The Retailer Autumn Edition 2021

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Forward-thinking retailers are integrating this type of thinking into their traditional sales techniques. Selfridges deserves a mention too – if it can reposition some of its springtime activities, such as children’s film screenings and musi - cal performances, for a festive audience, it’ll create some 2021 Christmas magic for in-store shoppers in the coming months. Many retailers are looking to use customer-fac- ing strategies to impress shoppers, but there’s also lots going on behind the scenes in stores to give consumers the experiences they want. The coronavirus crisis fast-tracked several busi- nesses’ plans to use their physical estate as a major component of their eCommerce oper- ations. B&Q and Marks & Spencer have both ramped up their click & collect offering in the last 12 months as demand has dictated, while Currys, TheWhite Company and Superdrug are among the retailers to have leveraged shop staff to serve online customers via video connections. Ain’twhat you do (it’s the way that you do it)

In some cases – at grocery chains like Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, for example – stores are effec - tively doubling up as mini-warehouses to better serve local online shoppers. The store is now clearly more than just a store. Stand and deliver Retailers are developing convenient in-store propositions for the benefit of their consumers and internal operations. Much of it is espe - cially crucial at a time when HGV drivers and warehouse space are at a premium and store fulfilment is often much cheaper than getting goods to a customer’s front door. In this environment, I encourage retailers to take things further. We all work in retail, but we’re all consumers too. Click & collect is a great option for busy shoppers, but howoften have you spent longer than you wanted to in a shop whilst multiple members of staff attempt to track down your parcel? From an industry point of view, wouldn’t you want your store and staff to focus on all the aforementioned store creativity this peak period, as well as Santa’s Grotto-style events, gifting pop-ups, and advising consumers on how to enjoy a sustainable yuletide?

Collection services, on the other hand, can be ringfenced to a dedicated, mobile-operated smart locker service, keeping the functional and the experiential elements of retailing apart, in a neat and tidyway. Such a set-up adds to the attraction of in-store shopping – our partner, Lowe’s in North America, vouches for it. And lockers don’t damage dwell time. If a retailer has done a great job in creating a service-led, awe-inspiring shopping environment, people picking up parcels will go on to enter the store looking for more from that brand. Storing and fulfilling online purchases in smart lockers outside a retail store also means con- sumers can quickly pick up orders if they are in a rush (in just seven seconds) 24/7. But for the businesses themselves, this storage is more organised than the status quo and represents a clever use of their physical estates. Unlike last year, there’s no reason to settle for a trickle of store visitors this festive season. Footfall will surely increase for creative retailers that use, design and kit out shops in the ways we’ve underlined – but the clock is ticking to get all the right elements in place.

Candice Ohandjanian c.ohandjanian@quadient.com Quadient.co.uk

The shop needs to stand out more than ever as something greater than just a transactional destination.