According to last night’s Channel 4 episode of Supershoppers, women are spending less on clothes and shoes on the high street.
Last year, spending on these items was down by £1billion, partly due to online shopping but mainly because they plumped for spending their hard-earned cash on experiences over fashion.
Consumers are increasingly spending more money on activities such as going out and eating out, rather than “things” as part of an increasing desire for experiences, a trend that clever retailers are exploiting by providing in-store experiences that tempt shoppers to spend again.
The programme reported that Next were looking to incorporate a florist, an upmarket restaurant and a prosecco bar into their stores.
Italian footwear brand Superga are looking at employing artists to paint trainers to give their customers a unique product, tapping into another key trend - personalisation.
Consumers are now demanding and expecting more from retailers, illustrated in the examples highlighted in this episode.
In London, SweatyBetty offers free in-store yoga classes with instructors/Brand Ambassadors donning the latest lines, just like living models.
River Island’s flagship store boasts a VIP style studio, offering customers a personal shopper service complete with complimentary Prosecco.
To promote their swimwear range, TOPSHOP reminds shoppers to get ready for their summer holidays with the scent of sunscreen and a virtual reality water slide experience at their Oxford Street store.
It’s clear that retailers need to adapt how they engage with customers and adopt experiential marketing strategies to keep up with these growing trends and expectations.
As an experiential agency, we know this and adopt such an approach as part of our Brand Activations where we see experiences working every day for our clients in many sectors, not just on the high street.
It’s always great to hear that we are indeed ahead of the game and we continue to stay abreast of growing trends to engage our clients’ customers via relevant, memorable and bespoke experiences, just like those reported by Supershoppers.
