‘The Hub’, which is being tested at the Myer store in Parramatta, Sydney, seems to be an attempt by the company to reassert its relevance in a digital age and overcome declining profits.
The company’s six month results to end of January 2015 showed a 23 per cent loss in net profit after tax and a full year guidance up to 24 per cent lower than the previous year’s profit.
Commenting on the new concept, a Myer spokesperson told Jeweller, “[The Hub] brings together the digital/online shopping experience with a range of concierge services in one convenient, in-store location – Myer’s ‘open kitchen’ of e-commerce.”
The 80 square metre installation – positioned in a central, high-traffic location on the store’s ground floor – incorporates a host of digital features, including a place for customers to charge their phones, a digital media wall that displays company video content, and a free wireless internet access hotspot that allows customers to access exclusive promotions via an app that downloads to their phone once connected.
Consumers can also access online and physical services at the hub such as picking up online purchases using ‘Click and Collect’; making appointments and ordering products in-store using iPads; and accessing a “bespoke service allowing the customer to touch, feel and try on the items they’ve browsed online” through Myer’s new ‘Click and Try’ service.
“[The Hub] builds on the move towards more decentralised fulfilment to create more value and better experiences for customers,” the spokesperson explained.
Takeaways for jewellers
Peter Ryan, director of Red Communication Australia, said although Myer’s concept created a strong “focal point” for multi-channel retailing, there were better ways in which retailers – including jewellers – could integrate digital features within their businesses.
“The reality moving forward for most retailers is that it [multi-channel retailing] needs to be better integrated than Myer’s hub. They need to ensure that it’s not a single point but actually seamless right across everything that they do,” he explained.
“What’s important is how you reach, stimulate and connect to customers in order to make the most out of your relationship with them.”
Ryan believed the majority of this relationship was developed in-store, noting that many retailers were focusing too many resources on their online presence and neglecting the physical environment where profits were actually generated.
“The digital era isn’t going away, and omni-channel [multi-channel] is part of the future, so I would encourage the jewellery industry to embrace it, but to understand where it actually fits within the customer experience.”
Ryan said the key area for online engagement with jewellery customers was through pre-purchase research.
“Jewellery is an area where you can seduce and bring the customer towards you with a great online presence, and you miss an opportunity if you don’t do that,” he said.
“But at the end of the day, it’s the physical experience that you give them in-store that’s going to make the difference as to how much money you make, because the most powerful selling engagement you can have is person to person.”
More reading
Amazon rumoured to trial brick-and-mortar store
Blue Nile shifts to bricks-and-mortar retailing
Internet-only retailers lose their mojo
Google ‘buy’ retail boon or devil’s bargain