There has been a lot of talk over the past decade or so about the idea of online retailers potentially replacing high-street shops as the first choice for consumers, but both sides have managed to find a balance so far. With that said, online retailers are leading their traditional counterparts in a number of areas, and there are more than a few things that brick-and-mortar can learn.
Focus Marketing
Online businesses have a natural leg up when it comes to marketing thanks to tons of organised data and direct lines to digital marketing techniques. It means that everyone from clothes shops to online casinos can arrange and focus their marketing efforts to reach out to specific groups of customers. In the latter example, if a casino wanted to notify players about the recent Adventures Beyond Wonderland live casino game, they can narrow their approach to those players who regularly play live titles or perhaps even just fantasy games as a whole.
While retail shops don’t have the same level of data, the idea of learning as much as possible about their customers is something they should consider. Whether that is through surveys or perhaps via offers and loyalty programs, being able to reach out to exactly the right customers is an advantage.
Flexibility
Thanks to being purely digital, online retailers don’t have to worry as much about having to do big physical changes like price updates or offers. Overall, their flexibility helps them stay competitive over a matter of hours rather than days, and adding some of this flexibility to a physical retail shop could be a big asset.
One area where retail has been particularly slow to adapt so far is in payment options. Thanks to readily available APIs, even small online businesses can accept a vast array of payments from Visa and Mastercard through to PayPal and even fintech up-and-comers like Revolut. Retailers quickly jumping on as many options as possible, perhaps even looking at crypto payments, would see a lot of benefits.
App Technology
There is, without a doubt, an app for everything, and often three or four of them. Online retailers, particularly large ones like Amazon or Ocado, were quick to get their own apps in place, usually as versions of the webstore but with extra features. Some high-street names with webstores have also gone the same route but there are more creative ways to use an app in person.
For example, a clothing retailer could easily have a companion app for shopping that made use of AR features, where items could be scanned to display more information. This could be available sizes, similar items, or even upcoming items in a new range that may be of interest. In this way, a physical shopper could get some of the same information that usually they’d only get shopping online, and the gap would get narrower.
Shops on the high street will never be able to offer everything that an online retailer does. However, the difference could be much smaller than it is with just a little adaptation and creative thinking.
