We’ve traditionally used media to drive consumers into stores. \u00a0If marketers could get us across the store threshold, their job was largely done. \u00a0In other words, the store was the end<\/em> of the marketing funnel – the goal line so to speak.<\/p>\n

Increasingly, stores will instead act as branded media. \u00a0They will function less as places that simply sell products and more like interactive galleries, showrooms and workshops – places where consumers can have aesthetic, visceral and emotional experiences with the brand – that can’t be replicated online. In this sense the store will become the customer’s first<\/em> brand touchpoint – not the last. \u00a0The entry point of the marketing funnel.<\/p>\n

With this shift, the financial expectations of stores will change. \u00a0Brands will regard their stores less as sales and profit centers and more as a marketing and media expense. \u00a0Conventional store success metrics like sales per square foot and inventory turns, will steadily give way to marketing and media-based metrics. \u00a0A good day in-store won’t be entirely about how many widgets were sold but also about how many positive impressions were generated and how those impressions converted into social buzz and ongoing brand interactions.<\/p>\n

Today’s stores work to fill the customers cart with product. \u00a0The store of tomorrow will work to fill customer’s handhelds with branded media, applications and other digital incentives to form a relationship with the brand. \u00a0In other words, the store of the future will not simply aim to open the customer’s wallet but also to open their minds and hearts to the brand in its totality.<\/p>\n

This concept represents a profound paradigm shift \u00a0and one that will be problematic for many retailers to get their arms around. \u00a0For savvy retail brands on the other hand, it will represent the next frontier of retail supremacy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Doug Stephens There’s an ongoing debate about the viability of “bricks and mortar” retail in a digital world. \u00a0With online and mobile commerce growing at [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[12,42,24,118,31,78,27,23,40],"class_list":["post-1162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-experience","tag-future","tag-retail","tag-retail-prophet","tag-retail-trends","tag-shopper-marketing-3","tag-social-media-2","tag-trends","tag-trendwatching"],"yoast_head":"\n