The web doesn’t work like it used to. And that’s a great thing for retailers.
For the past 15 years or so, a customer would “browse” to a retailer’s e-commerce site, “navigate” a catalog of products, maybe buy something, and then leave. Online retail has been a solitary, hidden experience for even a brand’s most loyal shoppers.
Although this model is still the norm for many e-commerce sites, new shopping experiences are based on something different, the social retail model. The social retail model hinges on two particular aspects of the customer experience that, when executed correctly, marketers and merchandisers can leverage to great advantage: app-ification and amplification.
“App-ification”
The social- and mobile-centric web is starting to app-ify; as we’ve learned from mobile, apps are the most universal container for user experiences and the exchange of value between brands and consumers. Whether they ultimately install an app on their iPhone, or click “allow” on a Facebook permissions dialogue, consumers are following the same basic engagement flow:
- Discover the app, typically through the content or experience it contains.
- Allow the app, either by installing it or allowing it access to profile information.
- Experience the app, which offers some mix of utility (e.g., shopping), content (e.g., news), or entertainment (e.g., gaming).
- Share content from the app, either explicitly or automatically (such as through Facebook’s frictionless sharing). [Read the rest here]
