally, an omnichannel strategy provides access to a wealth of customer data. By collecting data from both online and offline sources (such as loyalty programmes), you can gain a much more detailed picture of consumer behaviour. This data can be used to inform your brand’s marketing, inventory management, and product development strategies. Many digital-native brands have built up their customer base in this way – helping them get closer to consumers.
Want to find out more about the brand-building benefits of going omnichannel? Download our new white paper today!
Is omnichannel right for my brand?
It’s therefore no surprise that more and more digital native brands are choosing to open a physical store. It allows them to build stronger relationships with their existing audiences, reach new segments and deliver a better overall customer experience. This allows direct-to-consumer brands to maintain the customer intimacy that differentiates them from more traditional competitors, while also benefiting from the bricks-and-mortar advantage. That’s why omnichannel could be the ideal next step on your customer-centricity journey.
Want to find out if opening a physical store could be right for your brand? Contact a Bleckmann expert today for a free consultation.
