If you’re not convinced of the importance of increasing the rates of user engagement with your customers then just look at this statistic. 86% of consumers are willing to pay more for a better experience with a brand.
What’s one easy way to do this if you’re the owner of a retail store? Invest in retail fixtures and digital displays. When it comes to retail store fixtures, there’s one important goal to keep in mind. You need to focus on getting to stick around.
With the right design, you can create an engaging space that encourages customers to explore and discover new products. If you’re not sure how to do that then that’s what we’re here for.
Here are a few tips on improving user engagement by creatively using retail store fixtures.
What Are Retail Store Fixtures?
What are we referring to when we talk about retail store fixtures? In a broader sense, retail store fixtures are the visual merchandising infrastructure of a retail store. This includes:
- Display racks
- Gondola shelving units
- Gridwall
- Check-out counters
- Display table
This includes all physical elements used to display products for sale in a retail environment. This means that you must choose retail store fixtures carefully. They must match the merchandise that you sell. It’s also important that they match the overall atmosphere and image of the store.
If you’re careful about how you select and place retail store fixtures then you can notice a significant impact on sales. How so? You’re helping to create an inviting and visually appealing shopping experience for customers.
However, keep in mind that we live in a digital age. There are other types of retail fixtures that you can incorporate into your store’s design that can help you increase customer engagement.
From MediaHubs to digital user interfaces, there’s a lot you can do to help create an engaging, interactive environment that will leave your customers interested enough to continue to come back to do business with your brand.
Why Is User Engagement in Retail Important
Before we explore how you can use different types of retail displays to increase user engagement in-store, you must understand just how critical this can be to the success of your business.
As mentioned in the study linked above, consumers are willing to pay more for a great in-store experience. However, by offering them unique, engaging experiences you’re also making it easier to foster a sense of customer loyalty.
This is where your investment in these retail fixtures starts to pay off. Studies show that increasing customer retention by just 5% can improve your sales by nearly 30%. As you likely know, repeat customers are essential for any retail business. Customer engagement is the key to building those long-lasting relationships.
In addition, customer engagement can also lead to increased sales in other ways. You don’t need to focus solely on longtime, loyal customers. For example, customers who feel engaged are more likely to make impulse purchases and recommend products to their friends.
How to Engage Shoppers With Retail Fixtures
Are you convinced of the benefits of investing in retail fixtures and in-store features to help increase user engagement for your shoppers? Great! Then, the next step is to learn about the unique ways to incorporate those into your store’s layout.
Here are a few ways that you can engage shoppers with retail fixtures. It’s important to note that these should all work regardless of what niche of retail you find yourself in. You can also use the tips in different business settings. This includes corporate offices and even schools or universities.
Improve Your Lighting Setup
Improving your in-store lighting can have a big impact on consumer engagement. Namely, by making sure that your store is well-lit, you can create a more inviting and welcoming environment for shoppers.
However, more than simply ensuring your store is well-lit, it pays to get creative with how and when certain areas light up.
For example, try setting up motion-activated interior light displays. Or, you can even use audio-activated light displays for certain products. Both tactics will help the user feel immersed in the experience of exploring the product they’re interested in.
Any way in which you’re able to successfully incorporate digital elements or retail fixtures into the real-time user experience you’re sure to increase engagement.
This includes installing lighting that changes with the audio, video display, or even real-time customer movements or actions. It draws attention to the experience. It also makes the user feel like they’re a part of whatever they’re doing. When they feel a part of something, they’re more invested in the outcome and more likely to buy.
Feature User-Generated Content on Digital Displays
If you’re merely interested in using digital displays to allow your shoppers to benefit from audio or video presentations then there are ways that you can work to create the right type of media content that will engage them.
For example, by featuring user-generated content on digital displays, you can create an interactive and engaging experience for customers through short, simple videos. This will not only increase customer engagement but also loyalty and repeat business.
This is because they will be able to see how other customers are using the product. They’ll be able to see how it has helped them. Strategically place these digital displays around products that are either difficult to understand how to use or difficult to justify due to the price point.
In the user-generated videos, you display you can then walk potential buyers through the process of how to use the product (making it seem less difficult to use). Or, you can show how happy one consumer is that they made the purchase (making it easier to justify the price).
Focus on Creating Immersive Experiences
There are a lot of digital retail solutions these days. If you want to be successful with this marketing and sales tactic then you’ll want to incorporate more than one solution into your retail fixtures.
In today’s digital world, shoppers are used to having immersive experiences. They prefer activating all of their senses at once. It’s why we’re all so addicted to engaging IG Reels and Tik Toks. They use video and audio to engage our senses.
So, if you want to increase user engagement in your retail store, you need to create an immersive digital experience that goes beyond the traditional shopping experience. How can you do this?
Use video and audio to create a more immersive experience. Video can be used to showcase products and services, while audio can be used to create an ambiance that engages shoppers on an emotional level while they’re viewing the demonstration.
You can also use interactive displays to give shoppers a chance to try out products and services. Make sure these displays are easy to use and engaging so that shoppers don’t get frustrated and give up.
Or, you can create an in-store display that mixes automation, video, audio, motion sensing, and manual controls like the one we created for BedGear advanced demonstration. As mentioned, combining all of these unique features into one experience creates a powerful experience.
As part of this demonstration, users were able to benefit from passive and interactive video experiences. Then, as the video guided them through the physical demonstration, audio recordings helped highlight the features of the bed.
Expertly placed and engineered lighting and sensors added an extra special touch.
Make Retail Fixtures User-Friendly
Making retail fixtures and displays user-friendly is important for several reasons. Mostly, it helps to increase customer engagement. If customers can easily interact with displays and products, they are more likely to spend time in your store.
Additionally, user-friendly displays and the right fixture design can help to create a positive customer experience. If customers have a positive experience in your store, they are more likely to come back in the future.
Basically, by making it easy for users to interact with your retail fixtures and in-store displays or demonstrations, you’re ensuring that they’re able to enjoy the full effect of whatever you’re demonstrating or showing them.
Show them that you have their interests and preferences in mind during every step of the in-store sales journey.
One simple example of this is to incorporate touchless elements into your demonstrations. Allow them to wave their hand over a sensor to activate the demonstration. Not only is this feature user-friendly and hygienic in today’s age but it’s also unique and engaging.
Who is going to be able to pass by that demonstration and not wave their hand over the sensor to start the experience? It’s user-friendly but also engaging and novel enough to intrigue other shoppers.
Engineer a Unique In-Store Experience
While increasing user engagement through retail fixtures is an important part of today’s retail shopping experience, it can be hard to craft the right experiences alone. At Ascentic Retail Engineering, we’re here to help engineer the right experiences.
We use our years of experience and expertise in electronic design and innovative engineering to create in-store displays, demonstrations, and setups that will engage and wow your customers.
Ready to give us a try? Have more questions? Get in touch and we’d love to chat with you about your business needs.