Last week RPA caught up with four major retailers, who described how they view the role of their stores.
In this special report we look at what they see as the core fundamentals for successfully integrating stores and online.
Claire Arskey, global executive director, Urban Outfitters: “The current generation are the toughest customers ever. You have to connect and create to keep the younger generation. But they do want to interact.
“You have to listen to your customer. For example, right now there is a big conversation about gender neutral and so perhaps we may stop separating our menswear and womenswear. Not everyone may like that because the store will be changed. Our main Instagram account is run by head office and is curated but the store Instagram sites are run by the teams.
“Why have some pure players struggled with opening stores? We’re experts at retail and they are experts at online. They are not always the same. At our flagship in New York there are a lot of new things, we’re prepared to keep trying different things and to use technology too. But Urban Outfitters is keen to employ local cultures and differences, so it is as likely to bring an idea for Europe or Asia as it is to export and idea from the US.
“You are looking to futureproof what you do, which is about the right space in the right city. We increasingly will look at different spaces, say a cinema or an old building, because part of the story is the restoration and brining that building back into the community. You have to be responsible. There are more opportunities because, let’s be honest, landlords are prepared to deals right now.
“We are opening stores and looking at 15-20 global openings per year over the next five years.”
Hamish Mansbridge, CEO, Heals: The store has to be lovely across everything. It must be consistently lovely. The idea that the store is dead is nonsense but shoppers have to want to come.
“At our Tottenham Court Road flagship one of the most common questions is the location of the toilets and the café, so both of those have to be lovely, because encouraging people in is the start of the conversation and that may result in sales further down the line.
“Omni-channel has to be seamless because the vast majority of our customers will have been across different channels before they buy. At the moment they will almost certainly have visited a store to see furniture but they may change going forwards.”
Sue Carvell, commercial director, Cath Kidston: “A store has to be inspiring and visually exciting. Mother’s Day is the second biggest selling occasion after Christmas. It is not just enough to have a space, so we are doing more to engage with people and to bring them in to teach them skills for example. We also ensure that any online sale transacted through the store goes to that shop, and that we look at the value of the local store in any online purchase. Stores are also a great place to capture data.
“Our estate is quite small and we continue to adjust it, generally if stores are awkward or we need a bigger local site. We generally try to ensure that there is a store that customers can visit near one that closes. We are also seeing very strong performance in travel locations and we are likely to open more such stores going forwards.”
Darren Sinclair, zone managing director, Sainsbury’s: “We remain massive advocates of the store, with 90% of our sales through stores and about 7% online and we will continue to invest in stores for the foreseeable future.
“Selly Oak is a great example of what we are trying, with lots of great fresh services and we’ve also integrated non-food with Argos, Habitat and Timpson. There are opportunities for more use of this space and also for us to capture additional sales from Argos shoppers, because it is convenient to buy for example milk while you are there. So click and collect is very important. It’s a halo effect.
“The important thing is to make stores more meaningful for people. Shops are the lifeblood of Sainsbury’s and the important thing is that the way a retailer is run is not to sit the infrastructure of that retailer but to suit the customer. Going forwards, I think that business will be about personalising the experience.”
