09.2019 Office Talk
Future Commerce: Technology Reverse New Retail Experience
Group Comprehensive Efficiency & Retail Planning Headquarters /
"Future Commerce", sponsored by Business Next, has marked its fifth year to explore the industrial development of cross-border, integration and innovation. In 2019, with the theme of "Unlock the Limits", it will unlock unknown business imaginations, integrate science and technology into the blood, and create the possibility of business links and keep pace with the international market. In this year's Forum on Future Business Trends, emphases were put on five major trends: new business model, new technology, new management, new marketing and new experience. Li Jingfang, Executive Director of Group Comprehensive Efficiency and Retail Planning Headquarters, was also invited to share "Technology Reverse New Retail Experience", and to explore more new possibilities, new markets and new opportunities with on-site start-up teams.
Imagine a future in which all TV walls will be able to provide personalized advertisements exclusively for their customers according to the results of pupil identification. Whether they enter physical access or park in a store, they will receive warm greetings "Hi, Mr. /Ms. XX Hello, Welcome to…" and "Clothes you saw yesterday is on the X floor... ",etc. Even if you look at the screen when checking out, you will be able to pay successfully. Chief Executive Li Jingfang shared in the forum the plot from Steven Spielberg's film "Minority Report", which was still considered a fantasy when it was released in 2002, but now there seems to be some clues, and this glimmer comes from urgent need for revolution of the retail business in the face of difficulties.
Li pointed out that the rise of e-commerce and the change of consumers’ behavior are making physical retailing face a great impact. Although technology can help traditional retailers optimize customer experience, she also took the dismissal of more than 100 robots at the Robot Hotel in Japan at the beginning of this year as an example to remind participants that technology is not a panacea. Customers’ demand should be the core, understanding customers and creating differentiation through driving data to adjust strategies, and then reversing the retail experience is an effective revolution and innovation.
Data Driven, the Rise of X Data
Li said that in the complex retail industry, a lack of data never exists. In recent years, more and more attention has been paid to the data. It is a common saying to collect and analyze data. However, most of the data collected in the past belong to operational data (O Data), such as material management, orders, revenue and profit. ... Such information, which is used to examine the business operations and make the financial statements more attractive at shareholders' meeting, is far from consumers, although it is a quarterly problem faced by enterprises. More important now is the collection of experience data (X Data), including customer behavior, satisfaction, preference, feedback, evaluation, etc, these precious X Data are the most real response of consumers to the company's execution. Enterprises need to face up and understand systematically to avoid becoming frogs in the lucrative warm water with X data driving the operation strategies.
Understanding Customers and Optimizing 5E Travel
According to the consumer experience data, Executive Director Li uses five points in the customer 5E journey as basis to understand customers and overcome weak points, and starts the 5E positive cycle with the help of science and technology.——
1. Entice
According to Comscore statistics, Internet users are exposed to an average of 1,707 banner advertisements per month and receive an average of 60 advertisements per day. Therefore, how to attract customers in a limited time is the top priority. Since the rise of we-media and social platforms, consumers' eyeballs have been completely kidnapped by mobile phones, Whether using FB, IG, LINE@ or building their own APP, they need to establish effective communication channels with consumers. 2. Enter
For physical retailers, the way customers enter the stores has not changed much in recent years, but with the help of science and technology, on-the-spot detection and license plate recognition will be introduced. In the future, after members being connected with payment of parking, they can not only grasp the customer's appearance more clearly, but also optimize the experience of customer's entry and exit just like "key report" said. 3. Engage
The interactive model of recommending by shop assistants and trying on the clothes in the past is necessary to provide more diversified and convenient services through the assistance of science and technology with the increase of customer self-awareness, privacy and convenience, such as trying on the clothes by AR without the time to change clothes, AI stylist who can give advice on dressing, and COLOR IQ that can suggest appropriate color with artificial wisdom.... It not only strengthens the experience, but also collects the physical data of the customer's body, skin color and skin quality invisibly.
4. Exit
Checkout is the last step in the process of customers' purchasing. All payment methods through palms, face scanning, pupils and other ways are designed to reduce the weak point of checkout while various kinds of APPs that need to bind membership and financial information not only improve the speed of consumers' payment and accumulation of points, but also enhance the understanding of consumers' habits. 5. Extent
After customers leave, do we have an effective platform for maintaining relationships? Community and commodity reputation which are managed through the fans’ club can successfully establish the emotional connection between customers and brands, which is conducive to understanding consumers' real ideas, but also can improve the weak points. On the other hand, it can accumulate data related to customers' interests, create the most accurate advertising audience, and attract more people to become followers.
Creating Differentiation and Emphasizing Experience
In the market, "Creating differentiation is creating win-win" is the golden rule. In the past, it may be differentiated by format or novel items, but these are gradually numb to modern people who are receiving more and more stimulation every day. Executive Director Li suggested that we should start from the following three aspects to enhance the value of physical access.
1. Emphasizing experience with quality
ICONSIAM, a Thai department store that opened earlier this year, moved the Thai water market indoors intact, breaking the general impression that the water market is hot and messy, which improved the quality of traditional market experience and retain the local cultural characteristics as well.
2. Increase warm connection
In addition to the service and emotional exchanges in the stores, Far Eastern Group also invites customers to fulfill their corporate social responsibilities together. For example, Pacific SOGO Department Store has hosted Christmas public welfare activities for many years, and invited enterprises to adopt wishes to help children realize their dreams, Far Eastern Department Store and Syin-lu Social Welfare Foundation and Bright Star Game Studio jointly held the “VR Experience of Autism”, Far Eastern Big City Shopping Malls co-sponsored Vocal Asia Festival with combination with Hakka mother tongue culture and held the Fair for people who correct their errors and make a fresh start in collaboration with Agency of Corrections to increase the warm connection with customers and participants. 3. Communication Style and Attitude
Physical channel is not only the way to sell goods, but also the best point to communicate style and brand positioning with the consumers. For example, the newly opened Apple store of Far Eastern Department Store A13 in Xinyi takes MacBook as the conception to design roof and arc corner ground glass echoes the classical features of products, and Penghu basalt is used to build the outdoor stone pedestal which not only brings Apple's simple fashionable technology to the extreme, but also fully integrates with local elements.
The three directions mentioned above can be considered as thinking about creating differentiated experience, but the best activities are only "points", which can not constitute the "face" of all-round experience upgrading. To achieve the ultimate retail future of customer experience, Executive Director Li said bluntly: "Data is needed to drive to construct the warm differentiation”. Through the concrete analysis of data, the invisible customer appearance and exploration needs can be pieced together to create differentiation, understand customers and create customized experience. In other words, the reversal of the new retail experience takes technological data as the bearings and customers as the core, and then warm differential retail experience will be promoted through the executor's hand.
