Canadian Retailer - Store 2015 - 12

INDUSTRY TRENDS

SUCCESS STARTS

EVERYWHERE
Engaging today's customers throughout the shopping journey
BY TED SALTER, Partner Retail Consulting and Deals, PwC
ACHIEVING success in Canadian retail is more

HOW IS THE RETAIL STORE EVOLVING?

complex than ever before. With almost every cus* Becoming a place for you to have an experience, not just
tomer taking a 'choose your own adventure' appurchase a product
proach to purchasing products-one that might
* Providing a way to showcase how items fit together-to
involve engaging with retailers and influencers
create a vision that you can walk into
across several channels and social media net* Displaying merchandise to communicate value by telling a
works-retailers are trying to determine how best
story-curated for you and others in your "community"
to configure their operating model to meet these
* Demonstrating a seamless solution in alignment with the
evolving customer requirements.
digital experience. For example, requesting sizes on a
digital device so they are waiting for you in a change room
Product-focused strategies will no longer perform as well in an era where the customer is in
control of when, how and where they shop. The successful reUntil very recently, customers followed a
tailers are the ones who are shifting their focus, who put their single lane as they transitioned through the
customers at the centre of the shopping journey and determine shopping journey. These days, the journey is
the best ways to engage with them every step of the way.
more multifaceted. Many customers will research their purchase decisions prior to going
Understand the shopping journey
to a store, or will visit a store before ordering
The shopping journey has added layers and more complexity online. No longer is the physical store the start
over time. At the most fundamental level, the customer follows of the shopping journey; rather, it is one asa journey or sequence of events from the moment that a need is pect of an omni-channel retail experience. In
identified through to the point where that need is fulfilled. Figure 1 today's retail environment, the store's role can
shows how the shopping journey has evolved.
often be a means to extend or reinforce earlier
communication of value through tactile exFigure 1: Path to purchase evolution
periences and interactions.
The reality is that customers might go back
and forth between channels over the course of
their experience, or even use multiple channels during one stage of the shopping journey
before moving on to the next. Regardless of
the path they take to fulfillment, each customInfluence
Transact
Fulfill
er demands a seamless shopping experience.
But how can Canadian retailers create a seamSignage
POS
Carry out
In-Store
less experience for each of their customers, and
how do they build the capabilities needed to
benefit from the numerous disruptors changing
Print media
Pick-up
Call centre
Catalogue
the face of the industry (e.g. social media, mobility, and the evolving role of stores)?
The answer is not difficult: focus on how best
Web sites
Search, Sites
Direct
On-line
to engage with your customers at each stage
of the shopping journey. Such an approach
may seem out of step when considering reApps,
Direct
Anywhere
Mobile
Communities
cent initiatives whereby retailers focused on
self-service initiatives (e.g. online self-help,

Customer shopping
journey

12 |

CANADIAN RETAILER | STORE 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Retailer - Store 2015