9 Tech Makeovers That Can Lure Festive Shoppers Back To Local Stores

Shopping is a lively experience. While many do it as a stress-busting exercise, some do it because they just feel the need to buy. With the Festival of Lights just around the corner, most people are out on a shopping spree. But this Diwali could be a bit different for the majority of retailers and e-tailers across the country as they engage with a tech-savvy and digitally informed crowd.

Interestingly, not all shoppers are geeky millennials (born after 1980) looking for the coveted Gold iPhone or the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch at mega-retailers. Instead, ‘digitally driven’ customers (who might have already done their research online) are invading every nook and cranny – right from top notch electronics outlets to sparkling jewellery stores and neighbourhood shops who have stocked up on traditional Diwali ware including dry sweets, clay diyas, crackers and rangoli materials.

The domestic retail market in India is worth an annual $500 billion and about 45 million small merchants are now operating here. Yet, catering to a connected and high-spending consumer community is a big challenge, especially with so many big-box retailers, hypermarkets and e-commerce mammoths around. If you own a shop, a brick-and-mortar one, here are 9 quick-fix tech solutions that may help you drive in more customers this shopping season – without spending a fortune on branding, marketing or revamping your current outlet/s.

Push your store online – the more eyeballs you get, the better
Unless they know you are there, people can’t find their way to your business. Setting up a digital store only takes a few minutes, thanks to numerous e-commerce enablers like the SmartStore from Bigfoot Retail, Infibeam-run Build a Bazaar and more, all of whom offer DIY solutions. Then there are online marketplaces like Amazon India and Flipkart where SMEs can register as third party sellers/franchises and business is bound to boom.

Leverage the location advantage – mobile is the watchword
If you are selling designer diyas or sterling silverware in Delhi, not too many in Kerala will be interested. But trust the NCR crowd to turn up for the sale if you have done some geospecific advertising and geofencing. With the world going mobile and India no exception either, apps are aplenty to help shoppers find the best local deals – be it shopping, sightseeing, movies or dinner. As most people love to keep track of deals, coupons, product information and freebies, it makes sense to leverage the location advantage and hook your local customers via mobile.

Local promotion will also turn big on social media. For instance, Twitter will soon allow companies to promote tweets to people who are near specific latitudes and longitudes. You can also take a call on Big Data analytics that will give you access to demographic details, shopping patterns and social behaviour – so that you can send most relevant marketing messages.

Enhance In-store experience – build a ‘physical’ Web
This may take some time and a little investment, but works well in the long run. The mantra is to create a ‘physical’ web that replicates one’s online experience within the brick-and-mortar outlet. An amazing example is the recently launched Android Land store in Bangalore and NCR. Set up interactive kiosks for product browsing, comparisons and access to consumer reviews; provide in-store inventory search and finally, allow customers some hands-on time to understand product functionality. Put together, it will feel like a seamless navigation between Web and physical environments, done interchangeably to meet one’s shopping needs. In case you are running a hybrid model, offer a bouquet of services that will combine both online and offline features.

Speed up shopping with a smile – tech tools can help
Unlike the previous breed of shoppers, the current lot doesn’t shop by printed specs or gut feelings. In fact, you are sure to find one or the other spending ages on the smartphone or tab, comparing features and pricing. Another could be walking around the store, trying to track you via Google Maps. And those deep into social shopping could even try and get peer reviews before making a purchase.

Not all shoppers will go to that extreme, but many feel irritated if they are hurried by human assistants before their personal browsing is over. Keep a discreet distance till then or better still, provide some technology touch points to speed things up. Your sales staff can be on the floor with handheld devices through which they can accept payments and assist people with product search, specs comparison and more. Or how about self-help barcode scanners like iScan that allow customers scan their merchandise? It means they need not spend time in check-out queues as their purchased items are scanned and billed automatically.

Showrooming hurts – but this TV commercial has a solution
We recently came across a TVC that shows a young couple hurrying out of a store (presumably to find better pricing elsewhere) and the sales person asking them back. He then displays a full price comparison on a handheld device and proves that the store offers the best deal. What the couple did is popularly known as showrooming – the act of checking out a product in a store and then buying it online for a lower price. According to a recent IBM study, it is a growing trend in the country and there is a higher incidence of showrooming in China (26%) and India (13%) than in the US (7%).

Although it hurts most retailers, there are ways to curtail it – in the same way the TVC suggested. The trick lies in creating an exciting customer experience through hi-tech tools, hands-on product experience and personalised services. In brief, retailers must understand consumer interests and expectations in a bid to develop curated experience for all. And a well-aligned, multi-channel approach (Web, mobile, tab and physical store) is the way to win today’s consumers who love convenience over everything else.

Cash and swipe are last-century relics – go for mobile POS
For small-format consumer retail, mobile payment can be a great option as it has greater acceptability among young shoppers, does away with checkout queues and helps one handle just about any transaction anywhere. Business owners can also accept payments via credit/debit cards without paying high transaction fees. You only need to pay the m-payment enabler, which is usually a small percentage of each transaction. Although Near-Field Communication (NFC) is the best bet for m-commerce till date, a whole lot of home-grown companies are now providing cost-effective software solutions/apps that can turn even a simple feature phone into a POS terminal for swiping credit/debit cards or even for some simple bank transactions.

Showcase things upfront – it speaks of integrity
That’s the best way to win customer loyalty in a highly competitive scenario. Don’t just say you are the best in the town – prove it with your products and services. Amazon is the role model here – even for those retailing offline. After all, business values like speed, efficiency and transparency can boost your venture no end. What’s more, there are cool tools to prove it to your customers as well, as e-tailing major Myntra.com has recently showcased. During its Diwali sale, the e-commerce site was offering special prizes for top spenders and had in place a real time leader board – so that customers can track their positions online and find out if they had won. Apple does the same when a deal is going in iTunes Store and the message is clear enough. A transparent model puts your customers in the driver’s seat and shows you have a cherish-worthy value system.

To stay ahead of competition – re-invent your business
Every business has its quirky moments and out-of-the-box thinking (even with some risk elements) can really get the market going for you. Take a hint from fashion e-tailer Yebhi.com or online jeweller CaratLane.com, both of whom offer a try-and-buy service and bring home the store experience. Lenskart.com has gone one step ahead – it not only offers home try-on, but will also get your eyes tested at your doorstep.

So think differently about your business. You should be ready to give something new to your customers every 6-8 months. Small retailers, too, can think along new lines which can gain them good traction. For instance, a local grocery shop we knew in Bangalore used to mail new recipes every Sunday if people ordered from the store and that worked out fabulously.

Meet your customers fast – you need to build a relationship
That’s what Yelp’s Jeremy Stoppelman did and he did it face to face to understand what kind of people were using the revamped Yelp and what they were looking for. The company still holds these get-togethers, but you can keep things simple and do it via social media.

That’s one must-not-skip strategy exercise nowadays as brands are built through storytelling and connected customers want to get involved in a meaningful way. It means they want to share their stories, opinions and insights which are both relevant to your business and a pronounced assertion of their own self. So keep your finger on the social pulse and build your business around it to ensure crowd following.