What Customers Want In A Retail Store (Tips & Consumer Trends)

The retail business is constantly changing, and as it does, so do customer expectations of what a retail store should offer.

Retail shoppers no longer only crave quality and affordability but are willing to spend more on satisfaction and convenience. For your retail store to remain relevant among the competition of other retail stores, you must ensure that you offer everything your customers want and more.

Admittedly, it can be challenging to keep up with retail trends and ever-changing retail shopper needs. However, since the happiness and contentment of your shoppers determine the success of your retail store, you must put their needs first and adapt to the newest trends.

To help you keep your shoppers satisfied and your retail store booming, we have provided tips and trends you need to implement for a successful retail store that leaves every customer satisfied.

Why Do Retail Customer Wants Change?

Every retail shopper is unique, and so are their needs. Each person that walks into your retail store has a unique personality, specific needs, and certain expectations that they have to enjoy a satisfactory shopping experience.

Taking this into retrospect, it is easy to see how difficult it will be to satisfy every retail shopper’s needs down to the smallest detail. To make matters a little more challenging, people’s needs change constantly.

What customers wanted in retail shops ten years ago is not what they want now. Since not every retail shop has adjusted its operations to meet up to today’s retail standards, is it vital to meet up to standards of every retail shopper’s needs?

The short answer is yes.

There were an estimated 1.04 million retail establishments throughout the United States in the third quarter of 2020. In a business as competitive as the retail market, it is essential to keep up with the changing customer trends and offer nothing but satisfaction if you want to differentiate your brand from the competition.

The average retail shopper has basic needs like organized aisles, clean stores, and swift transactions. However, they also crave more than this basic experience that nearly all stores offer.

This is one primary reason shoppers shop consistently at one store and not anywhere else. Not only do the shops they choose fulfill their basic needs but also offer quality shopping experiences, which other stores do not deliver.

Another major factor contributing to changing retail customer wants and trends is the advent of technology. The invention of specific technological tools has helped life become more comfortable than it has ever been.

People everywhere now have access to tools like digital devices, internet access, and information, all of which affect communication, culture, experiences, lifestyle, and, of course, behaviors like shopping demands.

As a retail store owner, you can either be on the same page with these new demands or risk being left in the dust by other retail stores willing to meet these demands and make people happy.

Essentially, changes in people’s knowledge and priorities are often a result of technological improvements, a shift in personal choices, or unavoidable factors like time.

For example, an increase in the number of vegans (a 30-fold increase between 2004 and 2019 in the United States) has led to a synonymous rise in the amount of healthy, plant-based foods being produced and sold in grocery stores around the world.

It is undeniable how much impact a trend in consumer wants yields in the retail market. By satisfying customer trends and engaging customer preferences or continuously shifting customer demands, you create a two-way relationship based on trust and satisfaction.

This relationship guarantees the success of your business and is the key to ensuring your retail store brand remains sought-after.

What Customer Wants In A Retail Store

Retail shopping is not what it used to be years ago. The retail shopping experience has evolved from the basic basket in the brick-and-mortar establishment to the more advanced online shopping and delivery options.

Thankfully, these changes do not happen overnight and give retail store owners like you the opportunity to stay on top of these gradual changes. As previously mentioned, knowing every customer’s innate retail shopping desire is not feasible, you cannot perfectly satisfy every customer that walks into your store.

However, armed with the knowledge of current customer trends and demands, you can provide the ultimate customer experience your customers expect.

Customer wants and consumer trends are fleeting, but they last long enough that implementing them will ensure that you keep your brand fresh and add value to your store.

Implementing customer trends - no matter how much of an investment it requires- is a win-win situation for your retail store and your clients. There are many things customers want in a retail store that they choose to patronize. Some of these include:

1. Self-Service Options

One thing the covid-19 pandemic taught retail store owners worldwide is the importance of self-service options in their business. In the post-pandemic world today, more retail stores are letting go of the thought hold on operations and giving their customers a chance to take the lead for a while.

The Covid-19 pandemic birthed one of the darkest periods for businesses. However, it is also one of the most significant catalysts of self-service technology and the increased satisfaction of retail shoppers who are privy to it.

Although the pandemic marked the jumpstart of the implementation of the self-service option, self-service options have been available in retail stores for a few years. They were the perfect way to increase customer satisfaction by letting them tailor their shopping experience to their needs.

As more retail stores worldwide adopt this technological solution, self-service options are no longer a luxury but a necessity expected in grocery stores. Customers want to enjoy shopping without having to interact with staff unless necessary.

Self-operation options in retail stores include:

• Self-order kiosks attached to your retail store point-of-sale station(s). This enables customers to explore certain products for a more personalized shopping experience. With self-order kiosks, customers can shop at their own pace and to their satisfaction. Self-order kiosks are perfect for dispensaries, drinks, and other products that could use quick service.
• Bill payment kiosks offer lower waiting times and increased customer satisfaction. It gives customers the convenience of easy bill payment without restrictions on payment methods.
• Self-checkout kiosks reduce the need for a cashier and long queues. It eliminates the need for constant interaction with staff and reduces the wait time.

2. Offline And Online Integration

According to a survey, 25% of Americans shop online at least once per month. Online shopping has become a prevalent global behavior among all age groups.

As more show a preference for doing all their shopping online, retail stores continue to take advantage of the growing interest and set up an online version of their store.

