(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Today's consumers are king as they have an abundance of choice for shopping such as stores, websites and apps on their smartphones, according to industry specialists.
All retailers, either online or offline, need to be competitive and innovative to attract consumers, this was agreed upon by experts at the recently-concluded Middle East Retail Forum in Dubai.
They discussed that the role of physical stores must be re-evaluated as more and more shoppers are buying online, lured by websites and smartphone apps that make it easier than ever to navigate abundant choices and locate the best deals.
The old notion of a linear customer journey is rapidly evolving into a more mosaic approach. In response, retailers are seeking to understand how shopping behaviours are changing as consumers gain more choice, access and power across channels.
Retailers need to create a more seamless experience that keeps shoppers engaged with their brand. By not delivering a smooth and connected shopping experience, they risk losing control of transactions and loyalty.
"Changing the rules of consumer engagement" was one of the topics at the forum, with Jacky's Electronics chief operating officer Ashish Panjabi hosting that panel, which put a spotlight on various touch-points of consumer engagement.
Panelists explained how various channels, bricks and mortars and e-commerce work together to enhance retail sales. Globally, e-commerce is estimated to reach $1.4 trillion by 2015.
"Online is not going to compete with offline but complement each other. We see very encouraging signs for multichannel retailing," Tejuri managing director Ayaz Maqbool said during the discussion.
The panelists agreed that the growing use of the Internet in the GCC is ensuring that consumers are now availing multichannels to shop. This trend will continue to grow, they added.
"Social media is great and it plays the most important part today. So Facebook is the most common platform. Twitter also has been very important for us," said Panjabi, who is involved in both the online and offline electronics retail businesses.
"For electronics, I think a lot has been Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Blogs are also very important because you can do a lot reviews, advice, and your own columns. We have been publishing a lot of things like bloggers," he explained further.
Another panelist, Mumzworld founder and chief executive officer Mona Ataya, mentioned value-added serviced available for online shoppers. She said a product video demo helps a lot to know about the product and then reviews provide specialised information.
Space is also an issue for stocking at physical stores, but online stores have plenty of space for products, she added. "Videos of products and reviews are an important experience as sky is the limit in virtual space," she explained. Another advantage, which online stores have is 24/7 availability, according to her. Despite having 24-hour access to consumers for easy shopping from their home, online stores plan special offers to attract buyers on weekends. All the panelists agreed that online traffic goes down during the weekend as people go out for shopping.
"We definitely get more discussions happening during the weekdays online on social media. It works for us on the weekend - if we put offers," Panjabi said.
Another panelist endorsed Panjabi: "Holidays and weekend customers are out in stores. So it's better to plan campaigns," JadoPado.com founder Omar Kassim said.
Talking about competition, he remarked: "Work hard to deal with competition."
Kassim said that most of the traffic comes during office work hours and lunch break. Panjabi, meanwhile, agreed with lunch break, aas well as after 6:30pm when most people reach home.
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