Why retailers should consider appointment shopping

Though facing challenging times throughout 2020 and now 2021, retail has never been quicker to adapt, and new innovations, solutions, and initiatives consistent with restrictions have seen the light of day. Although not an entirely new phenomenon, appointment shopping has given retailers the opportunity to not only provide customers with a safe shopping trip but also a more personalized experience. Here’s why you should consider appointment shopping – during and after the pandemic.

In a Covid-19 world, online sales are soaring. Even though consumers still prefer the physical store to the online webshop, right now they are nervous and cautious to visit brick-and-mortar stores due to health concerns. Appointment shopping offers customers a secure and safe way of shopping.

70% of consumers don’t feel comfortable resuming their normal out-of-home activities during the pandemic(1)

Appointment shopping is an already familiar concept to consumers; they are used to booking a doctor’s appointment, a visit at the hairdressers or a table at a restaurant. In a retail context, it means booking a time slot online to shop in your physical store – alone or accompanied and guided by an employee.

In this way, retailers can avoid lines and ensure a restricted number of people in the store at the same time while enforcing social distancing rules and show customers that you prioritize their safety. By using a booking system and time slots, staff can also safeguard time for cleaning and disinfecting between customer visits and determine how much staff is needed on a given day.

Keep the customer relationship strong

Long-lasting and good customer relationships are best formed physically with engagement and interaction with products and employees, and appointment shopping offers a way to keep connecting with your customers in person in a safe way during the pandemic. But it also gives customers a highly personalized shopping experience with one-on-one service, where the employee is fully focused on the one customer and her unique needs and desires.

Personalized shopping experiences are highly sought after by the customers, why appointment shopping should not be limited to pandemic times. 20% of customers are willing to pay more for a personalized service(2), and 77% of customers indicate, that the service level and friendliness of the in-store staff can be decisive for where they choose to shop.3 Further, personalized experiences incentivizes actually buying, as the products and services presented will be far more relevant to the customer, while customers who make an appointment for shopping usually also do so with the intent of purchasing. Hence, appointment shopping should not only be considered as a Covid-19 measure, but as an add-on to store offerings to provide more personalized, service-focused shopping experiences that drive bigger basket sizes.