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Superior shopping

In spite of nerves about a potential “triple dip” recession and concerns about the national debt, the weak economy, international uncertainty, squeezed household budgets, public sector wage freezes, higher bills and the change to working families’ tax credits (coming Spring 2013)… shall I continue? There is a positive forecast out there.

Yes really!

E-commerce is expected to reach £87bn in 2013 (IMRG). It reached £78bn in 2012, up 14 percent on 2011. Mobile sales also increased last year - 304 percent on 2011 and with 62 percent of Britons owning a smartphone, and half of these using them for online shopping, it clearly illustrates that this is a channel that cannot be ignored this year. We’ve just seen the sad demise of Jessops, HMV and Blockbuster on the British high street. Online retail has been in the firing line as a result, for canabilising brick and mortar sales.

However, for those of us working in the e-commerce industry, we are getting frustrated now by this lack of acceptance of the speed of change, that the only certainty is actually uncertainty and the same e-commerce technology that is having such a negative impact on the high street, could also help to keep it alive…

According to a report by the research firm Hitachi Consulting, a huge 65 percent of us still prefer to visit a physical store, compared to 20 percent of us who prefer to shop online. 13 percent of us meanwhile like a combination. After all, we all have to get out of the house sometime.

The key therefore is the ‘connection economy.’ The industrial economy has ended and the focus is now on building personal connections. Retailers should therefore concentrate on the one area that brings them unique value and can therefore bring mutual benefit - the fact that their physical destinations are primariy social outlets.

Ve Interactive UK is based in London and according to Hitachi, Londoners have a high expectancy of being provided with good customer service and knowledgeable sales staff. 55 percent of us would walk out of a store if we had poor service. We’re tired of the ‘warehouse’ mentaility of big stores, we want the personal touch, a humanised experience, exclusive products, care. And 54 percent of us want more in store technology too - to offer us exclusive discounts and promotions - kiosks and iPads to check stock, read reviews and arrange home deliveries. We want to be able to research while in store, surf, consult. And ultimately, may be the transaction itself doesn’t have to happen there anymore…

So it’s about clever retailers providing experience, flexibility and convenience. It’s about the high street becoming an imaginative destination. Think about it!

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Kathy Heslop .