By Matt Smith, Dell
E-Commerce web sites have been one of the most disruptive forces in the history of the retail industry. As new businesses with lower overhead were able to offer lower prices than traditional brick-and-mortar stores, many consumers moved to online shopping quicker than many expected. This was a major factor in the decline of historical power houses like Sears, and even more modern major retailers like Circuit City. The businesses that survived were able to evolve, but even today, there are still some struggles in the coordinating of online and physical stores. But some companies are able to excel by leveraging the benefits of both enough to offset the additional expense of operating stores.
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Currently the expansion of mobile commerce is again changing the retail landscape. And while mobile probably isn’t quite as disruptive as the introduction of e-Commerce, retailers, having seen the impact of new technology and consequences of being slow to adapt, will be quick to respond and find ways to become
Showrooming And Its Flipside
One of the many concerns of brick-and-mortar stores is that of show-rooming, or customers coming into their store to try merchandise, and then instead of buying the product then, the customer makes the purchase online from whoever offers the lowest price. This obviously leads to fewer sales for the brick-and-mortar store, while having the compounding effect of using their resources (sales staff).
However, there are benefits for in-store purchases, too. Shoppers are constantly asking sales people what other customers think of a product, but at the time when the salesperson is in contact with other purchasers of the product, the purchasers have no experience with the product. Accessing customer reviews online via a mobile device now provides in-store shoppers with this valuable piece of information.
What we see in both scenarios are customers being empowered by mobile devices to make a more informed decision. Both types of retailers can benefit from this. As with all business, it’s your ability to adapt to the new scenario that determines success.
End-To-End Salespeople
Mobile POS devices are allowing every salesperson to complete the checkout process on the spot, speeding up the sales process for the customer and avoiding the potential loss of a sale that sometimes happens when the customer moves from one employee to the next in the process. This end-to-end sales experience also makes it easier to sell add-ons, as the salesperson, now acting as the cashier, has already established a rapport with the customer.
Empowered, Educated Employees
For decades, the salespeople were the experts, but with easy access to information and reviews online, shoppers can quickly and easily become experts. This can put your sales people in a position of being less informed than the customer they’re trying to help, as it can be difficult for employees to keep up with all the latest products on the market to provide informed insight on the buying decision. So giving your employees the tools to quickly pull up detailed information about every product in your store, and the capability to search for related products, is going to be crucial to keeping the brick-and-mortar shopping experience relevant to today’s shoppers.
The Essence Of Mobile
The growth of mobile interactions is just starting. The reason people moved from landlines to cellular phones and on to smart phones is because we all want greater communication and access to information. And that is how the retail needs to view mobile. We now have the ability to intertwine the knowledge of corporate analytics with the direct, personable touch of in-store interactions, which can lead to phenomenal customer experiences.
Matt Smith has professional and personal interests in technology. As an employee of Dell, he has to stay up to date on the latest innovations in large enterprise solutions and consumer electronics buying trends. Personally, he loves making additions to his media rooms and experimenting with surround sound equipment. He’s also a big Rockets and Texans fan.
