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Over the last few years, we have seen a steady decline in department stores throughout the UK. At the same time, many brands have reinvented their approach to traditional bricks-and-mortar.

Here’s what’s been happening and what we’ve been doing for our partners.

, both respectively in city centres. BUILT/ completely redesigned their format for builders and 

launched their first branch drive-thru experience

 – something we had a very large hand in designing with them.

These businesses share the push for efficiency, developing formats that display their entire range in much smaller spaces. All of these stores offer an improved customer experience and we will see more and more brands following suit over the coming year.

Brands around the world are pushing their digital content into their stores. 

McDonald's created industry-leading kiosks

 where customers can order their meals in a matter of minutes without ever having to queue at the till. JD Sports stores are 

enhanced with digital displays and kiosks

Five years had passed since three had launched their groundbreaking store format and their digital ticket experience had started to feel tired. We partnered with Scoop Retail to deliver a new digital ticket tool for three. Our focus was creating a rich experience where users can discover pricing content that is clear, visible, and dynamic. A perfect blend of customer experience and physical-digital integration.

The future of bricks-and-mortar will utilise technology to craft remarkable brand experiences. Cashierless, no check-out line experience as seen with 

 pushes the boundaries of machine learning and computer vision, creating a convenient and seamless shopping experience for customers.

Mobile apps will enhance the physical search and browsing experience within stores through augmented reality and mixed reality. Mobile payments will become even more important: brands that have this at the heart of their mobile strategy will deliver exemplary customer experiences.

If customers believe that bricks-and-mortar offers greater convenience and efficiency, they’ll shop there and become loyal fans for years to come. These three points are only a few of the many possible ways to enhance your physical experience. Speak with us to find out how we can support your brand in making the leap to enhanced brick-and-mortar experiences.

Glue

We’re in exciting times where the convergence of the physical and digital is finally happening. Technologies old and new are coming together; your brand now has the potential to deliver memorable interactions through evermore varied experiences.

So where should you be focussing your efforts in order to deliver killer experiences for your brand?

Your human resources department (HR) plays a vital part in ensuring the well-being of your employees. However, here at Glue, we believe that the employee experience doesn’t just stop there. In fact, it’s only the tip of the iceberg. Your employees – in most cases – will be one of the very first touch-points for your customers and probably the last. Inform, engage, and inspire your customers through your employees for a strong brand foundation. Your products and services will only ever be as great as the experience your employees deliver. By working hard to get this right, you can build out and create a strong, disruptive brand for the future.

Digital user experience (UX) has become key in any brand over the last decade. We’ve seen the explosion across LinkedIn where every other brand is hiring UX teams like mad. This is great, as a lot of businesses could do with the input. Yet, on the other hand, physical UX has been completely forgotten about. It may be a familiar story hearing your customers ordering products for collection just to be let down in store (read 

 to solve this): but it doesn’t have to be your brand’s reality. Treat your digital and physical UX equally. From a critical and creative point of view, they are one and the same. It’s only when you deliver these experiences should they differ accordingly.

Six ways to improve your customer experience

, we explained how customer experience unites both your brand and customer around a single vision. This is crucial to ensuring you deliver a personalised experience every time they interact with you. By looking at brands such as Netflix and Spotify, we can see how deep personalisation works; user segments deliver individual experiences through the use of data. Understanding your customer's experiences and how they relate to each other is important. By getting this right, you can bet your shiny pennies on customer experiences that deliver for every one of your customers.

You can shape your overall brand experience by working from the inside out. This is how you build valuable brand equity. It’s important to get this right as it’s what you’ll be known for. In a previous post, 

Branding: it’s All About the Experience

, we talked about branding that focuses on time and effort. This is just one of the many brand experiences your business can be known for – past its snazzy logo, cool tone of voice, and overall mission, of course.

The key takeaway is understanding your brand needs to deliver consistent experiences across both physical and digital arenas. Past that, you need to make these experiences immersive, engaging, and truly memorable. Be vigilant and train your employees to deliver memorable experiences, just like you do for your user and customer experiences. By doing this, without a doubt, your brand experience will cut through the proliferation of choice and not falter.

Bricks-and-mortar (the future of)

Over the last few years, we have seen a steady decline in department stores throughout the UK. At the same time, many brands have reinvented their approach to traditional bricks-and-mortar.

New formats

Digital impetus

Enhanced experience

Conclusion