11.11.2015: A new twist to Asian retailing’s biggest day

The consumer does not make a distinction between a brand offline and online – and neither should retailers. Physical stores create interesting opportunities to reduce customer friction points or quickly resolve customer problems. Extend in-store services to add incremental customer value or create a good atmosphere.

We recently helped GrandVision, the world’s largest eyewear conglomerate, create a retail experience centered around eye care. They wanted to emphasize their medical-grade professionalism and commitment to demystifying eye care for consumers.

Design points such as having an eye-testing facility placed in the middle of each store emphasises their dedication to this cause, and informational content placed across all digital channels means customers could empower and inform themselves across desktop, mobile or in-store digital panels.

By consolidating all consumer interactions with GrandVision into one platform, everything from booking an eye exam to buying lenses have been made seamless both offline and on. The one view of consumers helps give store associates the tools they need to better understand customer motivations, provide support and make the store an integral part of customer interactions with the brand.

Make your store experiential

Retail used to be rooted in the transaction, but now that technology has decoupled transactions from physical spaces, retailers have tremendous freedom to build a memorable experience in stores.

We helped Audi design an interactive experience for its flagship showroom in Beijing, using screens and responsive content to let customers cycle through endless customisations of their ideal Audi cars. The Audi City showroom cut down on costly retail rents while allowing Audi to showcase all inventory and imprint its brand message of “Vorsprung durch Technik (advancement through technology).”

Physical store experiences properly integrated with digital are part of the equation for brand differentiation and continued relevance. Consumers go seamlessly from online to offline and back. Retailers need to learn to do the same.