Delivering Immersive Retail Experiences

Retailers today have an opportunity and responsibility to engage consumers beyond the simple exercise of hanging a monitor on a wall with repurposed content. The term “digital signage” is often used to describe retail’s attempt to achieve customer engagement through this practice, though, in many cases, “true engagement” is not actually achieved.

When digital communication is used properly, it creates an emotional connection between customers and brands. The result engages shoppers in an immersive encounter we call a “digital experience.”

A digital experience has the ability to engage customers in all three phases of the customer journey, attracting them to the retail environment, transacting within the space and retaining the customer beyond their purchase to drive future engagement.

For a digital experience to be meaningful, it needs to be integrated into the customer journey, rather than being applied as a layer. It should deliver relevant and meaningful content that disrupts customer behavior, drives engagement and, ultimately, delivers an experience that creates a personal relationship with the customer.

Great films use special effects to help moviegoers escape and place themselves in a story, rather than building a story around a special effect. The same is true in a well-designed digital experience. The most effective digital experiences support a great brand story by immersing a customer in the brand instead of relying on a digital prop.

To ensure the digital experience continues to engage shoppers, it must be dynamic, flexible and offer an ongoing strategy to update the content and regularly target the customer. Leveraging the technologies allows the customer experience to be contiguous in and out of the bricks-and- mortar environment, yet can be consistent in how it supports the brand proposition and values.

Mobile experiences have become a platform that can support these initiatives, and can be utilized to self-educate, navigate, compare, validate and connect socially.

Retailers can use this information to identify, measure, optimize offerings, channels, and ultimately, provide a customer with a unique personalized experience based on preference, shopping habits and interests.

With 87 percent of mobile customers using their device for shopping activities, according to Nielsen’s 2014 digital consumer report, and online consumers’ desire for new and unique shareable experiences, mobile will continue to play an ever-deepening role in delivering a more meaningful digital experience.

This ability to engross consumers and micro-market to smaller groups or individuals directly is not the future – it is today’s standard of retailing. A brand’s ability to provide these personalized experiences will not only help increase the out-of-pocket spend, it is what will keep customers engaged and help build brand loyalty.

Richard Dirstein will be co-presenting a general conference seminar at Digital Signage Expo 2016 entitled, “Creating Immersive Experiences in Retail,” on Thursday, March 17, from 9:15-10:15 a.m. at the Las Vegas Convention Center. For more information about Digital Signage Expo, or to register for this or any other educational seminar or workshop, go to www.dse2016.com, where you can also learn more about digital signage communications technologies and strategies.

Richard Dirstein is a principal and executive vice president of design and innovation at branding and design firm Shikatani Lacroix (Toronto). Throughout the last 18 years, Richard has helped build the creative vision at Shikatani Lacroix, where his innovative approach to design enables the firm to continuously meet and exceed the strategic objectives of its clients by delivering an emotional connection with consumers. Working with top-tier brands, Richard produces immersive solutions that flawlessly integrate with all aspects of a client's business and design strategy. You may contact Richard at rdirstein@sld.com.