How To Blend Digital & Physical Retail Experiences In 3 Steps
In this 5 minute read, I'll take you through my perspective on meaningfully blending digital and physical experiences in retail. I'll talk about 3 main concepts and include specific examples of them in action.
1.) Broadcast from the store.
Social isn’t just for glossy product shots and polished campaign art direction. It can also be a tool to showcase the physical store experience to the wider digital world.
It’s about using the store as a geo-tag.
A backdrop, a studio, a creative space that provides content opportunities for digital, but also drives people back to the space as a living breathing thing.
Some ideas in action:
Live stream a styling session from a flagship to social media.
Have an influential partner take followers through a collection in the store and host it on your website alongside digital product.
Ask staff to show off their top picks for the season and feature it in Instagram stories or on your e-Commerce blog.
Host a musician, local taste maker, or producer to create a live store mix that gets uploaded to Spotify. Better yet, ask your social followers to crowdsource a store mix that gets played in-store.
The great thing about this concept is you can start small and work with ideas as they come without much up-front planning.
2.) Build the block.
People view retail differently coming out of the pandemic. The sense of place that a retail block can provide is more personal now, it’s more local.
Ever wonder why some blocks in retail just have that energy?
People hang around outside or meet up there, city street photographers document the scene as it unfolds, it spills over into digital spaces and drives more foot traffic.
The obvious reason for this is the clout of retailers and the density to other similar doors, the “see and be seen” mentality of trendy cities and trendy retail. But what if you’re a larger brand or a smaller one that doesn’t traffic in trends?
How can you create a geo-taggable block?
Build it up with resources that are valuable to the people you aim to serve. All brands say they want to improve the lives of their audiences, but often stop at product.
Recognize you have a space and an investment in a community by setting up shop, give back in the form of tools, talent, and resources.
Some ideas in action:
Store becomes a creative lab and learning space. Partner with leaders in their field to develop a core curriculum for your audiences to be taught in store, one that aims to inspire and teach future creators of your industry.
Create a rotating section of the store that highlights up and coming talent with digital features on your channels that drive wider awareness to the work and what's happening in-store.
Let local organizations, movements, and creative efforts take over your window space for a period to highlight a local scene or issue. Provide a physical space for digital ideas and communities that need a platform.
Cross-collaborate with other local businesses outside your direct field to build up strong local support.
Notice there are no product promotion ideas in here. This concept is about building with your audience and showing up for your community.
The loyalty that comes from this is way more important to the longevity of a brand than immediate product sell through.
3.) Be flexible.
Let’s face it, some people like to visit retail to be immersed in a brand or cool space, while others want to get the goods and get on with it.
The speed at which we can get stuff delivered online has created even more division between those two groups.
But what if a physical store can service both types of people and reward anyone who walks in the door with their own unique experience?
One audience journey focuses on full brand immersion, while the other focuses on fulfilling orders with quicker brand plus ups and storytelling.
Some ideas in action:
Click and collect customers become VIP – providing tailored suggestions on pairings of products they ordered for pick up, making suggestions ready for try on upon their arrival.
On eCommerce, advertising added value gifts and plus ups for picking up locally in-store for free.
Pick up areas are comfortable hang out spots, photographable, and allow for products to be tried on and examined. In other words, don’t make it a plain shelf by the door. Invite them in, give them something specific to share.
Conclusion
Blending digital and physical experiences does not have to be about burying people in VR/AR experiences or making them scan QR codes.
At the core it's about using all available investments to tell stories that compliment each other. Blending tech’s wider reach with retail’s local influence to empower your audiences and their community.