Retailers vs Amazon
Impressing customers in the "city that never sleeps" is anything but easy. Especially when New Yorkers can simply stay at home and, with a few clicks, buy online. Big brands, and the department stores that distribute their goods, are striving for better user experience in the Big Apple in search for a retail formula that can be replicated across America.
Nowadays, more shops are finding unique ways to catch the attention of consumers. And there are a growing number of stores in New York, California and Florida that are providing quirky offerings such as wine and even tattoo services in-store. Unconventional? Truly. But a retail renaissance has long been overdue to thwart such pesky threats like digital shopping, best symbolized by Amazon's growing shadow. Last year, Jeff Bezos's company did over $135 billion in revenue. Money that could have otherwise gone to department stores and boutiques.
So why is the retail industry seeking innovation? Mall visits declined 50 percent between 2010 and 2013, according to research by Cushman and Wakefield. Managers have their feet to the fire, knowing they need sizzle and need it now to get people off their couch, drive their cars and physically walk through the doors.
The industry is beginning to use some of the same strategies (such as A/B testing, user engagement, social word-of-mouth, and optimizing traffic and conversions) that online sites have long leveraged to gain web traffic and sales. If it works, why not copy it?
Take LG SIGNATURE and its recent strategy of partnering with high-end fashion stores like Bloomingdale's and Lord and Taylor. The Korean electronics maker is positioning its premium appliances and electronics in the window displays of Bloomingdale's iconic 59th Street location in New York. The company is also having its home products displayed at the Lord and Taylor Fifth Avenue location, a landmarked building that draws tourists, as well as, art and fashion aficionados.
These two categories — fashion and gadgets — have traditionally not been mashed up to produce some sort of promotional synergy, but here we see a recognizable brand taking a calculated risk in order to stand out in a noisy marketplace. The lesson? It's no longer just about presenting gadgets for people to buy at certain price points. For LG SIGNATURE and other brands, it's becoming about the lifestyle and what experiences people can have by incorporating such goods into their home.
Kohler, a large bath and kitchen products manufacturer, is going a step further. Since August, the company has allowed its New York customers to sample Kohler's bathroom products by taking a shower or bath on-site. Now that's a game plan taken straight out of the user-experience playbook.
When you buy online, you can look at a picture of a t-shirt or shoe but you can't actually touch it. And there's always the risk of returning the wrong-size shoe and incurring shipping costs and other charges. Brick-and-mortar belong to the realm of physical reality. You can touch, toss and play with goods that you're considering to buy, and that's a very real advantage over Amazon.
American Eagle Outfitters doesn't want to get left behind, either. Aside from buying trendy clothes, customers can now enjoy non-alcoholic beverage from an in-store bar at its Times Square flagship store.
You can’t drink complimentary juice from a website. You can't get a new tattoo or your teeth extracted on Amazon.com.
Global brands that are experimenting with selling practices in New York may introduce their innovations in other retail-forward cities such as Beverly Hills, Miami and San Francisco. LG SIGNATURE’S retail push, in particular, is about letting customers physically interact with the latest electronics in a chic, high-end setting. "Bloomingdale's is a quintessential name in fashion and luxury, and we were thrilled to spotlight our products in their iconic windows," says David VanderWaal, marketing vice president of LG Electronics USA.
There's an old saying: The more things change, the more they stay the same. Physical presence has always been, and will always be, a department store's advantage. The challenge is how to make an outlet come alive; to make it worthy of the time and effort it takes for people to go there and amuse themselves.