Live Retail, Hyper Convenience: The Shopping Experience of Tomorrow

By Jamil Ahmed

It’s coming to the end of a Thursday afternoon in the office. A push notification reminds you of dinner plans at 7:00 p.m., a monthly chance to catch up with an old friend. You haven’t booked ahead, but both decide to go back to the popular ceviche bar on terrace at Westfield after a quick WhatsApp consultation.

Once wrapping up all the actions for the day, you jump on the underground to head over there. Scrolling through Instagram to pass the time, a few posts from your favorite accounts catch your eye and attract the double-tap. At the restaurant you find a table for two ready and waiting, where its offer on dinner and drinks just happens to be your go-to favorites.

After dinner, you both stroll through the shopping center when a digi-screen blasts a live video of a model wearing the jacket you liked on Instagram earlier. Your exact size and signature color is being held in the dressing room when you decide to enter the store and, after trying it on, there’s no need to wait at the cash register. You breeze out wearing your latest purchase and continue your evening …

While we can definitely agree the bank account of our shopper has taken a hit in this scenario, what’s not so clear is how this could become a reality, or why it should. What we describe is the not-so-distant future of "Live Retail" — a model which blends the power and ease of online shopping with the thrill and engagement of physical stores. And all it needs to happen is some smart architecture connecting the data we already have.

For consumers it offers the ultimate tailored shopping experience:

Personalized stock which caters to exact tastes and sizes
Pay-less stores which remove the hassle of queues
Loyalty card models which give customers an automatically calculated discount
A sleek and seamless experience as easy as online shopping

For brands and retailers it offers:

A removal of barriers to purchase present in physical retail (queues to pay, generic stock)
Social media advertising models with a direct link to results (e.g., sales percentage paid to the influencer)
Opportunity to cater to the highly selective consumer market of today
Opportunity to upsell on-site experiences (e.g., automatic table reservations)

Let’s explore the foundations that will bring Live Retail to a shopping center near you soon ...

The Power of Personalization

Consumers have long shown a preference for personalized products. For example, any time a brand releases the chance to have a name printed on a regular product, or even just select their own combination of chocolates, we see runaway sales figures.

These are perfect for one-off, limited-time-only experiences, but technology is now making rapid personalization possible on a global scale.

John Lewis ran its Build Your Own Quality Street experience to huge success. However, the product was only available in the retailer's flagship store with long wait times due to manual processes, therefore limiting the sales model.
Coca-Cola has taken things a step further with Freestyle, a customizable soda experience.

Payless Purchases

The idea of going cashless is no longer revolutionary. Most rich economies and tech-driven cities have created the digital and public infrastructures needed to process the majority of transactions with a smartphone or a piece of plastic in a few microseconds.

However, payless purchases will remove a further barrier, making the shopping experience smoother and more convenient.

Amazon Go allows customers to leave the store without paying. The concept and the trust this builds with customers is paving the way for the future of Live Retail.
Brands can then offer immediate customer loyalty programs which deliver final price points tailored to each buyer — demonstrating how valued that customer is right there and then.

Fast Fashion and Condensed Buying Cycles

Aside from attracting customers, such refined supply chains offer huge savings for brands by reducing the amount of unwanted stock that needs to go to sale or outlet stores. Producing only what’s needed is also an important consideration as we become more aware of fashion waste and environmental concerns.

Zara has developed a hypershort supply chain cycle that allows it to tailor its stock directly to live macro trends of its customers.

Nike is no stranger to the importance of personalization to tap into buyers' desires, with its flagship stores long offering unique trainers and experiences. Nike's recent acquisition of Celect will further personalize the products on offer with predictive purchase analysis.

E-commerce is going nowhere, and for many brands the overheads needed to cover the costs of a brick-and-mortar store are just too high. However, high-end and global brands need to maintain a physical presence to keep their discerning customers loyal. Live Retail will deliver the seamless experience we've come to expect from slick, tailored online shopping.

Although online shopping has no doubt impacted the retail industry and a number of major brands, experience destinations such as Westfield London and Westfield Stratford have welcomed half a billion visitors over the past 10 years, generating more than £15 billion in sales. The success of these shopping malls lies in their commitment to keep reinvesting profits to redevelop a high-end, ultramodern retail experience, turning the centers into destinations in their own right, and making their services hyperconvenient for shoppers.

We have the data lakes in place, but we need the digital infrastructure to make the interactions rapid, secure and reliable to deliver Live Retail at this scale. Brands and businesses need to invest to keep pace with the future on the horizon.

Jamil Ahmed is director and engineer at data transfer giant Solace.