Connected retail outlets: the renewal of the customer experience

More than ever, phygital is becoming indispensable in retail, seamlessly integrating the complementary strengths of online and physical channels. To adapt to new consumer behaviors, your sports store should incorporate a digital journey to enhance the customer experience. The physical store has evolved beyond being merely a point of purchase; it now serves as the emotional center for customers, significantly influencing their buying decisions. The objective is to craft a seamless customer journey in your connected retail space, utilizing digital technology. Here are four tips to help you build a connected retail outlet and revitalize the customer experience.

Immersive Tools: Enhancing the Purchase Journey

Creating a connected retail outlet means establishing a positive shopping journey that meets your customers’ expectations, giving them an experience to remember. Digitizing your store involves investing beyond basic communication channels and online sales. It’s about offering a suite of tools and services that foster customer loyalty and enhance store performance. 

Here are some examples of digital tools to implement:

• Providing free WiFi in the sales area, allowing customers to gather additional information and compare online offers;
• A digital kiosk for customers to locate products on the shelves, access technical information about an item, place orders, and choose a pickup or delivery method;
• A tablet in the fitting room to request another product or size without having to leave the area;
• Virtual reality to help visualize certain items in their usage context…

For inspiration: How to Create a Unique Customer Experience

Connected and Mobile Sales Associates: Improving Customer Relationships

Digitalizing your store means more than just incorporating IoT and loyalty services. Achieving a seamless customer experience in your connected retail space starts with uninterrupted information flow. In today’s digital age, businesses encounter discerning and well-informed customers who expect expert advice on products and services to maximize value. Essential elements include a robust online presence, detailed product sheets on e-commerce platforms, and consistently updated store information. Your customers will engage with you across all digital channels before stepping into your physical store, and vice versa. The objective is clear: ensure continuous information and communication. As your customers become increasingly connected, you must stay ahead.

Your employees are key to a successful immersion in your connected retail space. Our recommendation: turn your sales team into experts to boost customer relations. Equip them with tablets, enabling real-time access to all critical information for a smooth sales process. This includes product data, accessory recommendations, pricing, delivery options, and stock availability. Your salespeople can instantly offer accurate and insightful responses to customers, maintaining engagement and ensuring a seamless experience.

This mobility also provides an opportunity to save your customers time. Equipped and connected salespeople can offer immediate advice without needing to leave to find information. They can also provide checkout services directly via a tablet or smartphone, reducing wait times and enhancing the overall experience. Beyond accessing in-store stock data, connected salespeople can tap into commercial information through direct CRM integration, enhancing loyalty with purchase history, personalized recommendations, loyalty points, and tailored promotions.

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Checkout: Streamlining and Securing Payments

Contactless payment via a credit card or smartphone is becoming essential in stores. A connected retail space is also a physical location that offers the same smooth and secure checkout experience found online and sought by customers. Speed, simplicity, and security are key when it comes to checkout.

The goal is to implement elements that streamline this stage of the purchasing journey, avoiding any loss of time while ensuring consumer security. Options like online pre-reservation of an item with a salesperson, generating a barcode on a smartphone for direct payment at the register… Make your customers’ lives easier to reduce wait times in your connected store, contributing to a positive in-store experience.

Connected ERP: Achieving Your Omnichannel Strategy

In your sports store, your management solution plays a central and crucial role in enhancing the customer experience. The performance of your strategies depends on your ERP: real-time data availability, mobile access, and an ergonomic interface that simplifies your employees’ work. Beyond the functionalities specific to sports retail, the ERP must be connected to your CRM tool to maximize the personalization of the purchasing journey and customer experience.

Digitalizing your store meets the needs of an omnichannel strategy, offering your customers a fully integrated experience that fosters loyalty. Consistency of delivered information, presence across various touchpoints, and personalization of the purchasing journey are critical actions for success. The success of omnichannel strategies relies on software tools that enable an enriched experience :

• Web-to-store services: click and collect, drive-through, optimized checkout, online reservations…
• Deep customer insights with an ERP/CRM software combination
• A mobile-accessible solution for a seamless experience
• An ergonomic tool to simplify employees’ work and boost performance

4 Tips for Creating Your Connected Retail Space and Enhancing the Customer Experience :

• Implement an Immersive Shopping Journey: Integrate digital tools that enhance your in-store customer experience and foster loyalty.

• Enhance Customer Relations: Transform your sales associates into experts who can guide customers throughout the purchasing journey—from gathering information to checkout—providing relevant advice along the way.

• Streamline Checkout Processes: Offer quick checkout options that reduce wait times, ensure customer security, and contribute to a positive experience in your connected store.
• Invest in a Robust ERP System: Connect it with your business tools, including your CRM, to successfully implement and manage your omnichannel strategy.