Omnichannel Retail, 2nd Edition

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‘Near me’: the importance of place

In an era where the smartphone is an always-on device, capable of real-time tracking and one-to-one communication at extremely low cost, businesses no longer need to rely on the expensive plastic cards and direct mailings that were once at the very heart of loyalty propositions all over the world. What you do need, however, is a reason for someone to identify themselves and connect to you – most likely using their own mobile device – every time they visit your store.

In my opinion, the most important challenge facing retail today is the conundrum of what to do when you don’t have a customer connection in the physical store. Even when you have an online connection, it likely does not extend consistently to ...