Although the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a surge in online sales, physical stores are poised to make a big comeback: In-store retail is still the dominant retail channel, and it’s still very much part of the customer journey.
In 2020, consumers proved that physical stores still have their place: Three in four shoppers still went to stores during the crisis, and almost 80% of them made traditional in-store purchases. According to PwC’s March 2021 Global Consumer Insights Pulse Survey, “in-store shopping remains consumers’ channel of choice for daily or weekly shopping.”
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Heightened Need For Experiential Retail
PWC advised retailers in Asia-Pacific to refocus on experiential retail amid uncertainties. In China and Hong Kong, retailers are moving to integrate experience-driven retail and adopt unconventional retail tactics like ‘coopetition’ (cooperation with competitors) and create experience-driven ‘retailtainment’ experiences to build an engaging shopping journey.
This trend is especially critical for the Asia-Pacific beauty retail industry, where today’s buyers- mainly Millenials – no longer find product benefits and brands as compelling. They crave engaging, personalised experiences and shareable moments.
The Asia-Pacific beauty and personal care products market was valued at USD 163.92 million in 2020 and is projected to witness a CAGR of 6.38 % during the forecast period (2021 – 2026), signally the enormous potential of this industry.
New-age retailers are incorporating interactive experiences through retail digital signage for customers in the brick-and-mortar stores, to create an excellent customer journey and increase footfall.
International Brands Debut Virtual Pop-up Stores
Last August, L’Oréal owned top beauty brand “Lancôme” debuted its first virtual pop-up store featuring five discovery zones, exclusively in Singapore. Consumers could access the flagship in the comfort of their own homes through a specified link. Marrying the online and offline shopping experience, the physical store was replicated through live chatbots and pulsating hotspots within the virtual flagship to guide consumers across the five zones.
Hong Kong-based beauty retail store Sa-Sa International is also planning to deploy experiential in-store concepts in Hong Kong and Macau to revive sales, post-pandemic.
Transform Instore Experience With Lift & Learn Solution
Lift & Learn is an interactive solution that presents customers with an engaging, personalised shopping experience. Lifting a product triggers product information to be displayed on a screen, allowing customers to learn more about the product and facilitating product comparison. Analytics gathered can help retailers optimize store displays and improve sales conversions.
Many global brands have adopted this retail digital signage technology to deliver a personalised experience and increase customer engagement.
This technology offers the following benefits:
Promote & Engage:
Promotional content and product features can be used to engage with the customers. Key features and benefits of each product can be easily displayed.
Self-Educating:
The product information on the screens eliminates the need to seek assistance from a sales assistant in retail stores.
Upsell Products:
The technology gives a unique opportunity to upsell limited edition and high margin products, thus increasing revenue.
Easy Comparison:
Two similar products can be compared on usage, deliverability, offers, etc. before making a buying decision. A well-informed customer can make a better buying decision.
Gather Market Data:
Data about customer purchase behavior can be collected and analyzed for marketing purposes.
Scala Solutions for Beauty Retail
Beauty retail brands are capitalising on innovative digital technology to create immersive experiences for their customers to stay ahead of the competition. Scala provides a comprehensive range of scalable MarTech solutions for beauty retail. Find out more about Scala’s solutions here.
About the Author
Esther Chew is the Sr. Manager – Corp Comm & Marketing at STRATACACHE Asia-Pacific and is responsible for developing and implementing the internal and external communications strategy and programmes across Asia-Pacific. She drives the company’s corporate image and brand messaging through integrated and strategic communications leveraging various platforms such as executive communication, client communication, digital marketing, media relations and B2B events.
