The digital shopper

The ability of a retailer or shopping centre owner to provide an experience that sets it apart in the eyes of consumers increases the turnover, the time spent in the store or centre and the loyalty inspired by the brand. Loyalty is now driven primarily by a company’s interaction with its customers and how well it serves both their wants and needs. The key to the success of a store or a shopping centre is to deliver a consistent, branded experience that exceeds customers’ expectations. However, many companies are still unable to see the real business value in gauging and managing the customer experience. And this is clearly a mistake, as JLL emphasises.

The point of the game

Customer touchpoints are those points of contact between the customer and the brand, from start to finish. For example, a consumer may find a business online or in an advert, read its ratings and reviews, visit the website of that brand, shop in one of its outlets or contact its customer service. For each business, identifying these touchpoints is the first and most crucial step toward drawing up a customer journey map and making sure that customers are satisfied each step of the way.

There are three main touchpoints that have to be taken on board when analysing the customer experience process: before, during and after the purchase. Each main touchpoint is then followed by a number of specific ones relevant to a particular brand. Touchpoints can vary widely depending on the brand or business. Each of them can have a number of underlying elements, for example, ‘advertising’, which can involve touchpoints across many channels. Physical stores in shopping centres have touchpoints such as signage to help customers find the store and the car park, while there are also the many different interactions that take place inside the centre.

“JLL’s ‘Customer Experience Walk’ report forms part of our property management approach for reviewing the cumulative impact of the multiple touchpoints in shopping centres with the aim of removing the friction and enhancing the experience for every customer, regardless of where they are on the journey – online or offline. In fact, we step into the customers’ shoes from the moment they enter the shopping centre, through to how they find their way around, how they shop, rest, dine and go online, up to the moment they leave the centre,” explains Virginie de Baere, the head of property and asset management at JLL Poland.

Identifying the customer journey helps us to understand how those touchpoints create the experience. “After we have created a map of the touchpoints on the customer journey, we can see how they all fit together and ask where the obstacles are that the customer might experience along the way. Are any of the touchpoints missing or neglected? Is it clear for the customer how to resolve potential issues during or after the transaction? Once we have drawn that map of the customer journey, we are able to evaluate the experience and to make improvements where necessary. Based on that knowledge we are able to prepare and implement a customer experience strategy,” reveals Virginie de Baere.

Emotional wave

Customer Experience is based on feelings and inclinations – in other words, on emotions, and these are hard to evaluate. Our customer experience, starting from seeing the advert, searching for the product, researching it, through the contact with the sales person, the purchase of the product, its delivery, the service, the complaint procedure, etc., are all determined by our feelings. Therefore companies that want to attract customers need to adopt approaches that enhance their positive experiences. In co-operation with the MAM platform, JLL took a closer look at what awaits the retail market in terms of customer experience now and in the next few years and highlighted the most likely trends. Millennials (11 mln) and baby boomers (5 mln) are currently the largest demographic groups in Poland. Together they form a large group of customers that retailers should be targeting. Social media should be treated as a shopping platform. Facebook and Instagram are not only social platforms – they are becoming shopping platforms. Another trend is that a number of retailers that started out online are now opening physical stores as well, thus providing even more of a shopping experience. There is also omni-channelling. This is when a business uses multiple channels to offer its goods and services. The use of advanced technology is also a visible trend. Personalisation is all about getting to know the customer and giving them the experience they she want and expect.

Sensitive to their needs

As shopping centre owners and retailers become increasingly global, they always have to remember that they are selling their goods to a diverse range of people who are seeking contextual, local, personalised experiences. And while consumers’ expectations in terms of their experience continue to grow when it comes to physical shopping centres and stores, they will continue to increase online. Consumers want shopping hubs and brands that are suited to their particular location and that speak the local “language”, with customised products and ranges. Thus the notion of ‘glocalisation’ has arisen, bringing together the best of global and local. This is supported by hyper-local targeting, which responds to the individual based on their geographic context.

“Brick-and-mortar stores are likely to survive only for as long as consumers enjoy the shopping experience. The fact that consumers can find what they want and when they want it online means they now demand a similar level of service in physical stores. The retailers that utilise real-time technology, merging offline with online, will be the ones that have the best chance of attracting shoppers and elevating the customer experience in their stores,” predicts Anna Wysocka, the head of the retail agency and tenant representation at JLL.

Into the crystal ball

What does the future hold for us retail property owners and managers? Much will depend on the technology that becomes available. “In 2018 our focus on the customer experience and customer journey will not diminish at all. But, as shopping centre managers, we need to think wisely about how we can provide more value at every stage of this journey. Being able to react at the right moment with a well-timed, well-positioned and customer-centric message will be the leading measure of success in the years to come,” argues Virginie de Baere.

Uniquely unique

In an era of individualism when everybody wants to be unique, we increasingly look for something special, extraordinary, one of a kind. This is the reason why consumers are turning to anything that is niche, personalised, and produced on a smaller scale and in an environmentally friendly way. This is the time for fashion, beauty and gastronomic start-ups and for inventiveness. And because the easiest way to get things done in the digital era is to go online, so we – as consumers – are doing the same. To find something without spending hours trudging from one shop to another, trying it on at home using a familiar mirror and without any random witnesses, strolling through a shopper’s paradise without even getting up from our own sofa... this is clearly the way forward and one that is being embraced by a new generation of consumer. ν