As shoppers tighten their belts, Greenlite Group highlights the clever measures retailers can take to boost footfall

The festive period resulted in mixed fortunes for the high street, with many retailers reporting a fall in sales. As shoppers continue to watch their spending in the face of rising inflation and uncertainty over Brexit, Greenlite Group urges retailers to up their game and put customer engagement at the top of the agenda for the year ahead. Here, we discuss how high street stores can evolve their offerings, to excite customers and keep pace with their rising expectations.

Promote interaction, not transaction

To really engage shoppers, retailers benefit from providing an immersive experience that goes far beyond the purely transactional. From in-store artisan coffee outlets to free mindfulness sessions, traders need to use their creativity to encourage product interaction and entice customers into parting with their hard-won cash. 

In a bid to “reinvent the department store”, John Lewis have devoted one fifth of their new Oxford store to experiences and services, including personal shopping, eye testing, tech workshops and a pop up barber’s shop. The formula has proven so successful, the upcoming West London store is set to offer 23 services when it opens this year, including a nail and eyebrow bar, space for catwalk shows and a demonstration kitchen. A concierge will even be on hand to help customers make appointments.

Create a sparkling space

The relentless rise of e-commerce may dominate the headlines, but many consumers still crave the ability to see and touch a product before they open their wallets. Several e-commerce brands, including Boden, have recently unveiled flagship physical stores and according to Accenture’s Global Consumer Shopping Survey, 60% of Generation Z shoppers prefer to buy in-store.

Wow customers by creating sparkling window displays and upgrade your internal lighting to make your products sing out. Swap fluorescent bulbs for multiple overhead LED fixtures, which will make colours pop and textured fabrics beg to be touched. 

Use LED spotlights to draw attention to prize products, and illuminate displays or architectural features with strategically placed uplights. Put the effort in and you’ll reap the rewards – fashion outlet Gerry Weber is said to have seen a 12% hike in sales after installing a new lighting scheme.

Embrace new technologies

Today’s customer lives a multi-platform life, with shoppers who include social media in their shopping process four times more likely to open their wallets. Instead of viewing the digital world as the enemy, retailers need to marry the virtual and real, creating a seamless experience. 

On a basic level this includes easily accessible Wifi, so shoppers can seek opinion about potential purchases via Instagram, or online reviews. Embrace technologies that enable targeted promotions to be sent direct to a customer’s phone, when they set foot in a relevant area of the store.

Treat the customer like a king

Our click-to-buy culture has heightened consumer expectations and when today’s shopper hits the high street, he or she demands expert product knowledge and slick customer service.

Give shop floor staff thorough product training; then banish irritating queues by arming them with iPads and promoting cashless payments. Install in-store shopping terminals, so customers can seize the moment and instantly order anything that isn’t in stock in their chosen size or colour.