Retail reconsidered | KL Stores: a case study series exploring innovation in retail

With store closures and business failures continuing to make headlines in 2019, we are increasingly seeing clients in the retail sector looking to innovate to keep themselves competitive and thinking creatively when they look at new ways to deploy technology in their business.

Technology continues to drive disruption in our lives and with the changing social and political landscape this is an apposite time to take a step back and look at the bigger picture in the retail sector. Over this series we will explore a mini case study based around a request from a CEO to his team to think of new ways to use technology in its traditional bricks and mortar retail business and the changing demands of the customer base. We will look at interesting new technology being used, different ways of using data and while discussing some of the legal risks associated with this technology.

Setting the scene

The CEO of KL Stores has gathered his team for the Monday morning briefing. KL Stores has been a well-loved brand on the English high street for many years, but the CEO is concerned that they are falling behind their competitors and wants to challenge his team to take the brand to the next level.

The CEO knows that digital innovation is flourishing in the retail sector and so it is no surprise that bricks and mortar stores are now adopting all sorts of in-store solutions and back office systems to deliver a great customer experience which sets them apart from their competitors. The CEO has also been reading a lot in the press on the different shopping habits of Millennials, Gen Z and Gen X and wants to understand more about how the customer base is changing.

At the team briefing, the CEO challenges the team to each come up with an idea for how KL Stores could do things differently. In this series we will cover those ideas:

1. Know your Conscious Consumer

KL Stores’ Corporate Responsibility Officer is aware that sustainability in fashion is becoming increasingly important to consumers. In retail, businesses need to know their customers and understand what drives their shopping habits.

Are you thinking about the impact of your business on the environment and society more widely?

If you are, are you effectively getting that message across to consumers so conscious buying decisions can be made in respect of your products?

We will explore the different ways in which retail is evolving to cater for changing consumer behaviour in the rise of the conscious consumer.

Read the case study: Know your Conscious Consumer.

2. Instagram: Not just a pretty picture

KL Stores’ Chief Creative Officer knows that Instagram is about more than just pretty pictures and click bait. We will look at Instagram’s move beyond advertising to driving sales, looking at Instagram’s new native payments feature and the ability to shop through Instagram’s click-thru functionality. The Chief Creative Officer is still a big content fan though and so will also consider the use of Instagram by brands for product drops and the role of influencers and affiliate programs.

Read the case study: Instagram, not just a pretty picture

3. Show me the data

KL Stores’ Chief Data Officer understands that data equals knowledge and knowledge equals power. Is KL Stores are missing a trick by failing to harvest and analyse data that could help it understand its customers needs and habits?

There are huge volumes of data available to retailers to help them understand their customers’ shopping habits. This data can be used to analyse all sorts of issues, such as the effectiveness of store or stock room layouts, the impact of window dressing in triggering passers-by to stop, where customers spend most time in a shop, how customers navigate a website and where to upsell to consumers. We will also look at how to stay on the right side of GDPR when analysing your data.

Read the case study: Show me the data

4. #Ad

KL Stores’ Chief Marketing Officer has noticed a trend in the industry that as online e-commerce spend increases, spend on advertising has also increased. Retailers are striving to deliver a more personalised digital experience and so we will explore the rise in programmatic advertising and consider the importance of delivering value-adding content which goes beyond blatant advertising as consumers lose patience with the traditional model.

Read the case study: #Ad

5. Mirror, mirror on the wall – the changing nature of a trip to the shops

KL Stores’ Chief Innovation Officer wants to explore interesting new instore experiences. We will look at some of the interesting AR/VR experiences, such as smart mirrors, being trialled in stores and through e-commerce channels. Are these just a gimmick or are they enhancing the customer experience and driving sales? We will consider some of the legal issues linked to the content created through the use of these tools.

Read the case study: Mirror, mirror on the wall – the changing nature of a trip to the shops

6. Reinventing the rules – who needs capital anyway?

KL Stores’ Chief Financial Officer is always keen to find new ways to help balance the books. With the world’s largest taxi firm, Uber, owning no cars. The world’s most popular media company, Facebook, creates no content. And the world’s largest accommodation provider, Airbnb, owns no property will explore non-conventional use of bricks and mortar spaces, from stores with no stock to the use of pop up spaces – there are lots of alternatives to the “big spends” that were once essentials in the retail world.

Read the case study: Reinventing the rules – who needs capital anyway?

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