{"id":34815,"date":"2019-08-08T09:00:03","date_gmt":"2019-08-08T16:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/industry\/blog\/?p=34815"},"modified":"2023-05-31T16:44:24","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T23:44:24","slug":"think-outside-the-retail-box-and-bag-and-cart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/industry\/blog\/retail\/2019\/08\/08\/think-outside-the-retail-box-and-bag-and-cart\/","title":{"rendered":"Think outside the retail box (and bag and cart)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Shopping has always been an experience. It\u2019s never just been about the goods. Products still matter, of course. But in the current \u201cexperience economy,\u201d where the most important currency is social currency, the ability to provide a photo-worthy experience is priceless. Beautiful packaging, immersive in-store interaction, and unique brand partnerships can all help connect your brand with the personal brand your customer is cultivating.<\/p>\n<p>In our digital world, there are no boundaries to creativity and innovation that can improve your customer\u2019s experience or provide new income streams. Every touch point of the shopping experience\u2014store space, shelving, displays, packaging, shopping bags, websites, and other digital assets\u2014has unrealized potential. Dream it, then make it happen.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What if your customers could try on products by simply looking in a mirror?<\/li>\n<li>Could you sell advertising space on your shelves for related services?<\/li>\n<li>How about a virtual shopping assistant app to help customers locate items?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Innovation is the key to differentiating your brand from competitors. Don\u2019t get stuck in pre-digital thinking. Every successful retailer puts customers first, but the amount of data available and the strength of data analysis can reveal opportunities in ways that weren\u2019t possible even a few years ago. And shoppers have changed, too.<\/p>\n<p>Gen Z shoppers especially present carefully curated images of themselves. <em>Does this product align with my beliefs as far as its origins? Does this brand stand for what I stand for? Does this item fit the \u201cme\u201d I want to be?<\/em> These are questions your brand needs to answer\u2014in a consistent and compelling way across all your channels\u2014in order to attract these customers.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve created an executive brief with more in-depth information about <a href=\"https:\/\/clouddamcdnprodep.azureedge.net\/gdc\/gdcsP4e0B\/original\">reimagining retail, and how technology fits in<\/a>. Check it out, and start exploring ways to innovate in your business.<\/p>\n<p>You may also be interested in <a href=\"https:\/\/info.microsoft.com\/ww-landing-Insights-for-the-savvy-retail-leader.html?lcid=en-us\"><u>Insights for the savvy retail leader<\/u><\/a>, where you can gather expert retail insights to evolve your business and learn from the success of others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the current \u201cexperience economy,\u201d where the most important currency is social currency, the ability to provide an Instagram-worthy experience is priceless. Learn more about how you can reimagine retail, and how technology fits in.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":415,"featured_media":34971,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_classifai_error":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1501],"post_tag":[],"content-type":[1483],"coauthors":[2556],"class_list":["post-34815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-retail","content-type-thought-leadership"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Think outside the retail box (and bag and cart) - Microsoft Industry Blogs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Every successful retailer puts customers first, but the amount of data available and the strength of data analysis can reveal opportunities in ways that weren\u2019t possible even a few years 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