Will Collect

A customer recently posed the question 'what will shopping malls be like in 10 years time', which is a very interesting thought. It is easy to think that online shopping would have taken over completely and that shops would be a rare thing. However, if we look over the last five years I think that a different model for the future will happen.

If your shop is 100% virtual this will not have any resonance, however if you have a shop, and you can get someone who has already bought and paid for items to come in and collect them it can encourage them to buy more. Even if they don't buy additional items, the real world experience is likely to make them a more loyal customer, it is amazing the value a smile will give.

Common ways retailers encourage pick ups is to offer free gifts when pick up is made or a discount for using the pick up option. You should never underestimate the power of the word FREE, even if the item they receive is a small sample of another product, it has the desired effect.

For the past five years we have all had access, should we choose to do it, to shop for our groceries online and get them delivered, yet most of us don't, the same goes for clothes shopping, DIY, gifts in fact most things we buy we still 'go' and buy.

Although online shopping is great, offering convenience, simplicity and no need to travel, it does lack the 'experience' of going into a retail shop and 'shopping'. For this reason there is a growing trend to make 'will collect' the preferred option for online buyers.

Encouraging pick ups helps to create an experience for the customer, gives them a real world connection with you and your staff and as convenient as online selling is people buy from people, not from 'stores'.

For companies that have real world 'bricks and mortar' shops there are opportunities to create a hybrid shopping experience. Have the online shop for times when the customers are busy, but also the real world shop for customers to visit and experience a great shopping experience.

Not many retailers in New Zealand have picked up on what is a growing trend in the wider world and this gives you an advantage over your competitors. Despite the global nature of the internet we tend to buy most of our daily needs locally, you need to consider ways to build a more loyal customer base by putting a real world face to your online shop.