Customers become more and more demanding of the service providers who are part of their daily life. This relationship and the right commercial offer at the right place creates value, emotional and rational, in a world of dematerialized and direct sales.
With the acceleration of the evolution of technologies and unlimited information sharing, the consumer’s needs and expectations evolve to become ever more. This augmented consumer is more educated, more citizen of society and even more an active actor of his life in a world that responds almost instantaneously. As a result, he is becoming more and more demanding of the service providers who are part of his daily life, and in which he places his trust on a daily basis.
It is now harder for businesses to gain - and retain - trust in today's digital landscape. If this can be accomplished however, ninety-five percent of customers say they are more likely to be loyal to a company they trust, as reported in Salesforce's State of the Connected Customer. Fortunately, this trust deficit can be bridged by improving customer knowledge and delivering a personalized customer experience.
The use of data and AI allows for a more precise knowledge of the consumer, and also of the context of connection (time / place / feelings), giving birth to "Me-Tail": retail that deliver personalized, automated and data-driven contents and promotions. A better understanding of purchasing contexts will also lead to the rationalization of the retail portfolio and a diversification of point-of-sale formats, making it possible to optimize retail space according to the real needs of customers.
POS: a human interaction point
Why would a consumer still go to a POS when the majority of his concerns can be tackled online? This is first and foremost to get help and guidance on what he can’t resolve himself. In short, this means help and guidance from a human in a face-to-face manner.
It is key to offer consumers an immersive experience where digital-driven solutions can help boost the entire consumer experience. This is based on 4 pillars:
- Immediacy : Consumers are impatient and want to be helped in the most immediate manner, meaning that a point of sale should offer different alternatives based on the time that people can and/or want to spend in the store.
- Simplicity : Consumers want simple and easy solutions that help fix their problems in the most efficient manner, meaning that the POS should revolve about the best possible guidance that is easy to understand by everyone.
- Entertainment : Consumers are looking to be entertained and pass their time in a meaningful manner, meaning that a POS should offer them experiences - small and big - that are unique and representative for our brand universe.
- Personalization : Consumers expect to be helped in the most personal manner, meaning that the entire POS experience should be personalized to their profiles and interests, within the right context.
POS: a place of trust
Data sharing is an essential part to ensure a relevant and personalized experience for customers in store, there should be trust between the consumers and the company.
This trust is first and foremost fostered by the positive message of a company sharing its content, expertise and services with customers. Inversely, the sharing of data by consumers with the company should be simple and easy for it to be as reassuring as possible.
In the end, what we want consumers to grasp is that by sharing they will have access to everything that will help them become more. What the company gets in return, is a data-driven POS where valuable consumer data is collected on a continuous basis.
