3 Ways Successful Retailers Are Unifying Online and In-Person Shopping

The new year arrives with the promise of a new administration and vaccine rollout, but in-store consumer confidence and spending are lagging.

The uncertainty of new travel restrictions, the vaccine rollout, and the potential spread of covid variants are keeping shoppers away from in-person retail shopping. A recent Wall Street Journal article confirms that physical traffic to retail store fell sharply in recent months: 

“Between Nov. 22 and Jan. 2, store traffic dropped 33% year-over-year, according to Sensormatic Solutions, which uses cameras and software to track visits to thousands of malls and shopping centers. By contrast, in November and December online sales grew 32.2% year-over-year to $188.2 billion, according to Adobe Analytics.

Meanwhile, the most successful brands are responding to these challenging trends with omnichannel retailing. They are closely aligning their on and offline customer engagement strategies. For example, RemoteRetail’s partner Journelle, a successful multi-brand lingerie destination is leveraging the power of virtual shopping to transform the way they do business.

Here are three ways Journelle is merging online and in-person shopping, while operating at limited capacity. 

1. Meet your customers where they are

Whether they’re shopping in-store or from home, RemoteRetail provides retailers with the tools they need to keep their teams in touch with their customers. Journelle has been using the RemoteRetail platform to access customer product preferences from anywhere. Brand experts have all the information they need to make personalized, targeted product recommendations. As a result, brands see higher average order values. And customers receive the kind of exceptional customer service that customers have grown to expect from traditional in-person interactions. 

2. Streamline the shopping experience

Customer and associate safety has never been more important. As stores are reopening with limited capacity, Journelle has been using QR codes to quickly implement buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) services. QR codes can be placed in-store windows to provide customers with a way to shop while they wait in socially-distanced lines. For instance, Journelle has used these tools to streamline and enhance contactless order pick up. 

3. Engage in strategic, targeted communications

With quick access to complete customer profiles, Journelle store associates and online stylists can deliver personalized tap to shop communications, providing decision support for time and attention-strapped consumers. Using RemoteRetail’s curated campaigns, Journelle’s personal stylists are proactively launching targeted campaigns based on customer preferences and profile history. These efficient but meaningful customer connections have proven invaluable to people with little attention to spare in these unsettling times, and are becoming the expectation for consumers as we settle into a “new normal."

Most importantly, whether associates are working remotely from home or on a hybrid structure (in-store and/or remote), RemoteRetail helps brands evolve with their customers. As their preferences and preferred shopping methods change, RemoteRetail helps you to make the most of your time with your customers.

RemoteRetail’s mission is to power virtual shopping with tools that deliver highly personalized customer engagement. Our platform helps brands leverage associate expertise and knowledge to provide personalized product recommendations and unparalleled customer engagement in-store or online. 

For more insights on how RemoteRetail has helped optimize customer engagement during the pandemic watch our recent webinar here or schedule a demo.