(Via a PSFK Consulting report aimed at providing insight into the Future of Retail.)

Key Learnings:

1. Increased access to the mobile web is freeing the retail experience from the confines of the physical and traditional online environment, allowing shopping to take place virtually anywhere.
2. Creating a flexible in-store environment through design, product offerings and promotions, ensures that each visit will feel like a brand new experience.
3. Leveraging collaborations based on aspects such as locale or cultural touchstones, maintains a brand’s relevancy in the eyes of the customer.
4. Whether physically or through connected technologies, shopping is still best experienced socially.
5. In a connected world where access to information is fluid and transparency is the expectation, brands must actively take part in the conversation, otherwise their customers will do so without them.
6. The introduction of connected technologies into retail environments is changing the ways that stores are able to provide customer service.
7. Introducing likeminded products and services into standalone retail environments shows customers that a brand is confident in their core offering and looking to further enhance the in-store experience.
8. Physical stores still provide the best means to communicate with customers and offer a brand experience.
9. In the new customer-centric approach to retail, stores need to continually find ways to lower barriers to purchase and be prepared to make a sale whenever and wherever a customer is ready.
10. Empower customers by providing them with all of the tools needed to make an informed purchase decision.