What Customers Love About In-Store Omnichannel

In-store omnichannel is the brilliant way to link the convenience of online shopping and the shopper’s preference to touch and feel the product they’re buying. Done right, brands can create an immersive and engaging physical store with a few well-chosen and thoughtfully-placed mobile devices that allow shoppers to augment their in-store shopping experience with the convenience that makes online shopping so appealing.

Here’s why customers are growing to love in-store omnichannel:

They don’t have to wait

At a bustling deli counter, shoppers are often turned off by the appearance of long lines and the prospect of vying for an associate’s attention to take their order. A deli counter ordering kiosk (like those we’ve built with our Interactive Kiosk) solve these problems by letting customers search for the product they want, learn pricing and other detailed information, and then place an order which they can collect at their convenience.

Stores can then save those order preferences through loyalty cards, making reordering simple for the shopper. The results are exciting – shorter lines and happier customers who are more likely to return to the deli and try new products in the future.

Kiosks like this are also effective at bakeries, wine sections are for custom orders like floral arrangements or custom cakes because they allow customers to learn more about the items available and pinpoint the right product for them based on taste and price preferences.

They don’t have to wonder

When shoppers need a deeper level of product or inventory information, they want it immediately, and searching for a sales associate can be frustrating. Brands can easily address this with in-aisle kiosks that provide product locations within the store and inventory information at other branches, as well as suggest similar or complementary products. And, because these devices are built for iPads, they employ next-gen price scanners and use natural-language search, so the experience is easy and intuitive for the shopper.

Here’s an example: working with a well-known, international shoe retailer, we helped them build information kiosks, mounted on the walls near shoe displays, that allow customers to downselect to sizes available in-store as they browse the brand’s inventory. So, shoppers who want to go home with a pair of shoes today can find exactly the shoes that meet their search criteria and fit their shoe size. Plus, if a preferred style isn’t available in their size in-store, they can find inventory and location information, taking the guesswork out of shopping and ensuring they’re never frustrated by unanswered inventory questions, regardless of whether a sales associate is nearby.

They don’t have to leave the dressing room find the right fit

It’s the age-old annoyance of clothing shoppers everywhere – getting dressed again to go in search of a different size or color, or to peruse similar items. Bloomingdale’s has successfully pioneered a smart fitting room which uses a wall-mounted kiosk for customers to look up the item they’re trying on, check sizes and colors available to them in-store and see if their preferred size or color is available at another store location. The kiosk also suggests similar items and shows them complementary products like shoes and accessories. If the shopper still needs assistance, they can push a button to call an associate.