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Why Leading Properties Are Focused on Connectivity And a Hybrid Consumer

 As we enter this post-pandemic and ecommerce era, retailers are beginning to adapt their operations in parallel to their evolving consumer habits.

The past two years of uncertainty and change has caused a significant shift in the consumers desire for more ethical sustainable shopping experiences, in order to create long lasting change. In a recent article by McKinsey & company they stated that “Many customers have also tried new omnichannel models: buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS) grew 28% year-over-year in February compared with 18% in January, and grocery delivery is up by 57%.” Retailers need to recognise that they must move past the current brick and mortar and evolve with the changing environment, by ensuring that customers can browse and buy anywhere via different platforms.

The key to connect with customers who still want to shop in physical stores is to integrate the digital and physical shopping experience. Retailers must ensure that customers are provided with a frictionless and personalised shopping experience. With ecommerce constantly on the rise, customers can seamlessly purchase products from the palm of their hand whilst avoiding queues and risk of items being out of stock. Even though footfall within shopping centres does seem to be returning to pre-pandemic levels, customers have been favouring digital aisles for many years. The majority of retailers have been able to gain customer engagement by adopting a hybrid outlook, for example adopting elements like click and collect to maintain footfall and sales. However in order to gain customer loyalty and engagement initially, retailers need to utilise customer data to ensure their marketing campaigns are effective and engaging. 

Colm O’Brien, the director for strategic offering for the Global Consumer Industry at IBM services explains how “Customers are everywhere, shopping in micro-moments, whether looking through the glass of a storefront of their phones.” This quote from Colm further supports the movement towards hybrid shopping, by “marrying digital and physical experiences.” Retailers that fail to keep up with this transformation of the customer’s shopping experience will be left behind for good. As every retail destination between those managing space and those occupying it at properties of all sizes and locations. 

The past two years have highlighted how connectivity and community are more crucial than ever before, as tenant-landlord relationships have evolved from being purely transactional into a more cohesive and flexible collaboration. Mallcomm is a unique solution as it provides the ability for customers to initiate conversations with tenant, concierge or customer service teams. As we enter the post pandemic era of retail, we appreciate how vital merging the physical and digital shopping experience is for maintaining footfall, engagement and customer loyalty. Retailers must revolutionise their spaces and create an immersive support a hybrid customer experience in many ways, including direct contact with tenants to check stock levels in-store from the comfort of their own home and access to exclusive offers, parking and opening hours at their fingertips. 

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