What people really want does not require experiences
Experiential retail has long been hailed as the best way to lure “millennial” shoppers back into physical stores.
No one wants to visit a department store anymore in which items are piled sky-high and tucked away in brand corners. No one wants to ask the shop assistant for the size that “isn’t available if it is not on the rack”. Store visits are no longer necessary to purchase products from the entry to mid-tier brands. Today almost every item can be shipped within days, sometimes even hours, for free, to wherever you want them, and occasion for an even lower price.
Make it grammable
Restaurants, instagrammable interiors, shop online pick up offline.
Visual appeal nowadays drives physical attendance. Instagram has arguably been the primary driver of this approach to interior design. Colors from millennial pink, to GenZ yellow, along with a splash of faded green art deco furniture. Hotels have already accepted the fact that a property’s success and especially that of a new opening, depends ever more on its visual appeal and photogenic qualities.
In recent years French department store Le Bon Marché had pop corners that were also showcasing products but were primarily build for customers to snap a picture that would later be shared on social media.
Compare this approach to a flagship Macy’s, and you will soon recognize that visual merchandising and interior design are not the only drivers behind the rise of eCommerce. The convenience of true omnichannel retail in which customers can choose a product and have it shipped everywhere, as well as return it from anywhere, appeals to an ever more convenience focused buying customer.
Luxury brands have established online presence, but the upper-tier brands still could not care less about your buying experience in the 21st century. Sales representatives will certainly welcome you, take good care of you, will be available for requests. Looking for an “experience”, try next door.
If you have purchased luxury products like a Swiss timepiece, a limited edition vehicle, bespoke apparel, an instagrammable experience, it is not. There will be champagne, there will be a sales associate, but they will be result-focused and push you through the process, making you happy to pay that premium.
Customers may have paid for the whole seat in the past and only used its edge, today, having them around even if they are not paying seems to be almost as desirable.
