The retail sector is facing many challenges in 2023 – having survived the covid pandemic, the sector is now faced with economic uncertainty, more budget-conscious consumers, and a cost-of-living crisis. Add to this the fact the market is highly saturated, and retailers must come up with more and more imaginative ways to attract customers and stay alive.
AV technology is vital if retailers are going to succeed this year and next as it will enable businesses to provide the all-important exciting, personalized, and therefore relevant, experience for customers. As retailers battle for consumer attention, AV and other technology are the keys to ensuring the customer journey is a positive one and that customers want to retake the journey over and over.
AV & The Customer Journey
Understanding your customers is crucial for journey success. Who exactly is your target audience, why would they embark upon the buying journey and what are their needs and ultimate destination? Once you know the answers to these questions, you can ensure that your customers’ in-store journey is a triumphant one.
AV technology provides the means to improve the customer journey. Self-serve tills let customers shop at their own speed, avoid queues if they’re in a hurry, and dodge the need to interact with others if they so choose. As well as paying, these tills can be used to browse for product information, so customers have the details they need without speaking to a shop assistant.
POS (point of sale) screens are useful for promoting new products and offers, especially when products are strategically placed nearby. As customers are queuing to pay for their goods, they might be swayed by the digital screens to make an impulse buy – although these may not be part of their initial journey destination, these marketed items could become a spontaneous part of their journey. Sometimes, the on-screen product may have been previously forgotten by the consumer who will appreciate the reminder. Providing a digital distraction, provided the marketing is done cleverly with smart ads, will be appreciated too, and serve to improve the checkout experience.
AV & CX
The CX (customer experience) determines whether the customer leaves your store happy and with a good feeling towards your brand, with the intention of returning again soon – or not.
Nowadays, it’s all too easy to shop online from your phone or laptop rather than physically go into the shops on the high street. This is the ultimate challenge for the retail sector – to entice consumers into stores to do their shopping.
AV is great for both getting consumers to cross the threshold of the business and convincing them to shop again in-store. Having a brightly lit AV display in the shop window that catches shoppers’ eyes will help to stop them from walking past your store and deciding to enter it instead. Once inside, provided the CX is enjoyable, shoppers will remember the experience and vow to be back soon.
From the very start of store entry, screens can be used to engage with customers and highlight offers and product details to encourage a higher spending rate as well as interaction. You can capture attention and convey messages in a truly unique way with AV displays. You don’t simply have one big screen but can optimize the screens according to your retail space. It may be that a series of smaller screens in a row that tell a story related to your brand, is effective, or placing a curving screen near the entrance that provides a more immersive experience works well.
Having information screens that share product details and gather customer data are beneficial for customers and retailers alike – shoppers can access the information they want easily, and businesses can enhance their data knowledge for future marketing campaigns.
By storing customer information, retailers are then able to provide personalized offerings on POS screens too, such as discount codes of products bought previously or that they’ve expressed interest in, to encourage a first or additional buy. Discount codes can also be sent via an app while customers are still in-store, with a personalized offer and time limit attached to boost the likelihood of take-up.
Interactive experiences in-store are fun and memorable for customers, providing a long-lasting reason to go back to the store. Companies that have harnessed this tech include Dr. Martens with its place & learn technology, and Sports Direct with its engaging jump booth. Technology also enables the option to share, with social displays that interact with customers and encourage them to share posts and tag the store – something many customers like to do and that builds on brand loyalty in the process.
AV & Sustainability
The impact we have on the planet matters to us all nowadays and there are environmentally friendly benefits of AV for businesses. All digital screens can be programmed to only display content during peak times and to turn off at night to save power. Furthermore, the brightness of the screens can be changed according to the brightness of the day, and there is no need to print ads for every new campaign. All of these benefits are good for the environment and save on running costs too, which is ultimately good for the business bottom line.
AV & Smart Decisions
Thanks to the ability to gather customer data, AV supports good business decisions and practices. For example, heat tracking cameras highlight the parts of the shop that are popular and those that are less popular, enabling businesses to achieve smart product placement that maximizes the busy areas and entices shoppers to head into the previously quieter corners of the store.
Analytics technology means stores can react to the weather, changing in-store digital displays to match the environmental conditions. On hot days, cool drinks and beach accessories can be promoted, and on snowy days, winter coats can be displayed prominently. Facial analytics software can be used to show which demographic groups are in-store at any one time so that the digital screens can promote products relevant to them.
The economic conditions for retailers might be harsh right now but with the help of AV technology, businesses can become more agile and able to compete more effectively. Using technology in-store that attracts and engages with consumers will support the attainment of repeat visits and a longer-term increase in footfall and sales.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Josh Bunce, Founder, and CEO of iuf Group
Josh Bunce, founder, and CEO of the iuf Group is trusted by iconic global brands to capture and retain audience attention with creative AV solutions. A serial entrepreneur and investor, Josh is on a mission to create a new retail world using innovative, practical, and sustainable technology.