Leo Burnett study looks at the “real” in retail

GLOBAL, NOVEMBER 2010 –  Even in the age of engagement, it takes real people and experiences to make the sale. Leo Burnett released the findings of its study, REimagining the Retail Store: The Shoppers Perspective, on the relevance of the retail agency in the age of online shopping. The study looked at 40 retail brands and surveyed 2,200 shoppers based in the United States.

The study found that shoppers categorize retailers differently according to price, convenience, efficiency, and even by inspiring or idea-making area. It also debunks the idea that retail is dying. Retail is very much alive, but there is a demand to return to the basics, and to re-evaluate their approach to shoppers in the process. It is not just about price, or even the merchandise–it’s about the experience shoppers want to have. The shortcomings of the shopping experience endanger retail more than the internet. This calls to mind a basic principle in retail: a bad service experience will turn a customer off from a store. Shoppers will shop where they please, and shopper loyalty is something hard-earned, and takes more than a card.

Is a purely home-shopping experience on the horizon? No. The internet still serves primarily as a reference, to compare products and get basic information before going to a store to further investigate their shopping choice then decide. Even high-tech services rank low in priority for shoppers, and they have mixed-feelings about having tech in their shopping experience. It clearly has not enriched the experience as retailers may have thought.

In the end, shoppers are still keeping it real, for as long as the shops do. Retail is challenged to take the experience up a notch, for their customers to want to re-live it time and again.