No More Normal: What’s Going to Change Now Everything Has Changed

Global lockdowns have drastically altered the face of retail, where ease reigns supreme and convenience is king. Since the end of the pandemic, brands are once again concentrating on the future of retail. While consumers are safe to return to stores, it is evident that the shift to online retail is here to stay. The appeal of painless shopping online has made it a cornerstone in the market; indeed, 46.9% of non-food sales in the UK were conducted online during 2021 according to a study by KPMG, a remarkable figure given that the majority of stores had already reopened.

New beginnings provide an opportunity to set things right and strive for better undertakings. Returning to work may feel chaotic, but individuals and organisations now have the benefit of having taken a step back and may approach business with a fresh perspective. Consider this a chance to strengthen systems and procedures while also building a better environment for employees and customers, drawing wisdom from Sun Tzu, “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.”

If You Want Things To Change, Dare To Be Different

The distinctive manner in which a business offers particular services to its clients is referred to as Service Differentiation. While more prevalent in sectors with extensive client contact, even product-driven businesses can adopt service distinction as a strategy to increase client satisfaction and revenue. Several factors influence service differentiation:

Customer Service - Most businesses have a customer service division to assist clients in resolving issues and guarantee they have favourable interactions. Offering outstanding customer service that goes above and beyond what competitors offer is a sure-fire approach to standing out in the market.

Reputation & Reliability - Take proactive measures to enhance your reputation in the marketplace. Request consumer testimonials and feedback to use on your website and social platforms. Look for ways to demonstrate that your brand is reliable and trustworthy.

Convenience & Usability - Many customers will pick a simple solution over a more complicated, yet possibly better, service. Ensure that customers can swiftly and easily access your services, storefront, and customer support team. Any products, services, or digital content you offer should be simple to use and as intuitive as possible.

Customisation & Options - Provide your clients with a range of items or services that are tailored to their needs. The availability of options encourages buyers to make additional purchases after their initial transaction.

Environment & Branding - For the best possible consumer experience throughout their journey with your business, take into account architecture, interior design, and convenience items. Potential clients can be persuaded to interact with your services or products with the help of consistent and persuasive branding.

Service differentiation is far more difficult to develop and sustain than product differentiation since services are offered by people. Service differentiation requires employees to consistently provide exceptional service, whether proactively or as a response to customer complaints. It is imperative to provide employees with ongoing mentoring, positive reinforcement, and customer service training so they are aware of the company's philosophy and expectations for unsurpassed customer service.

Finding brilliant employees is one challenge, but keeping them on board can be even tougher. Employees in the customer service sector are still human, and if they lack guidance and support, working with challenging clients may be frustrating. Offering flexible schedules or remote working opportunities can assist employees in balancing work with demanding personal and family responsibilities that could interfere with delivering exceptional and consistent operating results. Bonuses are another opportunity to recognise individuals that go above and beyond to impress customers and encourage great customer service.

Service differentiation is a continuous endeavour, so much so that even a Multi-National Corporation like Nike understands that being a global brand alone is not enough to drive sales. Mark Parker, CEO of Nike articulates this when saying, “Our brands. Nike, Converse, Jordan Brand and Hurley, are loved by customers all over the world. But we never take that for granted; we know that every day we have to earn their trust—by serving them completely and adding real value to their lives through products and experiences.”

A Personal Touch Is Essential In A Virtual World

In the Internet age, customers desire an excellent customer experience, which means they look for memorable, authentic and personal interactions. Customers want to feel that they're an integral part of your brand and that choosing you over your competitors was a wise decision. Retailers must be memorable to establish an immediate association between a product and their brand – providing customers with unexpected gifts or perks, personalised and efficient customer service, and maintaining a distinctive online presence.

Your company's front line is your customer service staff and is in the best position to establish a more personal relationship with your clients. Developing a rapport with a consumer can help them form a favourable opinion of your brand. Customers' desire to be heard and regarded as individuals is integral to building lasting relationships. Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute, discovered that the wealthy like to spend money on anything related to people: “What we are seeing now is the luxurification of human engagement.”

