How to improve the retail experience in a period of social distancing

By Michael Valdsgaard, CEO, London Dynamics

Long queues, one-way systems, closed changing rooms and contact-free shopping are just some of the new experiences that await would-be shoppers as non-essential retailers reopen their doors. 

Whatever the measures in place, everyone in the sector needs to have a careful plan for reopening or risk alienating returning customers.

Although a stir crazy public won’t need an excuse to get out of the house after over two months of full or partial lockdown, it’s safe to assume they will be cautious about returning. Data platform company Dynata recently found that only 10% of customers are planning trips to shops when they reopen. 

It’s evident that retailers cannot rely on socially distanced shopping alone to incentivise customers to return in numbers anything like what was enjoyed before. If the only change companies introduce for the new normal is compliance with new requirements, the high-street will only enjoy a short burst of footfall before being left worse than they were before.   

Bridging the gap with technology

The lockdown period has highlighted the lack of consistent quality among online offerings and few ‘try-before-you-buy’ options outside of some select product categories. 

Undoubtedly, the in-store shopping experience is a rich and complex vehicle for communicating, entertaining and inspiring consumers. The best retailers offer a public space for users to socialise with friends, build relationships with their favourite brands and establish a sense of ‘tone’ for shopping. All of these channels have been disrupted over lockdown and forced many to efficient but impersonal buy and sell online marketplaces. 

Stores reopening in compliance with some of government guidance face a real problem: contact-free shopping experiences would rob shoppers of the difference visiting non-essential stores has over online storefronts. This is where technology can continue to play a key role to bridge that gap.

As the public has become increasingly comfortable using technology for more professional and personal connection - from Zoom and House Party – so should retailers consider using technology in new, practical ways to create engagement where physical contact is no longer possible.

Here are just a few areas retailers can consider to level up their in-store experience: 

• Link online and in-store journeys

Consider offering customers an on-demand service or the opportunity to Click and Collect, so a shopping journey can start on the couch and end with a store visit, avoiding unnecessary queues or frustration from close contact with other shoppers.

Thinking of e-commerce as a partner to your retail stores – as opposed to competition – allows stores to leverage the higher levels of available options for customers online with the chance to control collection or get out of the house.

• Recreate touch and feel

Augmented reality remains an underutilised technology in retail, despite being possible through nearly 90% of all smartphones in circulation. This technology helps reduce abandoned purchase decisions because it allows shoppers to interact with an item as they would in store – building an understanding but also an appreciation for features and detail.

This tech also applies equally in-store as at home. It can create a safer way to trial items which new rules say cannot be touched – or products that can no longer ‘fit’ on display in stores which have set aside more space for shoppers.

With floorspace available, retailers can offer customers a mixed-reality experience with more guidance, inspiration and the chance to ‘buy-now’ that doesn’t exist at home.

Safety is always the paramount concern stores should have for their shoppers. It can’t be the only concern, however, or retailers miss out on what makes shopping fun and appealing.  

Retail has been a multi-channel market since long before any lockdown, and the most effective brands have been thinking creatively about their presence online just as seriously as they take the experience and atmosphere they can build in store. 

Emerging from lockdown is a great chance for a ‘best of both worlds’ future for shoppers everywhere.