New Retail: the new reality of shopping

The way consumers shop changes rapidly. Fewer and fewer physical stores can keep their doors open. It is time for a change in the way we market our offer. But how? New Retail is a new way of thinking in retail. What is the philosophy behind it?

Regular stores are disappearing

Even the big names disappear from the streets. Blokker, V&D, Free Record Shop, Halfords, Kijkshop and now also the Intertoys and Bart Smit have not escaped it. To stay afloat, companies need to respond more to digitization. A store is no longer enough. There must be an integration between the offline world and the online world.

We call this The New Retail: a mix between offline and online retail, where the customer is completely central. Great leaders of companies around the world recognize that this is the new way to sell and adjust their policies accordingly.

New Retail and omnichannel

The New Retail is based on omnichannel to think. It goes wrong for many companies, because research from CGI the Netherlands (reference date July 2018) it appears that almost 75 percent of retailers still have to get started with the switch to omnichannel. That while offering this customer experience is essential.

In recent years we have seen a strong rise of web shops alongside physical stores. Hooray, never out again! You can even order groceries from the comfort of your home. That went very well, because what part of the stock is now online and what do you put in the store? And how do you ensure that both online and offline customers remain satisfied? Fortunately those hordes have since been taken.

Many retailers now have a physical store and a webshop. The webshop is leading in this. Yet it is not yet a popular solution, because a webshop is expensive. Fulfillment costs, for example, are higher than at a physical store. Just think of the shipping costs that you pay as a webshop with an order above the many euros.

We can no longer ignore it

The customer expects that a webshop and a physical store, under the same name, can co-exist. Suppose there is a promotion where you get three products for the price of two. You pay for two products in the store and the third is sent to you after registering with a newsletter. Online and offline sales channels then intertwine. We don't see such examples in the Netherlands that often.

In china retailers are just ahead of it. You pay here with face recognition and you can pick up products that you have ordered online at the store. We also see the latter as a trend at Coolblue and Mediamarkt, for example. The store serves as a fulfillment center. Back in China: here you will find all the information for each product in an app. Very handy!

Put the customer first!

Can we get around omnichannel and The New Retail? Probably not anymore. It has become a matter of thinking from the customer's point of view. Work with innovative technologies and lead the way in this way of selling. How you apply this differs per company. It is clear that you have the greatest chance of success if you are flexible with customer needs, customer service and timely delivery of products comes first. So you too become the New Retailer of tomorrow!