The ever-changing store: Taking an agile, customer-centric approach to format redesign

Many retailers believe—rightly—that format redesign is often too risky, takes too long, and costs too much. There’s a better way.

The role of the store has changed. With customers increasingly shifting their spending online, it’s not enough for a brick-and-mortar store to be just a transactional venue. Instead, it now must serve as a brand-building environment in which customers can have special, in-person experiences that can’t be replicated in digital channels. To keep their stores relevant, retailers need to make the most of physical stores’ built-in sensory advantages over e-commerce—they need to tout the experience of touching, smelling, and trying on products, and they must ensure that the in-store experience is enjoyable and convenient. Otherwise, customers simply won’t bother making the trip.

In most cases, creating a distinctively compelling customer experience will require retailers to redesign their store formats. And there’s no time to lose; competitors are moving fast. Even companies that started as pure-play online retailers—such as Amazon, eyeglasses retailer Warby Parker, sneaker brand Allbirds, and luggage company Away—are opening brick-and-mortar stores so that they, too, can offer sensory experiences. So, for traditional retailers, the pressure is on; the time to invest in format redesign is now. McKinsey – Read more…