Bertrand Esclasse

Head of the retail design agency UX In Situ

How can physical stores remain the preferred choice of consumers?

Stimulating, human, digital: these are the crucial qualities of stores in the omni-channel era. We spoke with Bertrand Esclasse, head of UX In Situ, an agency specialised in the comprehensive design of points of sale.

What is your view of current efforts by retailers to improve their points of sale?

I wouldn’t call it an effort to improve, but rather to rethink existing models. The trend hasn’t really taken off yet, but pure players in e-commerce or manufacturing who are opening their first physical stores, like Made.com and Sensee.fr, have started to break the mould. Meanwhile, established retailers such as Fnac, Darty, and even the Post Office, have made serious changes in their store design. We don’t necessarily notice these changes because the brand identity remains the same, but innovations in the way customers are welcomed and served - thanks in part to digital technologies - go beyond ordinary improvements to distribution and can represent a radical shift.

What form does the break from existing models take?

Breakaways are tied to the rise of omni-channel distribution. Most retailers have developed a commercial website intended to function in synergy with their network of stores. But this can only work well if the physical point of sale is adapted in a coherent manner. Given the enormous advantage of e-commerce in terms of information, operating hours and comfort, how can physical stores remain the preferred choice of consumers? In the past four or five years, that is precisely the focus of our client missions.

Describe your approach?

We have to rethink the customer experience by situating it in the omni-channel context: the shopping path doesn’t necessarily start in front of the shop window; it most likely starts on the internet. Have the customers in the store already gathered the information they need? Are they coming to collect a purchase, ask for advice, see the product, try it on or test it? All of these questions require a specific response in the layout of the store, the signage and the way salespeople handle customers. The aim is to offer customers the best possible experience. This involves digital tools, used either by the customer or the salesperson, which facilitate information, selection and handover of the product. But it also involves something that stores have and websites don’t: stimulation and human presence. The way products are presented is absolutely essential. In our view, merchandising should be an integral part of store design and stores must seize on this advantage to outperform e-commerce. As for the human qualities of the store experience, this is still quite a challenge in the world of distribution. It will take serious investment in training sales teams not only to know the products, but also to advise customers on the product that suits their individual needs.