Providing an outstanding digital shopping experience has long been the holy grail of retail. But with the persistence of Covid-19, that quest has taken on new urgency. The reimagining of the in-store experience for a mobile-first approach – and, by extension, the rethinking of websites and storefronts – has forced a tremendous amount of creativity.
But I think there's a lot more work to do here and there are more options to explore. For example, remote teams are relying on screen sharing more than ever before. And we at CoreMedia see some fascinating innovations that could happen around that in the retail space.
So let me take you on a journey.
Imagine a customer (we'll call him Carl) who's looking for a birthday present for his wife. Something fashion related. He knows the designers she likes and he knows her personal style. But he doesn't love the thought of having to go to the boutique, especially with the pandemic still raging. And shopping online has its drawbacks, too, as it's a solitary affair — no one to provide helpful advice.
But what if there was a third option, akin to a personal digital shopping experience. More than a video chat. Easier than an in-person visit. Better than online shopping. The best of all worlds.
On that front, there's good news. Because by leveraging CoreMedia Content Cloud, this dream can actually become reality. Here's what that looks like.
Via a form on the boutique's website, Carl makes an appointment with a salesperson (we'll call her Carol) for a 30-minute consultation. Scheduling is quick and easy. A few minutes later, he receives a personalized email with a link to a video meeting and some product banners advertising the new collection.
When the video chat begins, Carol greets Carl by name and welcomes him to the virtual boutique with some light conversation, providing something closer to an in-store experience. Then, she shares her screen which displays a full-screen browser page.
Digital Shopping
Digital Shopping
Digital Shopping
On the left side, she's able to see all available screens. Studio gives her the ability to either control each screen individually or designate one as primary (with others then displaying content based on logic defined in the backend). When she wants to show something new, she can use the library to find it then drag-and-drop the item to the top of the screen list. If Carl likes it, the item stays; if he doesn’t, she can remove it instantly.
At the end of the session, it's decision time. But Carl isn't quite ready to buy. No problem: Carol offers to send an email containing all the items he liked so he can purchase when it's time. And this is easy to do since those items are already in a list. All Carol has to do is add them to a newsletter template via copy-and-paste.
Digital Shopping
Digital Shopping
It's a seamless And its applications go well beyond retail. Imagine a family designing a new kitchen for their house. Or a mom shopping for back-to-school supplies. Or a backpacker hunting for new camping gear. The possibilities of providing this next-level experience to your customers are infinite.
CoreMedia Content Cloud is excited about this future. And we're here to make it happen. Find out how we can help your business deliver the right content to the right customer at the right time across all channels – from virtual online stores to in-store kiosks to digital signage and more.
