New trends are sometimes just old trends adapted for today’s demanding users. Supermarkets and makeup stores provide an opportunity to make a purchase on the Internet, pay for it and receive it without leaving your home; car dealerships accept orders online, and even barber shops collect statistics on social networks by selling prepaid services. All efforts are concentrated on the online marketing, and the real, live customer who prefers to see the goods before buying and enjoy a face to face experience is forgotten.
Digitalization has taken over all areas of the market like a tidal wave, systematically pushing out every business that has not yet acquired an online store and a page on Facebook or Instagram. But let’s take an objective look at the target audience: at least a third of your customers do not order products online.
Let’s analyze the reasons:
“Live” communication. Each of your customers is a part of society, therefore human contact is important to them. In addition, for many people, spontaneous purchases when there is no need to wait for your order are much more convenient and more familiar.
Real impressions. Describe the color and style of a jacket or boots in as many details as you want, for as long as you want, but this will not help the buyer to evaluate them on their own. Trying on, smelling, tasting the product is still what your customers want.
Offline technologies. Today, retailers can implement a digital receipt system in the workflow of an offline store, which will allow both parties to get rid of paper receipts. The document will be stored in the buyer’s personal account – it is convenient and environmentally friendly.
Trust rating. When it comes to offline stores, the trust rating is much higher, both among the older generation and among young people. At least once in their lifetime, each member of your target audience has encountered an unscrupulous seller on the Internet.
So what is the task of modern retail and do you need to sacrifice something? Of course not. And if you manage to achieve an organic balance between online and offline business, you are among the winners (and, as you know, winners are loved by both clients and partners).
