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With e-commerce on the rise, retailers are facing even higher competition than ever. In the past, shops only had to compete with competitors around their area, but with the world wide web currently in play, they are now required to compete with a much larger range of retailers from all over the country, and perhaps even the world. This causes some concern amongst brick and mortar retailers as they worry about the sustainability of their business. However, while e-commerce does offer the convenience of a mouse click away, there are still things that brick and mortar store has that it cannot offer:
1. Experience
This is perhaps one of the top reasons why customers prefer a physical store compared to an online store. People crave experiences, to be able to immerse in an environment and interact with things, perhaps the way coffee engulfs a room with its aroma as one enters a café, or the human interaction one encounter with the people around them. Physical experience is an important part of life, and what better way than to visit a physical brick and mortar store.
2. Convenience
While e-commerce is the more convenient option to shop as it is accessible from home, it is not the same to say when it comes to receiving your goods. Although e-commerce has come a long way in terms of their delivery services, with many of them offering next day delivery, nothing beats popping by the store and purchasing the goods off the shelves. There is an advantage to being able to receive your purchase instantaneously, especially if you need something urgently, thus creating a different type of convenience for customers to be able to purchase their goods as and when needed.
3. Relationship
Being able to deal with people face-to-face does offer a certain form of value. It gives a personal touch when a sales assistant is able to understand and cater to the customer’s needs. There have been many instances where customers return to a store looking for the same sales assistant that had serviced them previously because there is already a mutual understanding between both parties, easing communication and making the transaction much smoother. Some customers also prefer to seek assistance from the store before making their purchase as they believe that the sales personnel will be able to advise them on the best product that suits their needs. Customers value these personal services, and are more willing to return if they are comfortable shopping with you.
4. Brand Engagement
Brick and mortar store is one of the best way to engage a customer to your brand. When customers are able to physically interact with your store, it builds a stronger and more lasting impression in their minds. Besides, retailers can also better gauge a customer’s perception on their brand by analyzing how customers interact around the store, and with that, build a more engaging brand that caters to their needs, creating a more effective consumer brand and setting a positive brand image.
5. Quality Assurance
Physically analyzing a product by being able to see and touch them gives a certain amount of reassurance to customers as they are able to gauge the quality for themselves. Often times, customers are more inclined to pay a premium for goods bought at a store as they are certain of its quality and suitability as compared to online purchases. Customers buy what they see, and this minimizes the risk of incorrect purchases or receiving goods of subpar quality.
A brick and mortar store is able to offer so much more than people give it credit for. Although online shopping has gained a great amount of popularity in the recent years due to its sheer convenience, there is still a part of it that does not beat the overall immersive experience that one gets from visiting a physical store. Being able to surround yourself and experience things though our five senses is what makes life so much more interesting. So unless e-commerce can fully offer everything that brick and mortar shops are offering, they will be here to stay for many years to come.
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This post was written by Visata Creative, a retail design firm which helps Retailers Design Profitable Spaces. For more retail advice and success tips, we can be contacted at tim@viscreative.com
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At Visata Creative, we work together with our clients to Design Profitable Spaces. We work strategically as partners to our clients to ensure that they are equipped with the with the necessary insights and guidance for their businesses based on our years of experience in the retail industry through our interior design, graphic design & strategic marketing services.
To us, bigger space is not always better, what matters most in retail is the profitability of the space. We believe in winning the award that really matters in our industry – Helping our clients achieve the highest profitability possible within their retail business.
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