VMSD - May 2015 - (Page 28)

mulating their decisions well before they get to the retailers' sites. They're looking for information that will guide them to the right store and help them with their in-store purchases." This is a sea change from the way retailers used to market themselves: putting ads in the newspapers and on TV and radio, sending out direct-mail and hoping for a response rate of 8 to 10 percent. "The problem was, you never really knew who opened the mail or what they looked at," Simpson says. "If you had been able to determine that, you could have made much better decisions." Today, all that knowledge is easily obtainable. When a retailer posts an item online, it can track how many "clicks" that item received and which colors and sizes were most often viewed. That makes merchandising more scientific in the store, where the rubber still hits the road. WHAT MILLENNIALS WANT Everyone uses the Internet, from the baby boomer, scrambling to keep up with the latest technology, to the pre-teen who has grown up with a Demi Lovato-themed smart-device at the tip of her thumbs. According to a 2009 Kaiser Family Foundation report, 31 percent of 8- to 10-year-olds have cell phones. But the primary target for most retailers' digital efforts is the millennials, those tech-savvy 20-and-30-somethings who, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have about $200 billion in direct purchasing power and account for an additional $500 billion in indirect spending through influencing their parents' purchases. "They want the convenience of the technological age they grew up in," says Raines. "In their world, everyone has a smartphone, WiFi and tablets, and they have a built-in expectation of convenience, easy access to information and the assumption of getting an immediate response." Millennials expect prompt and informed service, and don't put any particular value on it. 28 MAY 2015 | vMsd.coM "Even non-tech-savvy consumers who don't launch apps are now expecting greater convenience and more product information in the store," Raines says. "Today's customer knows she can walk up to an associate and have an item located and shipped to her store or home." HOW THE STORE MIGHT CHANGE One lingering doubt about the technology boom remains: If the inspiration and information that drives the buying decisions are coming from elsewhere, what does the store itself become? Does it become nothing more than a mini-fulfillment center for people who have already made their decisions and are coming in solely to complete the purchase? Raines even suggests that the store of the future might devote more square footage to the backroom, where order-filling is more important than before, and less allocated for the front of the store, where merchandise is displayed. And then, what becomes of the store planning and visual merchandising roles? "To keep customers from viewing the store as simply a place to drive up and receive their packages, retailers must use the space to educate and inspire shoppers," Simpson argues. "That could mean offering examples and advice on how to accessorize an outfit, or prepare a recipe, or enhance the performance of a smartphone, or offer tips on a home DIY project." In fact, look for smart store planning to emerge as particularly vital, whether it's leading shoppers to the right department or exciting them with all the other possibilities available. "No matter how good the e-commerce offering is," says Raines, "there's still a certain amount of excitement in going into the store. It can be convenient to search online from your sofa, but there's an instant gratification when walking out of a store with your purchase under your arm."  http://www.vMsd.coM

VMSD - May 2015

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