High street evolution The UK high street is facing unprecedented challenges from the combined threat of online shopping and the reduced spending of the squeezed consumer. The Government has shown support of the UK’s high street with the revamp of business rates and potential online digital retail tax. The challenge is to serve the needs of emerging consumer segments such as experience-seeking millennials and offer a differentiated physical proposition that online offerings can’t compete with. For the emerging consumer segments, the key is to think more deeply about how, when and what shoppers want to buy. The smartest retailers recognise that modern technology can be used to augment the in-store experience and provide a point of difference from online shopping. Ralph Lauren have introduced touch-screen mirrors in changing rooms in some of their flagship US stores which suggest other available sizes and colours for each item, recommend products based on what you have brought into the changing room and new ways to style them. You can even choose the lighting of the fitting room to your liking. Closer to home, and the high street, JD Sports is another retailer benefiting from the use of in-store technologies, such as 3D printing to create bespoke products, in-store integration with mobile apps and facilities for testing out new boots. They are focusing on using technology to streamline the customer experience and ensure that there are more employees on the shop floor to offer a more personal service. “Experience shopping” is now a growing trend, with retailers seeking to entice shoppers into their stores with more than just products. Beauty brand store Space NK has embraced experience shopping with a one-of-a-kind concept store exclusive to Regent Street. Shoppers can access the most innovative product launches, get the first pick of beauty must haves as well as enjoy unique experiences: meetings with brand founders, beauty tutorials and pre-order products previously only available online. Regent Street will be the first store to showcase these products, so shoppers will be the first to try and buy.
18
Experience shopping might simply take the form of a small independent retailer providing a highly specific service and knowing the local market extremely well. Our client The Sampler, an independent wine merchant in London with shops on high streets in Islington, Putney and Wimbledon, holds regular wine tastings and tutorials to local customers to introduce their wine makers as well offer a food and wine matching service. Despite the sustained online pressure, Waterstones has opened 20 new shops over the past two years. Its business model is to focus on delivering an excellent customer experience. Managers are given the autonomy to run their shops almost like independent bookshops to reflect their individual personalities and the needs of the local community by connecting and engaging with customers through personal recommendations and author readings. Personalisation is another theme concentrating minds. There was a time when your local bank manager, butcher or grocer knew your name. Today’s online retailers with a wealth of data about their shoppers find it easier to interact with customers on a one-to-one basis than store staff do. However, technology will change that. Some retailers are now adopting tools that enable them to make real-time offers to shoppers in-store; a discount based on their purchasing history or an idea for a recipe using ingredients in their basket. Many of these developments are at an early stage, but they offer clues as to how the high street can compete. Waitrose Hot Ideas is a new incubator programme set up to identify and develop technological innovations that offer the potential to create a unique experience. The initiative is designed to put experimentation front and centre within the business; working collaboratively with customers at the early stages of product development to embed a culture that is exploratory and interactive.
