Social Shopper Archives

As mentioned in my previous posts on the Dx3 Digital Shopping Experience (Part 1, Part 2), I attended the Dx3 Canada (#Dx32014) conference in Toronto on March 5-6. The Dx3 conference brought agencies, brands, publishers and retailers together for two days of networking and education on current innovations of digital marketing in retail.

This is the last in a three part series of posts that describe what shopping experiences you might see coming soon to a store near you. I have one more post coming out for retailers who want to create exciting shopping experiences for their customers, but this will be the last one describing the shopping experience itself.

Before I get into the digital shopping experience content of this post, I couldn’t help myself from including a picture of an automated display that I passed by at the conference. The display was meant to simulate a human greeting and then give a product pitch. I’m not sure what to think of it, but it definitely caught my attention as I walked by. On the other hand, although it caught my attention, I admit it felt a bit creepy to me. I think I’d still prefer to be greeted by a real person at Walmart.

On to the main digital shopping experience blog post content …

Since this is the last post on the shopping experience, it seems fitting that I should talk about a session given by Aran Hamilton of Vantage Analytics. Unlike my last two blog posts, I’m not going to introduce you to a new shopping experience this time. Rather, I want to talk about Aran Hamilton’s presentation, because I felt he did a good job of describing the general set of characteristics that all modern shopping experiences should include …

His expectations for a digital shopping experience are …

1) Shopping experience needs to be integrated with shoppers’ mobile phones
2) Let shopper do real-time product scanning with their mobile phones to access product information and ratings as required
3) Customer self-service where possible
4) Access to expert customer support and curated recommendations when required
5) Shopping experience needs to be integrated with social media
6) Personalized targeted offers
7) Self-checkout option unified with Loyalty Program and Point of Sale checkout technology

As a modern shopper, I believe Aran Hamilton did a good job of summarizing what you should expect, and even demand, from the stores that you shop at. There are many reasons that stores won’t work hard to provide the best experience, don’t let the fact that you’re not asking for the best be one of those reasons!

Let me know what you think. If you’re a shopper would you like to your shopping experience to include these types of interactions? If you’re a retailer, what do you think of the risks and rewards to create an integrated shopping experience for your shoppers?

I attended the Dx3 Canada (#Dx32014) conference in Toronto last week. The Dx3 conference brought agencies, brands, publishers and retailers together for two days of networking and education on current innovations of digital marketing in retail.

Wow! I saw great shopping innovations were everywhere I went at the conference. In the upcoming posts, I want like to share with you a sample of what you might find coming soon to a store near you. (Digital Shopping Experience Part 2)

In this post, I’ll talk about a concept store found in Seattle, called Hointer. The store concept is to move the focus away from the typical showroom theater to an interactive experience for trying on clothes (jeans as a first trial) in the fitting room.

Nadia Shouraboura, Hointer founder, gave a presentation at the conference describing how she hopes Hointer technology will remove many of the frustrations today’s shoppers have shopping for clothes. She explained that Hointer can remove the typical issues shoppers have when buying jeans, and let them focus on the experience of finding clothes they like and making it easy for them to purchase.

Shouraboura pointed out that removing a hovering salesperson from the experience may appeal to many men. As a personal preference, I can see how this idea is appealing to me. But if you’re a social shopper, don’t despair. Hointer’s experience also includes the ability for social sharing while you’re trying on your clothes. I’m pretty sure you’ll find the Hointer experience appealing for both genders!

The best way to communicate what I learned from Nadia Shouraboura is to let you see for yourself. Take a look at the following two videos.

You may not actually see a Hointer store opening at your local mall, because it intends to license it’s technology to other retailers rather than opening up a large chain itself. However, if Shouraboura is successful, you’ll find this experience in one of your regular clothing stores if they license the technology.

Let me know what you think. If you’re a shopper would you like this type of shopping experience? If you’re a retailer, what do you think of the risks and rewards to create an integrated shopping experience for your customers?