In a world where the best deal is only a Google search away, retailers are struggling to keep customers coming back. This is especially true for brick-and-mortars that have taken a hit from the rise of ecommerce and practices like showrooming. And yet Amazon opened a physical store last year, along with several other successful ecommerce brands like Warby Parker and Birchbox. Would anyone be able to predict this just a few years ago when ecommerce was hailed as the end of brick-and-mortars?
Online retailers moving toward offline stores tells us not only that the in-store experience still matters, but more importantly retailers are ditching the one-channel mindset for an omnichannel approach. Retailers now recognize the need to connect with customers at all touchpoints in relevant, meaningful ways.
We’re seeing brands experiment with how to deliver more contextual, highly personalized customer experiences by using emerging technology like beacons and augmented reality. Thanks to Apple Pay’s launch last fall, mobile wallets may finally make a real impact on retail. In a recent blog about Apple Pay and iBeacons, we explore how these technologies can be integrated with loyalty.
We’ve also recently looked at defining and measuring loyalty ROI in retail, which is key for getting buy in from your organization.
Check out our Retail Loyalty Readiness Worksheet to guide you through costing out the initial capital investment and ongoing costs of launching a loyalty program.
We hope these resources will inspire and inform your loyalty strategy this year and beyond. No matter where the retail industry is headed, our primary focus should remain the same: rewarding customers in ways specific to their wants and needs. That will always be in style.
