How retailers can make brick-and-mortar consumers' first choice

In a world where almost anything you want can arrive at your doorstep in mere days (or less), how do you convince shoppers to visit brick-and-mortar retail stores?

The right product selection, effective merchandising, and sufficient inventory levels are critical first steps; consumers who leave your store empty-handed because they can't find what they want aren't likely to return if they can simply place an order online. But retailers who want customers to walk through their doors instead of shop through their screens need more than the basics; they must reimagine the type of in-store experiences they deliver.

Here are three strategies retailers who want to make shopping in-store a choice instead of a chore should consider.

Surprise and delight

You "surprise and delight" a customer when you reward them unexpectedly, often for no reason other than to make them feel valued.

"Surprise and delight" tactics often don't require a lot of investment; you simply need to think of points along your customer's retail journey where you can do something unexpected to make them smile. For example, what if you handed a small confectionary to customers at the checkout counter along with their sales receipts? The investment would be negligible, but most customers would be delighted to accept this unexpected token of appreciation.

"Surprise and delight" tactics make customers feel appreciated for visiting your store, a feeling they're likely to remember the next time they need to buy.

Add amenities

The easiest way to make a retail shopping trip more exciting is to make it more than just a retail shopping trip: it's the reason many grocery stores have national-brand coffee kiosks at their entrances and flagship stores prioritize brand experience over sales.

Amenities come in all shapes and sizes. Some IKEA stores feature a free play area for the convenience of customers who visit the store with their children. Is "a place to drop off your children while you shop in peace" an amenity? Ask any parent: Absolutely!

You might not have the space for a Starbucks or mani-pedi location within your store, but you might be surprised by how much space you can find by getting rid of products that aren't generating their fair share of your store's profits. If you're not selling a lot of a given category, especially if the category isn't particularly strategic or profitable for your business, consider reallocating that space to an amenity that will enhance your in-store experience.

Finally, remember that not every amenity will require floor space: think free Wi-Fi, product samples, and wall-mounted interactive displays to name but a few examples.

Offer a treasure hunt

If you want a great example of a treasure hunt strategy within a retail environment, look no further than TJ Maxx. When you walk into a TJ Maxx location, you don't know exactly what you're going to find… and that's exactly the point.

Part of the shopping experience is the joy of finding a designer shirt on a rack otherwise filled with non-descript clothing or a luxury bag on a table where you might otherwise never expect it to be; the thrill of the hunt combined with the possibility they'll find a high-value treasure at a less-than-expected price keeps customers coming back to the store again and again.

Costco, the third largest retailer in the world, uses the "treasure hunt strategy" incredibly well. While Costco typically keeps the location of staple items fairly consistent (perhaps because it's no fun hunting for laundry detergent), the center section of each warehouse, the space at each end of every aisle, and often a few shelves within each category section offer shoppers a rotating selection of unique products. Costco shoppers know that when they see a product they like, they need to buy it immediately because the item might not be there the next time they visit.

Enable your shoppers to discover high-value items they may not expect and create an urgency to buy using product selections with limited-time availability: these are two important lessons we can learn about the treasure-hunt strategy from two retailers who execute it magnificently.

Of course, not every retailer can be a TJ Maxx or Costco; both have fully integrated a treasure hunt strategy into their business models, impacting everything from their store layouts to the way they choose the products they sell. But every retailer can adopt some version of the treasure hunt to keep shoppers engaged and coming back for more.

One way to do this might be to designate a "treasured finds" section of your store. The amount of space you designate is up to you: it can be a shelf, an end-aisle display, or a complete section. Make the necessary space by analyzing your current assortment and discontinuing the products that generate below-average profit or don't serve a strategic business purpose. Then invite local businesses near each of your locations to submit items for consideration; local products can be rotated in and out of your designated space as often as you're able to manage the change.

Your shoppers will get to discover local items they might not otherwise have found. Your local businesses will have an additional account in which to generate revenue. And you'll offer a treasure-hunt experience to your customers that will not only earn you some goodwill for supporting local businesses but also justify premium prices for a unique (and uniquely curated) product assortment not readily available at your competitor's store. Win-win-win!