Modern consumers expect their retail experiences to be as fast and stress-free as possible, from single-click purchasing through AI-assisted product sampling to super-quick deliveries. Meeting these expectations can be challenging, but is essential in a fiercely competitive marketplace.
Technology and innovation is the key: according to BCG, retail innovation leaders will spend 38% more on innovation in the next three years, whereas laggards will only spend an average of 8% more. This blog explores how that investment can be spent to drive retail success, and the leading role experience engineering has to play.
The expectations of consumers are now so high, that creating seamless and interconnected experiences from start to finish is absolutely vital. According to Zendesk, the majority of consumers will switch to a competitor after just one negative experience, so no stone can be left unturned in perfecting the sales and buying journey.
And this is where experience engineering comes in: using advanced technology, product design and engineering innovation in unison to develop those comprehensive, interconnected experiences that consumers demand. Fast payments, personalized messaging, efficient delivery, always-on customer support, intuitive try-on services and more: everything has to come together to join the dots and make customers want to come back for more.
Retailers all over the world are finding that experience engineering is helping them innovate. Examples include Amazon Just Walk Out, the convenience stores where advanced AI technologies, cameras, sensors, automated payment and analytics allow shoppers to pick up their goods and leave without needing to wait in line to pay. The beauty leader Sephora has also succeeded in delivering personalized product recommendations through mobile, generated by AI analysis of customer preferences and trends.
At Ciklum, we have had plenty of success in supporting retailers with innovation through experience engineering. For example, one fashion retailer in the United States worked with us to implement scanning technology, based around augmented reality and LiDAR, that allowed them to scan body sizes and match clothing fit to customers more accurately. This enhanced level of personalization helped the retailer increase conversion rates by 38%, and generate a 94% improvement in customer satisfaction with product recommendations.
The difference that experience engineering can make in supporting growth in a competitive retail landscape is clear. Zippia has found that companies who focus on customer experience can increase their revenue by up to 80%, and as this blog makes clear, experience engineering is a key part of delivering the experiences customers want.
When exploring experience engineering, it’s important to take into account every single touchpoint that customers might encounter - even if they aren’t directly related to the buying journey itself. Areas like pricing, communication channels, marketing, customer service and even the product offerings themselves all have to be factored into the technology that enables smooth experiences end-to-end.
At a time when it’s never been easier for customers to shop around, only this can help drive greater lifetime value and loyalty from customers, and therefore growth that can be sustained in the long-term.
One of the main drivers of advancing consumer expectations is the capability of the technology around them. Smartphones have had a major part to play in this: every consumer now has the world’s marketplace at their fingertips, at any time and in any place, and have become used to the ease and speed with which they can browse, research and buy.
As a result, the ability to do things quickly has become the expected norm across every touchpoint. Customers want to get answers to questions as quickly as possible (including outside regular business hours), get tailored experiences if they desire them, and receive personalized, timely information about products that are relevant to them.
So as customers have been able to advance their own personal access to technology, the pressure has shifted to retailers to respond in kind and improve their own solutions and respond. In order to achieve the best possible business results, experience engineering can and should guide those improvements.
As with any major technology implementation, there can be some challenges in adopting experience engineering in retail. From our extensive experience, some of the most common hurdles to overcome include:
Making retail technology as innovative, comprehensive and customer-friendly as possible is a major undertaking. It requires careful planning and a philosophy of continuous improvement, in order to keep offerings relevant and engaging in a competitive and constantly changing landscape.
This is often beyond the reach and resources of many retailers, who struggle to find the time and recruit the skills needed to embrace experience engineering. And this is why partnering with an expert in retail technology, with a proven track record in successful experience engineering deployments, can provide a vital helping hand every step of the way.
To find out more on how Ciklum can help you implement experience engineering throughout your retail operation, talk to our team today.