Make your store the place to be this Christmas
Long queues, fraught sales staff and frayed tempers are the calling card of Christmas shopping. But while this used to be a necessary evil – as much a part of Christmas as sprouts and indigestion – shoppers can now choose to forgo the experience all together.
Make your store the place to be this Christmas
Delightful experiences, effective crowd management and more choice for shoppers
Long queues, fraught sales staff and frayed tempers are the calling card of Christmas shopping. But while this used to be a necessary evil – as much a part of Christmas as sprouts and indigestion – shoppers can now choose to forgo the experience all together.
Today, people can do all their Christmas shopping from their sofa. On top of that, they can buy everything from one site that sells multiple brands.
In short, retailers need to work twice as hard to bring shoppers to their stores. Here are 3 ways you can make your store a prime shopping destination this Christmas.
Create delightful experiences
The traditional store is alive and well. According to a recent UK shopper survey, 97% of UK respondents are still shopping in-store. This is because the in-store experience is still impossible to replicate online. Successful brands have capitalized on this by focusing on delivering a sensory experience. A visit to Rituals, for example, is like stepping into a spa; Sonos recreated living spaces to test their sound, and H&M’s new ARKET store on Regent Street serves coffee. Give your shoppers a reason to make the journey to your store, and reward them once they’re there.
Eliminate checkout queues
Everyone hates queuing. Over half (57%) of consumers named standing in line as their biggest frustration. And 64% have abandoned purchases all together if the queue to pay is too long.
This is easily solved with mobile point of sale terminals (mPOS). With these, your sales staff can accept payments from anywhere covered by your wifi or 3D network. You can get terminals that slot over an iPod, iPhone or iPad, and these can be fully integrated into your existing POS system.
Spoil your shoppers with choice
It’s always exasperating when the item you want is out of stock. Luckily endless aisles solve this issue by letting the shopper buy the item online via a tablet or kiosk. This is important; 42% of UK shoppers want to order an out of stock item in-store. IC Group (behind Peak Performance) gives shoppers access to the online inventory via iPads. This has been a huge success, especially for smaller, regional stores with limited space for stock.
Discover what shoppers want in the Adyen 2017 UK Retail Report
From poor payment experiences to security concerns, long checkout queues, and out of stock issues – there are many elements of shopping that can disenchant the British consumer.
But there is also a lot to love about shopping in the U.K., from a great in-store experience to the convenience of shopping from your sofa. Successful retailers are harnessing the strengths of each sales channel to delight shoppers – no matter where, how or when they choose to buy.
To learn more about what makes British shoppers tick, download the full report:
