No Such Thing as Offline Retailing Anymore
Digital now drives in-store traffic; is your network ready?
Retailers need to rethink the notion that online shopping steals or cannibalizes their brick-and-mortar sales. While it’s true that in-store visits have dropped thanks largely to digital e-commerce, the value of each in-store visitor has risen tremendously.
According to a recent Deloitte study, digital influences 36 cents of every dollar spent at retail stores. Digital also impacts in-store sales rates; consumers using digital devices in the store convert at a 40% higher rate. Consumers visit less, but are better informed about what they want when entering a store. Each trip is more purposeful and they buy more.
The problem is those conversion rates drop precipitously when the in-store digital experience fails to deliver a positive customer experience. Even a few second delay on an in-store Wi-Fi network can send an otherwise promising customer out the door. Considering that 70% of millennials shop with their mobile device in hand according to a recent report from MSLGROUP and the Hartman Group, retailers cannot afford a poor experience. And with social media, a single bad experience can exponentially influence a retailer’s customer base.