Retail apps have become a must in the face of post-Covid uncertainty
The coronavirus scare has put a full stop in our lives. We are currently in the midst of a new normal where maintaining distance from one another has become significant.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, several companies have been affected badly as sales have come crashing down. Due to all these problems time has come to devise a new business plan. This Covid scare has impacted retail businesses a lot. As per Veem, 81% of U.S. small businesses are bracing to experience long-term impacts from COVID-19, with 87% expecting an economic slowdown.
Enter the new customer persona
Despite being cornered financially, present situations have turned buyers digitally-savvy. However, it’s not merely consumers who are transforming. Businesses across the world have begun to innovate and swiftly make a shift to the digital zone. They are planning to provide more values in the life of their customers. With Covid-induced protocols in place, the retail industry alone has been at the receiving end with losses mounting day-by-day. hence, shifting the business to the digital platform only makes sense.
Battle with COVID-19 is going to be a long one
This is true, the Coronavirus is here to stay. This situation will drive customers toward ecommerce and away from shops and stores. You might have witnessed Corona's impact on ecommerce, there has been a boom in this sector. Brands are finding new ways and marketing strategies to get more customers. As per Econsutancy, 88% of international consumers intend to stay with the new brands they’ve experimented with during the lockdown. This has prompted retailers to cater to consumer demand. Hence, as a business owner, you have to brace for a post-COVID-19 era. Statistics indicate that 86 percent of people don't mind paying extra for good customer experience. So, there are plenty of online brands to choose from. Which one will you opt for? Naturally, the one providing services that satisfy your online experience, irrespective of the fact whether it is easier to buy and gives you a clear idea of the product. According to a survey involving small and mid-sized businesses, it came out that 25% are either putting money in new technologies or upgrading their existing setup to adapt to pandemic conditions. The need for retail apps at present is more than ever.
It is a perfect way to connect with people in these testing times.
The new normal surrounding your business app
Businesses are currently putting a lot of money in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM). It happens to be one of the top digital transformation trends of 2020. APM permits businesses to observe their app’s performance from close quarters. Research indicates that 91% of companies that took this path achieved good outcomes, such as improved user experience, better suitability for clients, efficiency and automation of business operations, etc. on the basis of your business, you have to build an app or include services that gels well with consumer demand.
What Your Retail App Has to Provide?
1. ‘In the moment’ shopping experiences
“A store should be more exciting to shop online and convenient to shop,” said Tiffany Hogan, a Kantar principal analyst. Customers must be looked after properly, even if they are physically present. With Unlock strategies kicking in, brands have to opt for opportunities to look after customers properly on both platforms.
Presently what will happen?
Retailers like Sephora are toiling hard to plug these gaps. They want to create a unique type of retail experience. Despite augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) getting popular prior to the outbreak, it started taking big steps since the pandemic. Sephora has an app that enables customers to apply lipstick or eyeliner virtually. They’re using COVID excuses to ramp up services, hence maximizing the prospect of making sales and product recommendations. AR and VR is turning out to be very handy during the pandemic. They’re assisting shoppers to involve with brands and products prior to making purchases. So these can be seen in the retail sector more often than not.
2. Widen channels of interaction
Social interactions are a must for homo sapiens. They are bound to go for brands that communicate with them personally. Retail brands, these days, depend largely on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and chatbot technology to provide self-help sessions to their customers and offering them genuine answers. Chatbots are also evolving rapidly. As per MarTech Series, retailers witnessed an 86% increase in customers taking to chatbot communications from March to May. They are in a way aiding retailers eliminate the risk of contact via service center and enhancing customer services online.
3. Supporting the omnichannel experience
With brick and mortar stores gradually reopening, retailers are required to communicate with customers across several channels. PWC reported that businesses putting money in omnichannel experience in 2020 leapt from 20% to over 80%. The objective is to offer continuous experiences both online and offline by incorporating consumer preferences. IKEA for example raises the bar as far as the UX of their app is concerned. If you are using their app or shopping at an outlet, the customer experience is the same. This has happened a lot because companies invested a lot in the omnichannel shopping experience. Customers can make wish lists, shop through their devices, find out stock availability, get special offers with the Family card etc. Hence, retailers should enhance their omnichannel potential and permit consumers to move seamlessly between online and offline shopping experiences.
4. Swift, contactless payment options
Purchases will go up as things gradually open up post Lockdown and retailers should be prepared for the same. The online payment system has to be quick and safe to build consumer trust, in-store experience needs to be organized. It’s hardly a surprise that close to 25% of shoppers expect payment devoid of any contact. Interestingly, as per a new National Retail Federation and Forrester survey, 58% of retailer respondents have contactless cards facility, up from 40% last year. Statistics point out that this trend will not slow down anytime soon. In another survey, 94% of businesses indicated that they expect contactless payments to spike over the next 18 months. Walmart is fully extracting the trend. The retail store is having a dummy cashierless store to test its efficacy. This assists in keeping coronavirus at bay to a great extent and also quickens checkout times. There have been other Covid-restricting initiatives from Walmart as well. One of the world's largest retail chains has successfully integrated a touch-free payment system to assist shoppers to use their phone to make payment or top up money to their Walmart shopping app. Also, the in-store shoppers can scan a QR code linked with their Walmart Pay app and enjoy contactless purchases.
In the end
COVID-19 is facilitating the evolution of several new trends. In these testing times, retailers have found out that apps can help their businesses to scale unprecedented heights.
In the end it all boils down to providing the best experience to customers via apps – from instant home deliveries to supply chain transparencies and many more things. However, the all-important question is, are you ready to embrace the post-COVID-19 changes?
