Brick-and-Mortar’s Future is Now: What Your Organization Needs to Know

For a glimpse into brick-and-mortar’s future, we need to look to the past. Not too far in the past, mind you — only to the tail-end of 2021. The trends we saw to close out the last year are a harbinger of retail’s future.

Overall, the outlook is strong. For every brick-and-mortar retailer that closed its doors during an inhospitable 2019, five more opened their doors in 2021. Several of the largest brick-and-mortar operators beat profit expectations last year, some of them by a wide margin. All this progress occurred despite ongoing supply- and labor-related challenges.

First, let’s be clear: brick-and-mortar has a future, and a bright one at that. The rebound of 2021 tells us this. I believe that brick-and-mortar’s immediate future holds some pretty cool things in store, for shoppers and retail employees alike.

If I were a betting man, I’d lay a wager on three predictions in particular:

Prediction No. 1: Retailers Will Increasingly Learn That Novel Experiences Are Far Less Costly Than Stagnation

With each passing year, the range of in-store experiences grows. Exciting new technologies are a major reason for this constant experiential expansion. As consumers get a taste of new conveniences and technologies in their own lives — virtual reality (VR) being one prominent example — they gravitate towards retailers that embrace those same conveniences and technologies.

When you offer a shopper a novel experience, or an experience that they already love with a unique twist, you imbue a new source of value into your stores.

Think of it this way: A shopper has a choice of two stores, with each located a comparable distance from their home. Each store offers comparable goods at negligible price points. Store A offers a spartan, familiar shopping experience — no frills. Store B, on the other hand, has a recently installed virtual reality (VR) exhibit. The shopper has heard a lot about VR, but hasn't had the opportunity to try it.

Which store do you think the typical shopper will choose to visit? In my experience, Store B will win out with most customers. When there's limited downside to offering fresh, novel experiences to your customers, you should almost always take the leap.

I’m not suggesting anything revolutionary here. And yet, I see countless retailers stick with the status quo as their competitors embrace affordable, potentially high-reward upgrades for their stores. Retailers like Nike, Warby Parker, and TOMS have embraced augmented reality and VR, offering customers unconventional, intriguing brand interactions.

You don’t necessarily need a wholesale, budget-busting revamp of your stores. You might start by identifying a simple-to-implement technology that you’ve been considering for a while — may I suggest interactive digital signage or self-checkout kiosks?

If you’re still hesitant to make potentially beneficial changes to your stores, ask yourself this: Is it more costly to try out an unproven but promising customer experience, or to become known as a brand stuck in the past?

Prediction No. 2: Retailers and Restaurateurs Will Liberate Employees by Embracing Automation

Despite several positive developments for brick-and-mortar in 2021, employee satisfaction remains a significant concern. Even with widespread wage increases, restaurant employees report morale deficits. Many retail employees share similar sentiments. Exhaustion is one of the most commonly reported complaints of brick-and-mortar employees.

Exhausted employees are a benefit to no one — not the employee, employer, and certainly not the customer. In 2022, brick-and-mortar decision makers will prioritize solutions that take the burden off of the employee without compromising customer service.

Advancements in workforce management solutions (WMS) leverage big data and machine learning to identify the most common challenges employees face. More targeted solutions allow employees to speak freely about their morale and make actionable suggestions to their employers. Of course, it's up to employers to act on employees’ feedback — but simply providing channels for feedback is a major step for many organizations.

Prediction No. 3: Customers Will Demand Greater Speed, Convenience and Choice From Brick-and-Mortar Retailers

Shoppers’ familiarity with e-commerce has had a bit of — for lack of a better term — a pampering effect. The internet provides more buying options than a single store ever could. With services like FedEx offering same-day shipping and Amazon.com delivering most items in two days, consumers are accustomed to the speed, convenience and choice that e-commerce provides.

Brick and mortar has responded admirably to the pressures of e-commerce. Retailers across different market segments offer curbside pickup, in-store pickup, ship-from-store, and other options meant to counter the benefits of e-commerce.

Continue to strive for shorter fulfillment times, as Amazon and other e-commerce giants certainly will. Offer customers as many ways to purchase and receive items as you can justify. Customers want to shop how they want to shop, and pay how they want to pay. As has always been the case, the customer is always right.

Conclusion

Much will remain the same in 2022 as it was in 2021. Shoppers will continue to demand convenience and will actively seek out value. Prevailing challenges may look familiar, too. Employees will grapple with the stresses of modern retail, supply chain issues are likely to persist, and competition for customers will remain fierce.

Here’s my advice: Control what your organization can control. If you offer a novel customer experience, you offer customers value. If you actively seek employee feedback, they’ll lead you to morale-boosting solutions. And if you offer customers a variety of shopping channels and payment options, you’ll eliminate potential reasons for them to purchase elsewhere.

The future can be bright for your organization, starting (or continuing) in 2022. Embrace necessary change, and you may just find yourself at the front of the pack by year’s end.

Bobby Marmahat is the CEO of Raydiant, a digital signage and in-store experience solutions provider.