Here are some academic insights about retailing in our new digital world. In this recent study published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Michael Sciandra, Jeff Inman and Andrew Stephen examined how the use of smartphones affects shopping behavior in grocery stores. They conducted this study by interviewing 2,000 grocery stores shoppers in the US, both before and also after they entered the store, they asked shoppers about what they plan to buy before they went into the store. After they came out, they asked them what they actually bought. They also asked them about how they use their smartphone while they were in the store. The results of these surveys were quite interesting. First of all, they found that only about 15 percent of all shoppers actually use their phones while shopping. They then asked how they were using their phones and found that the majority of people were using these devices to talk or texts with family or friends rather than using them for shopping related tasks like checking prices. What is most interesting, is that they found that shoppers who are busy talking or texting forgot the purchase about a third of the items they had planned to buy. They also engage in higher levels of impulse buying of unintended purchases. The results of this study suggest that smartphones often distract shoppers by taking their focus away from the shopping task, and that this distraction reduces the purchase of items they planned to buy while increasing the purchase of things they didn't plan to buy. In this recent study published in the Journal of Interactive Marketing, Hyo Jeong Kang, Jung-hye Shin and Kevin Ponto examined how virtual reality or VR impacts the shopping experience. They began by examining over 300 customer reviews of store base augmented reality. Based on this assessment, they proposed that virtual reality provide shoppers with two key benefits. First, visual-spatial cues, which is simply the ability to visualize a product in three-dimensional space, and second, interactivity, which is the ability to rotate and examine a product in this virtual space. They also proposed that these two benefits allow shoppers to gain more information about a product, and also be more playful with it. They test these ideas through an experiment over 200 participants and found strong support for their ideas. They also found that the increased sense of playfulness provided by virtual reality and hands shoppers opinions about the product, and that the increased degree of information provided by VR increase their purchase intentions. In some this study suggests that investments in VR technology maybe a wise strategy for physical retailers. First market to shoppers. In recent years, there has been increased focus on understanding and influencing the behavior of shoppers once they enter a physical store. This new trend is called shopper marketing, and has led to a number of tools and strategies for enhancing the performance of physical retailers. For example, in the US, grocery stores are starting to introduce smart shopping carts that allow customers to keep track of the things they put into the cart, and also send them personal ads and promotions. Another way that physical retailers can market to customers or market to shoppers is to make their shopping experience more enjoyable. For example, many shopping malls are now turning into entertainment centers, complete with amusement rides, water-slides and even ski slopes. Second, enhance the physical by adding the digital. Another way that physical retailers can meet the challenges posed by digital tools is to employ these tools themselves. In addition to allowing customers to purchase online, some forward-looking retailers are starting to digitize the in-store experience. For example, Sephora, a French beauty retailer, has installed something called magic mirrors in it's stores. These are augmented reality devices that allow customers to digitally see how different types of makeup would look on their face without actually having to touch a physical product. Also in Brazil, the clothing retailers C&A uses high-tech hangers that display the number of likes that item of clothing has received from fellow shoppers. Third, use the power of touch. A growing body of research suggests that many customers have a strong desire to physically touch products before they buy them, and that they are more likely to buy products that they are actually able to touch. This may be one reason why many people like myself still shop in physical stores rather than digital ones, especially for products such as clothing, food and furniture. The ability to touch a product before buying it is inherent advantage for physical retailers. Thus, they should leverage this advantage as fully as possible. For example, the New York furniture store, COCO-MAT, let's tired shoppers take a nap on this mattresses. In addition to taking advantage of customers need for touch, this is also a great way to keep customers in their store for a longer period of time. Fourth and finally, tiny and temporary. The days of the big-box store are numbered. They are simply too big and their costs are too high. It also cost a lot to shut them down, that's rather than making such a large and risky investment, retailers can reduce this risk and save money by setting up a pop-up store. These are small retail stores that exist for a short period of time, which may be as brief as a single day. Because of their small footprint and temporary duration, these pop-up stores have low fixed cost, but often generate substantial attention and considerable customer traffic. For example, Lego has begun to open a pop-up stores in empty store fronts and shopping malls across the US, Facebook recently opened up a pop-up Cafe in London, and the German clothing firm Adidas opened up a pop-up store in Barcelona, Spain that looked like a giant shoe-box.
