Retail Therapy - the changing face of the retail landscape
Here at chicken/egg, we love shopping as much as the next person, and we find the changes in the ways that retailers interact with their customers fascinating.
From super-speedy apps that allow you to buy a whole new wardrobe and have it delivered to your door within a matter of hours (Hello, Next) to innovative community sites that connect customers with retailers of the freshest, locally sourced produce, the high street retail experience as we know it has changed, and competition is fierce.
Convenience Store reported recently that more and more retailers are turning to mobile technology to help run their businesses, but we’re more interested in the power that technology wields over the public and its spending power.
We’re massive advocates of supporting local businesses, and we work with some fantastic independents to help them engage with the local community and increase their profile. We’ve organised charity fashion shows, exclusive preview parties and sampling events, but one of the most impactful ways we’ve been able to help is by implementing social media campaigns to help them engage with existing and new customers.
From introducing new designer lines, offering exclusive discounts and showing off the mouth-watering dish of the day, the immediacy of Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram allows real-time interaction that revolutionises the way people shop. Many indies don’t have the luxury of expensive eCommerce sites and delivery services, and social media can provide one-to-one conversation and provide vital insight, customer feedback and word-of-mouth recommendations.
But it doesn’t stop there. We’re really proud to work with Annecto, one of the UK’s fastest growing independently sales organisations, which goes above and beyond to provide chip-and-pin payment solutions to independent retailers and businesses, as well as providing top-notch advice to help those businesses thrive. When Annecto told us about a cutting edge new payment solution that it’s now offering it’s customers, we couldn’t wait to tell our clients.
The system, myCircle smartPOS*, is an intelligent and forward-thinking system that not only ticks all the boxes when it comes to helping retailers stay in control of their business, but also allows them to access social media and engage with customers in the region with tailored offerings and messages according to stock, shopping behaviour and even the weather. Wow!
So not only does the system enable business owners to see real-time sales reports, add new products, and change prices at the tap of an icon, it lets them from a relationship with their customers, which is at the heart of any retail experience.
In a country where residents are more comfortable buying goods via smartphone than the rest of Europe, and where the number of consumers visiting social network sites has increased to 72 per cent, the need to maximise at technology to reach them has never been more important.
*chicken/egg also worked with myCircle on the design and development of their ‘icon wheel’ and datasheet