There are those who call them “ third millennium shops ” for their incredible ability to combine traditional – and super-advanced – marketing strategies with an innate ability to involve the user in space, transformed into a real promotional tool .
The most innovative stores in the world also have another characteristic in common: having overcome the digital divide or knowing how to navigate it to their advantage .
The digital divide is a concept worth explaining: in recent years, it has become clear globally that users’ digital preferences have a major impact on their shopping preferences . Specifically, we can say that digital devices (computers, smartphones, tablets) clearly affect the choices of consumers .
How digital influence affects traditional stores
Digital technology and easy access to information on the web not only affect online shopping, but have a much wider impact that also affects traditional sales and in-store behavior . This concept is called ” digital influence “.
Well, the companies that have been able to reduce the digital divide and navigate the digital influence of their customers and potential customers in a positive way are the ones that have given life to the shops and showrooms that are now considered the most innovative and effective . The unstoppable growth of digital communication therefore goes hand in hand with the evolution of physical stores and showrooms, and it is estimated that in a few years a 100% connection level will be reached for all physical stores in the most developed countries. .
In conclusion, we can assert that digital influences in consumer behavior make it possible for the customer to tailor the way in which to purchase a product or service. Precisely for this reason, brick-and-mortar stores will need to be able to understand this change in purchasing attitude and, consequently, respond to the new needs of their customers.
The growing desire of consumers to incorporate digital in their traditional shopping activities should therefore never be underestimated !
What are the ten most innovative stores in the world
Entering the practical aspect of this article, the EconomyUp webzine some time ago compiled a list that contains the ten traditional shops considered to be the most advanced and innovative on a global level. Let’s find out what they are.
- Acuitis : this is a French chain of stores specializing in the sale of products for the sight and hearing. A precise and verticalized commercial strategy on specific users which, on its own, is a guarantee of success, implemented by a new format based on the inevitable settling of world demographics. People get older, their needs change over the years, and they can only be satisfied through new marketing formulas. Acuitis thus gave birth to the so-called Aging Retail, and the results are impressive.
- Warby : this is a high-end retail dedicated to the sale of eyewear. Initially born as an exclusively online shop, it has decided to make its way through physical stores with a unique and original location, a vintage-style bus-shop. In fact, Warby travels all over the United States and brings its products to consumers, rather than waiting for customers to arrive at the shop. By completely annihilating the digital divide, Warby also allows you to monitor the movement of its traveling shop directly online.
- Leclerc : in 2014 this brand created a new format inside a shopping center in So Ouest. Specialized in wines and in the verticalization of its offer, it offers products for all budgets, considering that its cheapest wine costs around 2 euros and the most expensive one over 7000. The Leclerc shop is a real cellar, in the which patrons do not limit themselves to observing the wines, but can also participate in food and wine events and choose the product that is right for them with the help of a sommelier. Not a small detail: the wine expert is available to the customer regardless of the budget at his disposal.
- Angry Birds : born as a video game that has managed, despite its absolute simplicity, to drive the whole world crazy, the brand has transformed into something less virtual and more concrete at Doha airport, Qatar. Angry Birds appears as a retail corner in various airports around the world, after the first, triumphal installation in its native Helsinki. Obviously it not only offers the possibility to play, but also to buy puppets and accessories. Perfect co-marketing.
- Ethnicity : this Spanish chain of beauty products has made multisensory its workhorse. In its shops it not only offers the vast range of its products, but has installed real “sensory tables” which, through a digital selection, allow you to select and combine different fragrances and perfumes. All this while an interactive screen illustrates the characteristics and composition of the product.
- Arcimbo : this gourmet brand by Auchan offers fresh products in the food sector and is based on the concept of “drive”. In France, where the shops have been present for a few years, the success is tremendous: the drive system allows the online order of the goods and their collection in the warehouse (or home delivery) and, if we take into account that as much as 20% of the French use it, it is easy to understand how digital influence has been exploited to the absolute advantage of the store.
- Granmarkt13 : a pout-pourri of products and services for this Belgian brand which is, at the same time, a shop, restaurant, apartment and art gallery. From the ground floor to the third floor it promises a unique and all-encompassing experience to its visitors: the restaurant offers only organic and zero-kilometer dishes, the boutique exclusively haute couture, designer and collectible items; the apartment is presented as if it were someone’s private location and provides the possibility of accommodation, and the art gallery displays exclusive exhibitions and events.
- DM : it is a German beauty product chain characterized by a capillary study of the location. For customers, the in-store experience must be positive at 360 degrees: DM therefore offers buttons to open new cases in case of queues that are too long, magnifying glasses installed on the trolleys to facilitate the reading of the labels, test space for newcomers to the make-up and nappy change areas for mothers who, like every woman, want to feel beautiful.
- Burberry : a well-known brand, present on the market for decades, which has been able to ride the wave of new purchasing trends by creating some of the most advanced stores in the world. In London, in Regent Street, Burberry wanted to create one of the most technologically advanced stores ever conceived in an 1820 building. In fact, those who visit the shop have the feeling of being inside the brand’s website: digital gallery, 100 screens that interact with the consumer, 500 speakers, emotional communication from start to finish. The shopping experience is totally personalized, lost between the virtual world and the real world. Customers appreciate, and they buy.
- 4Food : a fast food with high quality products, but this is not its strong point. This New York diner specializing in burgers offers consumers so much more: an infinity of types of bread, meats and sauces that create 140 million possible combinations for the meal. Not only that: customers who will be able to create a new combination are offered the opportunity to brand the sandwich with their name, share the result on social networks thanks to the digital devices present in the restaurant and earn discounts every time someone orders it.
