This Christmas, In-store Shopping Matters

This Christmas, in-store shopping matters because a surprising number of millennials are surprised to find that just roughly 10%. Of all retail sales are really completed on the internet. When you ask hundreds of undergraduate business students. To make educated guesses about the future of retail purchasing. They consistently estimate that between a quarter and half of all retail spending will take place online. However, as has always been the case throughout the holiday shopping season. The vast majority of purchases will be made within the confines of an actual store’s physical walls.

Strip malls, lifestyle centers, and mixed-use buildings should benefit this Christmas from this because they house thousands of retailers. The National Retail Federation predicts that Christmas retail sales. Excluding purchases of automobiles, gasoline, and restaurant meals. In November and December this year will climb by up to 4 percent over last year. Reaching up to US$682 billion in total.

Stores will require the funds in order to avoid being added. To the record-breaking list of retail bankruptcies, store closures. And layoffs that occurred in 2017, which includes iconic companies. Such as Toys R Us and RadioShack, among others.

A Reason to Go

Beyond product availability and value. Traditional merchants must entice consumers to visit their locations. In their 1999 book “The Experience Economy,” Joe Pine and James Gilmore. Predicted how smart companies like Apple and American Girl thrive. By creating memorable consumer experiences.

Human personnel is a physical store’s key digital asset. Even if a customer doesn’t want aid. Appreciating their presence with a smile helps. Customers can be asked about their kids, in-laws, or Thanksgiving dinner planning. Thus, employees can identify a shopper’s particular demands and answer with things. On the shelves or ordered and brought to their home for free. An in-person meeting can seamlessly merge the online and physical worlds.

And even Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, is changing. To increase sales, its 4,700 stores will throw 20,000 Santa parties before Christmas. Toys will be tested and customers can snap pictures.

Another advantage over internet retailers: nine out of ten Americans reside within 15 minutes of a Walmart. Thousands of Walmarts now allow shoppers to pick up online shopping orders free of charge the same day. That competes with Amazon’s Fresh grocery service. Which charges extra and often delivers the next day.

Digital Emotional Connection

Modern businesses must build a closer connection with their clients, whether online or offline. Store-based merchants can communicate their values in ways that are personal to both customers and owners. I’ve been a long-time Gallery Furniture Houston customer. “Mattress Mack” owner Jim McIngvale is a marketing maverick. Known for decades of crazy TV ads promising to “Save you money!”

After Hurricane Harvey, he opened his stores to anyone in need of shelter. Some arrived by boat, only wearing their clothes. Thousands of Houstonians slept on McIngvale’s beds. He fed and protected flood victims.

McIngvale flew 50 first responders to Game 6 of the World Series in Los Angeles on Halloween. Providing lucky Astros fans a once-in-a-lifetime experience and emotional lift.

Gallery Furniture, like other businesses, is marketing “monster sales.” With the floods receding and the Astros as baseball’s world champions. McIngvale’s community spirit seems to have elevated his chain to a new level. Gallery Furniture may have an edge in consumer opinion as well as market share.

Best Buy Sounds Again

Retailers can restore strength in other ways as well. Best Buy has had a turbulent 20 years, with Forbes magazine naming it “Company of the Year” in 2004. By 2012, it was merely a showroom for cheaper online retailers. But in August 2017, its stock price soared.

To combat Amazon’s growth, Best Buy matched competition prices and invested in personal services like Geek Squad. A knowledgeable staffer can explain how a camera works with lenses, editing software, or other devices. For example, Nest thermostats and 4K TVs require more setup and instruction than their analog counterparts.

Shops must create emotional relationships with customers in order to compete with internet retailers. Promos on toasters or iPads won’t do. Surprise, happiness and excitement must be accompanied by genuine assistance and sound counsel. App-based shopping is convenient, yet going to a store may be spectacular and memorable.