E-commerce channels, where shoppers must navigate multiple websites and items on their own, in a soulless virtual world with no expert advice or human connection, are a missed opportunity. The majority of brands are working tirelessly to automate human interactions, prioritising speed, efficiency, and sales over genuine connections with their customers. For example, Walmart is piloting a text-based concierge service; unfortunately, Walmart's professed goal is to use algorithms to service customers before then eliminating people as quickly as possible.

Tech firms use vertiginous jargon to depict how they would free humanity from the confines of the office, connecting us virtually and seamlessly, and enabling us to work from any location. However, it is important to focus on their actions rather than what they preach. Tech businesses pay a premium price for real estate in certain locations on the map, from Silicon Valley in the US to the Silicon Roundabout in London. There are currently 3,228 tech companies per square kilometre in the London postcode EC1V, which is home to the Silicon Roundabout business district, as opposed to 58 per square kilometre in the entire city. So much for technology liberating us from the constraints of geography.

Taking Meaningful Action Now, Requires Predicting the Future

Every supply network is only as effective as its ability to predict demand. Fundamentally, demand forecasting in the retail sector encompasses the estimation of future consumer demand - employing the study of a wide range of internal and external demand-influencing factors, including seasonality, promotions, inventory levels, and market trends.

As a result of interruptions in demand brought on by hoarding, "out-of-stocks," and discontinuous demand during the onset of COVID-19, retailers have already discovered the limitations of regression-based forecasting. Artificial Intelligence and machine learning-based analytics will also be challenged as the new normal evolves, due to gradual evolutionary changes in consumer behaviour. The new normal in retail represents a discontinuous, yet revolutionary, change in terms of disposable income, purchase priorities, seasonal patterns, and retail as a whole. All retailers, regardless of the success of their customer analytics during the pandemic, will need to reinvest in the technology needed to gather insights and forecast consumer demand, including brand preferences, substitutional purchasing and consumer baskets.

Retailers will need to develop a thorough awareness of the qualitative aspects of the new retail normal in order to prosper. As pandemic lockdowns eased, shoppers returned to brick-and-mortar retail stores, as many consumers still find physical interactions more fulfilling than e-commerce transactions. But store traffic will be lower than it was before the outbreak, while average basket size will increase. With fewer shopping excursions and the vivid memory of bare shelves at the start of COVID, shoppers will continue to prioritise product availability. With fewer client visits, lower sales per square foot, and social distance requirements, retailers must adapt by introducing new product lines to promote sales while eliminating product and size variations to simplify assortments and enhance inventory holding capacity.

Retail’s New Normal – An Examination In Innovation

Due to competitive pricing pressure from discounters, market disruption from internet giants, and improved price transparency for consumers, today's retail climate is challenging from practically every perspective. Because competitors may readily copy them, traditional retail differentiation strategies like a diverse offering or strategic pricing and promotions are no longer as effective as they once were. However, retailers may still differentiate themselves by using tailored strategies that allow them to provide distinctive experiences that are specific to each customer.

Customers desire a customised, personalised experience; according to a 2021 Shopify research, “Personalisation applied properly will become much more prominent. Ideally at each contact point and done as unobtrusively as possible.” When supplied to millions of individual customers, leveraging proprietary data, highly tailored customer experiences are challenging for rivals to imitate. When properly executed, these experiences provide corporations with the opportunity to stand out from the competition and develop long-term competitive advantages. Personalised experiences also increase customer loyalty and the bottom line. According to McKinsey, online retailers can see a 15–20% increase in sales conversion rates when they tailor the purchasing experience.

Best-in-class services that are easily accessible have successfully ‘educated’ customers to demand more and refuse to settle for less. People buy because of an emotional connection, their belief system, their way of life, and how they want to interact with the world. People make purchases because of the people they meet and the individuals who created the brands and goods they decide to include in their lives.