Why are retail stores dying?

Another reason most brick-and-mortar retail companies are disappearing is simply that we now have more options. Once again, the Internet has completely changed the way consumers bought their products. Is retail sales dead? No, but brands should prioritize connection over transaction. The Detroit Newsonce newspaper said it was a symbol of old-fashioned luxury that no longer resonates with current buyers.

The answer is still no and it doesn't have to be your store that closes. When was the last time you shopped at Nordstrom? After writing about Nordstrom's problems, I received a call from some of its executives. They told me I was right. These senior officials already knew they were making mistakes in customer service.

Do you know what they said next? Correct. They can fix it themselves while everyone is wondering, “Is retail dead? Maybe stores are just not putting up well-designed retail signage? It's not just Nordstrom. The retail world is on fire and not in a good way. Other retailers, mired in debt, can't spend enough cash to pay the debts of their hedge fund owners.

All this while hearing that the future of retail is online, where no one wants or needs help. That we can and will make all purchasing decisions through our smartphones. I am old enough to remember the beginning of the Rust Belt, named after the many machines that rusted due to inaction. This was a time when countless American jobs moved abroad.

And even annoying distractions aren't enough to move the retail needle. Instead, you need to improve the customer experience in your store. You'll stop asking: Is retail dead? and start seeing better revenues instead. Now, I know it's hard work to manage the authenticity of the staff.

How do you get your employees to open their hearts to someone else? How do you get customers to go beyond browsing and consider trying something new? Start listening to customers. Encourage your staff to play the role of personal consultant. They don't just sell an item, but they create a personalized experience for your customers. I know you're proud of your customer service, but is this your perspective or that of your customers? As time goes on, they build levels of management and move away from passion.

Without a solid vision, the brand resorts to discounts, stops innovating and loses its best employees. But that doesn't have to be you. However, if you're not picky about who you put in your sales room, you risk ruining the entire customer experience and suffering an Achilles' heel crisis, so to speak. And I don't want you to debate “Is retail dead? more.

Not sure where to start? Check out my training guide for retail employees. If customers really didn't want to interact, they wouldn't be in your retail store. Look, there is no magic formula that will save you from the Borg of retail, this idea that online stores will assimilate all retail stores, and resisting it is useless. Results may vary depending on your commitment to practice, role play, and the responsibility of associates for the use of what is taught.

So, are physical stores dead? In a world where consumers crave experiential shopping, a new era for retail is in sight and is more innovative than ever. So, while it may seem that retail has virtually shifted to the world of digital e-commerce, many retailers are still creating and innovating their in-store shopping experiences. A good example of how effort (the E for METRIC) has been reduced to make it easier for customers to buy is Amazon Fresh. The “Just Walk Out” technology ensures that shoppers are automatically charged for their food, to their Amazon account, once they leave the store.

So you don't need to stand in line or pay at a checkout. This use of technology to provide seamless experiences is further proof that physical stores are important, the technology simply improves the customer experience and, consequently, helps drive business growth. Another example is SKIP, which initially supplied self-monitoring machines to small, independent stores. But now it has developed a mobile payment application that allows shoppers to scan and pay directly on their phones.

Another interesting development comes from Lowe's in the US. UU. Autonomous robots that roam the store and ask customers simple questions to find out what they are looking for. Robots can provide instructions and maps to products and share expertise with customers.

LoweBots also monitors inventory so the store knows which items need to be restocked. IKEA has aligned taste with its brand, as 30% of people say they have visited a store just to eat. And restaurants offer opportunities to diversify sales, not only of food, but also of other household products. Pets at Home designed its flagship store to be a multifunctional space for discovery, interactive and learning.

A great deal of effort was made to make it relevant to audiences of all ages, who were able to immerse themselves in branded content that they couldn't access anywhere except in the store. It is important not to ignore the demands of the modern consumer. The future of retail is based on experience, consumers expect to be impressed, but it depends on brands how they impact their audience through physical stores. More and more retailers are promoting free returns, but only when products are returned to the store.

Americans are still buying a lot, retail sales have already surpassed their pre-pandemic highs, according to census data, but the shopping landscape has changed. In fact, the same products are often available at a few to thousands or more different retailers. The million square feet of commercial space at Worcester Center Galleria in Massachusetts has been converted into 500,000 square feet of office space, 1,000 residential units and 168 hotel rooms, as well as 350,000 feet of new stores. But with all these reasons why most brick-and-mortar retail companies are disappearing, retailers have no other option.

Becoming distribution centers represents a second productive life for department stores, albeit with a bit of irony, since the online retailers who use them are part of the reason for the decline of department stores in the first place. . .