Photos by the Swedish Chamber of Commerce – view full gallery here on Facebook
On November 9th, 2017, the Swedish Chamber of Commerce for the United Kingdom held their “Retail Forum 2017” event, a part of their “In the Spotlight” series, at the Google UK HQ. Vaimo was co-sponsoring the event with Nobia! We also had a speaker slot and a seat at the panel discussion with other panelists from ARKET, Google and Nobia, to name a few.
The event’s main question to be answered via thorough discussion was “Is there such a thing as a brick-and-mortar effect between physical and online stores?” The Swedish Chamber of Commerce organised the Retail Form 2017 event along with their retail and e-commerce member companies to take a look at how to achieve business success with current online and offline competition and growing business rates.
The interactive event featured experts and thought leaders from the commerce industry who gave keynote talks and discussed the secrets to success. The talks centred around the ultimate user experience through a combination of online and offline commerce.
VAIMO TAKES THE STAGE
Our Head of Strategy, Henrik Feld-Jakobsen, gave a keynote presentation on Vaimo’s omni-channel methodology. He provided two examples of how we have tried to reduce the gap between the physical and online buying experience with our size guide and social proof for our client Helly Hansen.
Henrik covered the following challenges:
Challenge 1: How does the product feel?
Not being able to FEEL a garment often discourages potential customers from purchasing at an online shop. Henrik stressed the importance of social proof through an integrated Instagram feed, customer reviews (via Yotpo), along with top-of-the-line quality imagery showing the product in-context and in action. Social proof shows customers other people using the products, which helps customers visualise the feeling of the product.
Challenge 2: Will it fit me?
Customers who shop online for clothing struggle to understand how and whether the item will fit them. Henrik pulled out an in-depth size guide we used for Helly Hansen that asks for the customer’s measurements, height, hip and belly shape, chest size, age, and fit preferences, which leaves little room for guess work.
Henrik ended by stressing the ultimate goal of guiding the customer to complete the purchase, regardless of the channel. Henrik advised merchants to strategise, design, and build with the customer always in mind, and to identify friction points and minimise or eliminate them.
The panel discussion focused on the challenge for brick-and-mortar stores to re-think their business model, and how customer-centricity is the key to success.
If you are interested in learning more or working with us, get in touch with us today!
