Everyone knows that Amazon is one of the most influential companies in the world and that it has a very promising future in the short and medium term.
The company a very powerful presence in the online business world and is drawing on all of this strength in order to expand into other industries, in which it has begun to take its share of the pie.
But what we are concerned with – and what has been talked about most in recent months – is the arrival of Amazon to the retail market. This is because Amazon has given us another way to shop, comprehensively changing shopping in every way from planning a purchase to intent to purchase, without forgetting after-sales services, which are also worth noting.
What does Amazon have that traditional retailers do not?
Amazon has managed to offer its customers various advantages and services that the retail market has not been able, or known how, to implement. The traditional way of shopping has some characteristics that we all take for granted, but once we try new online shopping methods these are shown to be less convenient.
Among them, we will not only talk about the displacement of the point of purchase, but also others such as the wide variety of the inventory, low prices, recurring offers, and customer service, both during the purchase process and after.
From this perspective, the fact that it is possible to purchase something with a few clicks, from the comfort of your home, work, or anywhere thanks to mobile applications, at the most competitive prices, and with a money-back guarantee -with the ability to start the return process from home as well-, means that retail businesses have to reinforce and highlight what they have to offer and, above all, look for new ways to attract and woo customers.
What can retail businesses do to compete with Amazon?
From the customer’s point of view, the retail business can offer attention to detail, personalized attention and physical contact with what you want to buy.
The downside is that these positives, while beneficial to users, are not enough to compete with the advantages that Amazon can offer its customers. Not only that, but in order to compete with Amazon’s frequent and attractive offers, they have had to reduce the amount of money they invest in features that used to make them interesting, both in material and human resources.
That said, retailers need to change to their business model, and this can be accomplished by offering their customers a shopping experience that Amazon (or any other online provider) cannot.
To do this, not only should they go back to this attention to detail that we were just talking about, but they also have to invest in their facilities with the aim of providing a unique and novel purchase process that customers will want to experience more than once.
The way to do this is to create attractive, modern spaces that are comfortable and accessible, and also to offer experiences that go beyond mere buying and selling.
Renewing and Reinventing the Retail Trade
Reinvention is one of the key issues in the future of retail. In fact, it was the theme of the last Madrid Retail Congress, held in the Spanish capital on November 21 and 22, which HMY attended as a sponsor of Retail Lab. But is it easy to reinvent yourself?
Clearly any transition takes money and effort, even more so when strong and fast competitors like Amazon have been advancing in recent years.
But, while Amazon has taken advantage of technological innovations in order to place hundreds of thousands of products within reach of customers in a fast and economical way, the retail trade can also take advantage of technology’s benefits.
In fact, there are many brands that are already adapting their sales spaces to include concepts and experiences that go beyond the simple display and sale of products.
At HMY, we have already successfully carried out projects in this regard, which have not only brought new, personalized sales spaces forward, but also added value to the shopping experience, in which users can interact with the products that they are interested in, in a much more profound and detailed way. The case of Futbol Emotion’s stores is one of the most striking success stories in recent times, which earned Best Connected Shop at the 2017 Paris POPAI Awards.
In the end, this is such a revival of what used to make retail stores stand out: attention to detail. However instead of the traditional details that buyers no longer appreciate, it is about offering something that can only be achieved in person, which can compensate and exceed the convenience of online shopping and, of course, Amazon’s entry to the retail market.
