After four hours in the shopping mall, I thought to myself, “This can’t be the future of shopping.”
I’ve been wondering about the future of brick and mortar shopping (that is, non-online shopping). Brick and mortar shopping is on the way out. Soon everything will be purchasable online, and this will be the preferred method of interaction.
Accomplishing this is easier than one might thing.
I think the hardest question is not how to make people buy electronics or books online, but instead:
What needs to happen to make people more willing to purchase clothing, watches and jewelry (stuff you wear) online?
Before answering the question of what needs to happen to make people prefer buying these things online, we need to ask:
1) Why do people shop online?
2) Why do people shop in conventional (brick and mortar) stores?
In short, people shop online because they want to save time, because it is more convenient, and for increased variety. (In some cases saving money is the issue, but I will not be addressing that point.)
People shop in brick and mortar stores because they (a) want great customer service, (b) want to touch what they are purchasing, (c) want to escape (from their lives).
For online shopping to be successful, it must emphasize the convenience and variety it contains, while still providing great customer service, the ability to interact with your (potential) purchase while providing an escape.
Let’s investigate these ideas in detail.
Stuff you wear: Clothing, watches and Jewelry.
Already there is a boom in online clothing purchases. Look up printed tshirts for a hilariously large number of companies.
To make the jump past brick and mortar stores, online clothiers need to do more. The variety is already there, but where is the love?
Tell me what to wear
Introductory recommendation systems are in effect: Based on your purchase of this funny nerdy shirt, you may like this other funny nerdy shirt. But for higher end clothing purchases we need more sophisticated recommendation systems. We need to remember the way people shop for clothing is almost an extension of people’s personalities.
In an Amazon.com like way, clothiers can track purchasing patterns of customers and cluster people that may have similar buying patterns to you. For an even higher-end clothing retailer, a personalized shopper may be in order: a person to recommend things you might like.
Not to sound like the pretentious douche that I am, but if you’ve been in Harry Rosen (a high end gentlemen’s clothing store) you’ll notice the world of difference in the customer service in comparison to International Clothiers, for example. My point is that hiring and properly training these sales staff, plus follow up calls, plus the sheer number of staff can’t be cheap. Though a personalized shopper may be expensive for an online company, in comparison to the costs and inefficiencies associated with the staff, the online personalized shopper would be far cheaper. (Plus you could always outsource it to a fashionable person overseas.)
Let me touch it
Even after a recommendation is made and you are willing to purchase, there is one final litmus: How does the article of clothing feel on me?
Oh, damn. This is it. This is where brick and mortar stores will always trump online stores.
Ah don’t be so hasty. The answer is already out there.
The model of free returns, however numerous, is championed nicely by Zappos.com (this policy is not in effect in Canada though *sad face*). The idea is that you can buy a whole bunch of shoes, say, in the range of your foot size and in a variety of colors. You return the ones you don’t want and keep the one(s) you like.
To me this is a revolution in clothing sales: it completely eliminates the (seeming) risk inherent in online purchases. Even on the retailer’s side, it is likely that the customer is not going to return all of the products, thus increasing sales per purchaser. Hell, the customer may even keep a few, again increasing revenue. It seems like a win-win.
What the future of shopping holds
If online companies are smart they will increase resources in the following areas
- Recommendation systems- I don’t want to think, tell me what to buy based on what you think I will like. If you do a pretty good job, I will be happy and buy a lot.
- Return policies - Free shipping on returns. Let customers buy from you freely. The concept of risk reversal has been around in business for a long time, but retailers seem to be nickel and diming customers because of shipping fees.
- Increased shipping speed - Though not really addressed in the article, many of the above points hinge upon prompt customer service and instant gratification. I see the nature of shipping changing a lot over the next 5 years to meet the increased customer demand for online products. I will not stand for slow service.
I want a better shopping experience. Will these companies rise to the challenge or will a new competitor crush them all?
What do you think about the future of shopping? How do you shop? Tell me everything.
(image by woocool via flickr)
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