#Mobilewatch: The power of physical stores in the digital ecosystem

It used to be fun to go to a store. The joy of seeing everything on display, the exhilaration when someone came up to help you choose the right outfit or the right pair of shoes for a very important event or the sheer desire of owning something for the very first time.

I went to a school that required all of us to wear school uniforms. Some of my best childhood memories were getting ready for a new school year. Books covered with brown paper, uniforms neatly ironed, and a new pair of black formal shoes. Our favorite goto brand used to be BATA. I remember the stores used to be full of parents trying to determine the size of their kids’ feet, checking out the new designs and coordinating with the most important person in the store — the shoe salesman.

Nothing happened in the showroom without the BATA salesman. He had to check the child’s foot size, find the right shoe from the store and assure the mother that the shoe was perfect. Now imagine him doing this for at least 15 pairs of parents, simultaneously. I remember how nothing moved in the showroom without the BATA salesman and how critical he was to the whole process.
Cut to today’s latest news of Payless shutting down 2,100 stores in the US, including its online store. The largest specialty footwear retailer in the Western Hemisphere with more than 3,500 stores in 40 counties worldwide and nearly 18,000 employees, the brand founded in Topeka, Kansas in 1956 by cousins Louis and Shaol Pozez now may not exist beyond April. Liquidation sales started yesterday, marking the end of another iconic retail chain. This news follows in the shadows of what happened exactly a year ago with Toys R Us and Sears.

Payless did many things right. Though it was not a retailer I frequented, I loved their curated collection with famous designer Christian Siriano. The designs were amazing, accessible and had an edge to them. But my overall Payless retail experience can be defined ‘meh’ at best. Instead of celebrating the ‘shoe’ as a shoe retailer should, it looked like a warehouse with lots of shoes lined up in shoeboxes.

This, however, has not deterred other companies from expanding their store presence. Amazon, for example is considering opening more than 3,000 cashierless stores by 2021. Their focus is going to be in cities like Seattle, New York and Chicago as well as at airports, where retail is pretty much a mundane experience whether it is to pick up a quick snack or a knick-knack. In terms of a retail experience, Amazon is bringing its patented one-click checkout frictionfree experience to its offline presence by promising no lines, no checkouts and no registers. Just grab the stuff you need and go by simply scanning the Amazon Go app. Easy like Sunday morning!

Some of the other brands that are expanding their retail footprint? Costco, Target, TJ Maxx, Whole Foods, Nordstrom, Gap, Old Navy and Barnes & Noble. This mix is interesting — on one end you have wholesalers like Costco, on the other you have a bookstore that almost went out of business — Barnes & Noble. My favorite, of course are the bookstores like Amazon and Barnes & Noble (B&N) — I am one of those who needs to feel the physical pages, so this is great news for me.

Stores serve as a great asset in a brand’s digital ecosystem. They lend that very critical touch ’n’ feel to the online store. Casper mattress is one example — an online store that has now opened an offline ‘sleep experience’, Casper uses its store for millennials to fall in love with its product, while using online to buy and deliver. Imagine carrying a mattress from the store all the way home. It will be interesting to see if brands like Casper are able to take business away from big stores like Ikea, who are still expecting people to carry their mattresses home in their cars! Amazon is another great example of an online store that has realized the power of its offline presence.

So, what is the role of the store in the digital ecosystem? My friend Anu put it well. She used to be an avid store shopper but has now turned into a die-hard online shopper. I asked her why? She said, “I go to the store and see clothes lying on the floor, not enough staff, clothes that are not available in my size with no one to help”. Whereas I go online and within a few minutes the site not only offers me colors options in a particular pattern but also starts curating the experience by offering suggestions on what else might look good to complete my purchase.”

I found the ‘curating’ comment extremely interesting. If you think about it, it’s a win-win for all. The company is using it as an ‘upsell’ tactic to ensure that your overall AOV or Average Order Value as its called in eCommerce, goes up, but it’s also a great experience for the consumer who is looking for help with his or her order. Almost fulfilling the role of a personal shopper.

Come to think of it, isn’t that what the retail experience is supposed to be about? The joy and exhilaration of an amazing purchase; one that leaves your happy hormones, happier!

So what can digital-only brands use an offline presence for? And how can they get it right? The following may sounds simple, but it is actually foundational:

• Ensure that the stores serve as the ‘come-fall-in-love-with-us’ experience. Urban Outfitters does an amazing job of this, by offering a unique, immersive experience.

• Make the offline brand experience seamless and frictionfree, one that continues from the online space.
• Use the offline store to expand the brand’s overall offerings. It’s a great place to experiment a new brand offering. If you are Casper mattress, for e.g., the store is a great place to test drive pillows or maybe a new special sleep bedding collection. Think about it — most brand sell bedspread collections based on ‘thread count’. Now, imagine a collection based on how well it helps you sleep. I will buy that in a heartbeat.
• Stores are also a great way to sample something new. When I was looking for a smart watch for my son, I was able to test drive it in Costco, post which I ordered it online. Costco also does an overall great job of sampling new products. I would never have bought quinoa cereal if I had not sampled it first at Costco.

Stores are a great asset, especially for the online-only brand. Like everything else, it needs to find a defined role in the overall brand ecosystem instead of fighting for dollars with its own online presence. It is time more companies offered a seamless, frictionfree one-brand experience. It is time to be as seamless and easy in moving from online to the offline space and vice versa as today’s consumer does.

Join me every week, as we navigate these ever-changing waters to make sense of this ‘always-on’ consumer and the technologies that define their everyday. I will be bringing you insights from some of the sharpest global minds in the industry as well as in academia. And do join the conversation.

Until next week,

Anika Sharma

A seasoned Advertising and Digital expert, Anika has worked across countries and continents and spoken at companies such as Google and universities such as NYU. She is currently Professor of Business at NYU’s Stern School of Business, teaching Digital, Social and Mobile Marketing. Follow Anika on twitter @anikadas or on Medium.

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