Online shopping is not just any want, but a norm that has come to stay. This is unsurprising, especially because shopping online offers customers convenience, a chance to explore a broader range of products, and an easy way out of long queues on check-out lines.

Today’s internet is riddled with many online stores delivered to make shopping quick and easy for customers. Right now, online stores look like they are annihilating brick-and-mortar stores, primarily because of the rapid increase in online shopping during the covid-19 pandemic. However, this is not precisely the case.

The 2018 Marist Poll study discovered that 56% of Americans prefer shopping in a physical store than on the internet. Although shopping online offers convenience, money-saving, and time-saving benefits, shoppers still crave the in-person personalized experience they enjoy while shopping in brick-and-mortar retail stores.

So, what do these shoppers who want the best of both worlds choose to do instead? They shop with stores that offer online and offline access.

In today’s world, customers want a retail shop that merges the online shopping experience with its physical store. Essentially, they crave an easy transition from the online store to its physical branch.

This means shoppers want features like:

• Being able to spend the online coupons your online store offers in your physical store
• Have a shopping cart that customers can access online and offline in your store
• Enjoy a click-and-collect feature that enables them to order items online and pick them up in your physical store
• To ensure your retail store remains relevant, arrange for your eCommerce and physical store to be integrated. This will ensure your shoppers enjoy the ultimate shopping experience they crave

3. Digital Technology

Modern retail shoppers are dynamic and mobile, and have adopted the more digital version of life. This is thanks to the invention of new innovative technology that makes life and shopping more convenient for them.

Technology has advanced, and shoppers expect retail stores to be up to par with these technological changes. This improves their satisfaction, experience, confidence, and trust while shopping in your store.

Shoppers are becoming more tech-enabled as they now have easy access to digital technologies like phones, laptops, and touchscreen interfaces. As a result, they crave the corresponding digitization of commercial establishments they patronize.

As a result, one popular digital technology now being implemented in retail stores is digital signage.

Digital signage is a segment of electronic signage that uses digital screens to display customized content. In other words, digital signage involves using projectors, LEDs, and LCD screens to display pictures, videos, and texts.

Digital signage has become a mainstream static signage alternative for retail stores worldwide. Rapidly displacing static signage, digital signage in retail stores is used for indoor or outdoor advertising, sharing information, and displaying entertaining content.

While digital signage on its own is a unique digital solution, for the best features, you need to implement a high-quality digital signage solution. Of all digital solutions in the market today, Loop TV offers the most diverse solution.

With Loop TV, you can access over 145 entertainment channels and sophisticated digital signage features. This offers unlimited entertainment and an easy way to create customized content to improve consumer satisfaction and the ultimate customer satisfaction in your retail store.

With Loop TV, you can give shoppers the digital experience they crave.

4. Personalized Customer Service

Although many retail stores underrate it, personalization of service plays a significant role in improving customer satisfaction. Attending to customer’s needs with personal details ensures that you can serve them better.

Consumers know how important personalization is, which is precisely why they visit retail stores that offer personalized services.

Personalization helps brands bridge the gap between their business and consumers. It offers an unbeatable customized experience that consumers cannot get anywhere else.

Service personalization can occur in different ways. Some of these include:

• Addressing customers with their name
• Knowing customer shopping history in your retail store
• Collecting personal data to create a personalized shopping experience online and in-store
• Humanizing your retail store website
• Sending personalized text messages and emails
• Suggesting products that match their shopping history and personal data
• Communicate and be ‘human’. Smile more, make eye contact, and be interactive

5. Loyalty Programs

Shoppers tend to choose retail stores where they feel valued. This is why many people decide to stick to brands that continuously offer loyalty programs as a way of recognizing consumers that have stuck with them.

Customers stick with brands that offer loyalty programs because they enjoy the exclusivity and financial benefits. They love being recognized as an essential part of the brand and getting something great in exchange for their purchase history.

Some loyalty programs consumers look out for are:

• Discount prices
• Combo sales
• Referral programs
• Spend-based loyalty programs
• Exclusive programs for long-term customers
• First-time shopper offers

Top Trends In The Retail Business

Customers are reevaluating their retail needs through changing consumer trends. Some of these trends include:

• Omni-channels (i.e., online and in-store shopping experience)
• Social e-commerce (selling products and services right from active social pages)
• Integration of artificial intelligence on retail websites
• Direct-to-customer services and product delivery
• Same-day delivery
• Sustainability

Tips To Attract Customers To Your Retail Store

Attracting shoppers is undeniably one of the most challenging aspects of running a successful retail business. To make it easier, here are some tips to boost attention and get more customers.

• Install attention-grabbing outdoor signs using Loop TV’s digital signage features. Customize your eye-catching signage with different text fonts, graphic colors, pictures, logos, and more sophisticated signage solutions
• Increase curb appeal
• Work on retaining clients. Sometimes, your potential clients look to your current clients for reviews before deciding to patronize your store
• Train your staff to be more welcoming and efficient
• Be active on social media
• Organize a sale
• Focus on creating a sensory and personalized store experience
• Offer quality products at better prices

Do it All With Loop TV

Making more revenue is easier when you have the proper digital signage. When it comes to choosing sophisticated digital signage solutions with unique features, Loop TV is the best option for retail shops.

Whether you need digital signage for consumer entertainment or outdoor marketing, Loop TV offers hundreds of entertainment channels and digital signage features designed specially for your business.

To get started with Loop TV’s free digital signage features and unlimited entertainment options, sign up for a free media player on the official Loop TV website.