Agree Peter.

See it as a a place to “deepen the relationship” with a person beyond price.

For example, love how Apple creates a learning environment for their products. In a banking context, think about a place in branch that could teach you how to be better with your monies.

rgds,

Dan

Really like your use of the phrase “retail experiences” as a contrast to “retail.”  Retail experiences are exactly what brick and mortar stores must offer customers in the internet age, where goods and services are increasingly becoming commodities easy to mass produce. 

You mention that goods and services are beginning to merge - it seems to me that something more is happening, almost an evolution to a new stage of consumer value.  “The Experience Economy” by Pine and Gilmore lays out a fantastic framework for the economic shift we have been seeing for the past 15-20 years, fueled in large part by the internet.

Conversations, demonstrations, creative play, discovery, sharing moments with friends and family - these are all part of the experiences customers crave.  You’re dead right - this is the future of retail.

It also reminds me of an idea from “Zag” - “if I buy your product or service, what will that make me?”  People shop for retail experiences that affirm their view of themselves.  This is another aspect of the Apple store that is so powerful for customers.

Thanks for the post,

Logan

Another great example as made by Joe Pine at TED a couple of years ago was Starbucks. They don’t advertise, they ask you to experience them in the physical space and decide whether you like them based on that. Granted, bars and restaurants are not threatened much yet by the online space. But there is a powerful truth in both what Pine says, and what Steven Anderson refers to as Quality of Experience.

If you’re familiar with Andersons’ 6 levels, then what has happened as the economy evolved is that brick-and-mortar stores have actually taken a step down by not moving. They were called convenience stores because that’s what they were, convenient. You didn’t have to drive to the city, or to a chain of different speciality stores to get everything you needed. Convenience stores anticipated what you need and stocked accordingly. Except today, our needs have become so diverse and we are so used to mega stores stocking everything from cauliflowers to beach towels, that we feel restricted by the small choice of products and brands a convenience store offers. It is usable, but we have to make compromises in what we can have vs. what we actually wanted.

So, in order to get back into the game, these antiquated stores have to work on an experience they can offer their customers. Comic stores do this. They not only stock Comics, but also role playing supplies, because these two target demographics are overlapping if not congruent. They present their merchandise in boxes and stacks instead of on fancy displays, because that is what their customers are expecting. Just like home. Starbucks and Apple go the polar opposite way, of course.

What do your customers look for when they come through your door? How can you supply that?

A bold statement? 

For hundreds of years (actually thousands) the retail experience has been one of conversations and demonstrations.  Go to the old general store and they had two primary groups of items: those items in stock and those that were special order.  Want some soap?  Here is a shelf full of it.  Want a new carriage?  I have one in stock but, if you want more than one, I will have to place an order.

The primary change since then is speed.  Want to order something?  Do it right now on your phone.  Want to go and use it first?  Chance are there is a store near you or (if you are willing to wait a day or so) they can ship it to you and you can return it (free of charge) if you don’t like it.

I do agree that retail experience is king (as it has always been).  Give someone a reason to get off their sofa and visit your store or you may as well close down.