How to Build ROI for the Brick-and-Mortar Channel

It may seem that people are shopping less in person these days, simply because shopping online has become more convenient. Advancements in e-commerce enable consumers to easily find what they need and compare prices, not to mention receive delivery straight to their door.

Because of the pervasive shift to online retail experiences, retailers are also shifting attention to their e-commerce shops, causing them to miss out on the vast potential of brick-and-mortar (B&M) stores.

This article covers how leveraging actionable data and feeding it into the three essential elements of the B&M flywheel—customer, associate, and executive—can drive return on investment (ROI) and improve in-store retail experiences for everyone involved.

The State of the Brick-and-Mortar Channel Today

Despite the rise of e-commerce, more than 83 percent of retail transactions still occur in person. The widespread adoption of e-commerce, however, has pushed retail into a world of purely transactional shopping experiences, so capitalizing on personalized in-store experiences is a huge opportunity.

This requires retailers to find creative ways to add value at every touchpoint, for every involved party. To succeed and stay competitive, they must strategically leverage technology in the brick-and-mortar channel to cultivate a truly omnichannel experience for shoppers, engage employees, and boost business for the company.

The Essential Elements of a Holistic B&M Experience

At Qtrac, we follow a three-pillar approach to maximize the B&M experience for everyone in the form of a flywheel—a continuous data loop fueled and accelerated by actionable insights from each key stakeholder.

1. Customer Level: The Waiting Room

The customer level is where the basic but essential value exchange is initiated. In exchange for a valuable (i.e., convenient and easy) shopping experience, the customer inputs valuable (i.e., measurable and reliable) zero-party data using state-of-the-art technology in-store. This data is then analyzed and applied to further personalize and improve store interactions, enhancing the overall customer experience.

As a retailer, you’re trying to satisfy a consumer in the market for a specific product, and naturally, their individual needs will vastly differ. But every buyer shares a common goal: They seek an enjoyable shopping experience. Although “enjoyable” will mean something different for every business (and shopper), the objective is the same—a personalized and satisfying purchase experience. The method and degree to which you take that personalization is where your B&M strategy lies.

2. Associate Level: The Breakroom

To optimize the shopper’s experience, retailers must also consider the quality of the associate’s (or sales representative’s) experience. Do they possess the tools and resources necessary and appropriate to resolve or properly escalate their customer’s needs? Employers that provide adequate support for their staff members can expect performance that is both satisfactory and consistent, leading to more happy customers.

Qtrac’s data-driven tools equip associates with the visibility required to serve customers successfully. The acquired data provides associates with a detailed understanding of customer needs and attitudes, often before they even walk through the door. As a result, problems are solved more quickly, leading to higher satisfaction amongst both customers and employees.

Additional data is subsequently collected throughout the course of the interaction, including information that speaks to customer preferences, sentiment, and loyalty status. This further informs the customer profile and allows associates to enhance engagement and personalization in the future.

3. Enterprise Level: The Boardroom

Lastly, creating and leveraging actionable data from interactions in the brick-and-mortar channel helps achieve enterprise-level objectives, as well, contributing directly to the business’s bottom line. Valuable data gathered from these interactions gives your leadership team a better feel for what customers want from your business, plus how your audience changes over time. This data is then fed back into the enterprise, allowing the business to increase efficiency and streamline workflows based on insights from retail interactions.

Equipped with data-driven tools, executives can stay ahead of evolving trends and more accurately forecast future business needs. Especially aided by AI, these tools are capable of assisting with a number of operational tasks to maximize ROI, including but not limited to:

• Optimizing inventory management
• Predicting staffing levels
• Uncovering purchasing patterns
• Analyzing sentiment
• Gathering stakeholder feedback

The Key to Building ROI for Brick-and-Mortar Stores

This three-tiered approach illustrates the fact that all of these parties have the potential to make or break the experience for the next one. When you optimize one aspect of the flywheel, you optimize them all, which is the essence of the continuous data loop that fuels this cycle.

The initial input is meaningful and detailed interaction intelligence, including buyer preferences and metrics such as wait time, service category, and service time. Insightful data accelerates the flywheel, spinning the data loop faster and feeding back into the success of the enterprise. As retailers learn more about the needs and behaviors of their customers, associates, and executives, this data becomes increasingly reliable and impactful.

Put simply, more accurate data means more accurate insights that lead to more informed decisions. Feeding into and accelerating this continuous data loop with accessible, actionable data is the key to high ROI.

Discover the Untapped Potential of the Brick-and-Mortar Channel

Many of today’s retailers fail to realize the untapped potential of their brick-and-mortar stores, which has been largely overlooked due to the rampant adoption of e-commerce shopping. With the right systems in place, in-store interactions create valuable data that can maximize the experience for customers, associates, and executives alike. This insight enables clear visualization of the full customer lifecycle, offering retailers new opportunities to optimize operations as the flywheel gains momentum.

Customer experiences are no longer separate from the experiences of the associate or even those at the C-suite level. The quality and value of these experiences are directly reliant on each other, and generating returns requires a holistic view that considers every one of these stakeholder levels. Check out this helpful infographic to see how your business can increase revenue, engagement, and retention with Qtrac.