2023 Retail Observations

Destination retail experiences are in!

One thing I noticed on a trip to Dubai recently was the stark contrast between British shopping centres versus the malls of Dubai. The pristine, white shopping centres filled with high street brands have really had their day, and visitors can feel the luxury when present. This is a huge contrast from somewhere like the Dubai Mall, which has not only over 1000 flagship stores but also over 200 dining outlets, an aquarium, arcades, soft play, augmented reality zones, sports zones and events spaces. People visit a mall of this caliber for the experience more than the shopping and just happen to shop while there. It is almost impossible to only spend a couple of hours there. The visitor dwell time is simply enormous.

The British high street has lost many retailers over the last ten years, and the postmortems on them frequently talk about the consumer experience whilst shopping. A store can win on price or win on experience, but if it fails on both, it fails altogether.

At ted, we’re very much focused on raising everyone’s experience! We’ve been working with our clients on creating destination retail spaces that will attract guests based on the experience itself. We know that this attraction then translates into sales, increased brand advocacy and ultimately a return on investment. Whether that’s through interactive technology in-store, gamification, installing selfie areas or simply turning a store into part of a character’s world, the opportunities to add quality experiences to retail are endless.

Technology has the power to transform the retail experience.

At the Retail Technology Show in London, I attended a showcase on how retail has the power to single-handedly transform consumer experience. Since then, I’ve been working with our clients on finding ways to use technology to raise guests’ shopping experiences.

For example, small touches to a retail space like electronic LED shelf edge strips reduce in-store labour hours by removing the need to manually change prices on shelves. This allows opportunities for frequent changes and instant promotions while ensuring 100% accuracy and giving the store a slick, modern look. We’ve been integrating these electronic LED shelves with characters, creating animations that run along the shelf. It’s little things that can create moments of magic.

Our team has loved seeing how in-store technology can help guests navigate their shopping experiences in fun, interactive ways. In one store we designed, we’ve added a tablet to a display and hooked it up with interactive lighting. Here, the guest chooses the type of product they’re interested in on the tablet, and the bay lights up where that product is! This is particularly fun when guests are choosing their favourite character and the lighting changes to the corresponding character colour!

It's still all about people.

We’ve done a lot of research this year, spoken with dozens of industry experts, attended conferences and read reports–the unanimous verdict is that human elements are what truly raise the experience. The most kitted-out, futuristic store in the world can feel like a dismal place to shop if the in-store team is not engaged.

We are seeing a rise in software companies developing systems that reduce tasks for in-store teams, allowing these teams to focus their attention on delivering an amazing guest experience. We all know how it feels to call a business on the phone and get through to a robot when you desperately just want to speak to a human! AI might be growing in popularity, but there really is no substitute for those human moments of interaction.

As part of RWS Global , we know first-hand how to create extraordinary experiences. Having an in-store team who are top of their game and committed to delivering a fantastic service really is a game-changer.