woman-mobile-shoppingAs the in-store shopping experience evolves, retailers will need to adapt to stay viable. We’ve noted before how new technology like beacons, mobile payments and more accurate customer targeting has improved retail in the past few years. Now, we are seeing a more cohesive fusion of mobile and in-store shopping.

The merger of these two worlds not only benefits the shopper but also the retailer. Shoppers are more informed because they are researching products before entering an actual store. And for retailers, this data can help to create a unique shopping space not offered online. The omnishopper has emerged from this. This type of customer uses all of the technology available to them to make an informed purchase in a retail establishment.

According to recent research:

62 percent of consumers are researching purchases more compared to two years ago and only five percent are doing less research.

All of this fact-gathering is producing a customer who is more knowledgeable – sometimes more than staff about a product when they walk in the door of a retail store. Nowadays with use of various retail apps and mobile sites, it is more likely that the customer knows exactly what they want even before they walk in the door. Because of this, retailers need to provide top-quality service to that customer.

With all of the data generated from customers who are researching products in advance of coming into the store, retailers will be smart to use this to make that shopping trip a memorable one and one that is not offered online. One way to do this is to develop experiential spaces, where customers can interact with the product prior to purchase. By anticipating these needs and supplying this opportunity, retailers are poised to increase customer loyalty.

The omnishopper is here to stay and the most successful retailers will be the ones that offer a mobile and real world experience that builds off one another for a truly consistent consumer journey.

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