Presentations

Bridging the Gap between In-Store and Online Retail Experiences

Session Title

Bridging the Gap between In-Store and Online Retail Experiences

Presenter

Jennifer Darmour, Artefact Group

Session Type: Presentation

With more information on retail products available via social networks, forums and specialized Web sites, as well as on retailers’ site, consumers are doing much more online research on both small and big price tag purchases. Online sales are growing faster than the overall retail market at 17-24 percent year over year (according to Shop.org and Forrester research) and even though retail sales are expected to drop, the drop is expected to affect online retail much less than traditional retail. In addition, according to Jupiter Research, 77 percent of all online shoppers employ user-generated product reviews and ratings and 25 percent consult social and community sites to conduct research on potential purchases.

Artefact user experience designer, Jennifer Darmour, would like to offer a sneak peak at what the future holds for retail user experiences, particularly as retailers attempt to bridge the gap between online and in-store purchases. Artefact believes that in-store and online shopping experiences will become much more integrated — especially for shopping experiences that involve a great deal of research.

Jennifer will also discuss how designers can help retailers find significant ROI by implementing a different approach to both shopping experiences, specifically:
* How to increase user loyalty and stickiness between online and offline channels
* Effectively leverage the inevitable force of social media in shopping
* Future retail-focused prototypes showcasing how brands may bridge online and offline shopping experiences
* Customer trends/demands that point to a more integrated shopping/branding approach

In addition, Jennifer can speak about how many companies, particularly retailers, are looking for ways to create relevant/personalized feeds for their target customers that go beyond Facebook and Twitter. Jennifer can speak about what companies need to consider when developing personalized feeds for its target audiences, why they have become a point of interest particularly for retailers and what makes feeds one of the most relevant and effective ways to reach target audiences.

Biography

With over a decade of experience in interaction design and software, Jennifer focuses on research-led design solutions to help create experiences that people fall in love with. She holds a Master’s degree from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, where she studied new processes of interaction design within multidisciplinary design teams. This experience combined with her entrepreneurial spirit helped to grow five software-based start-ups that range from the music industry in Nashville, Tennessee to B2B software in her hometown of Portland, Oregon. She has also worked for large companies and design agencies such as Nike, adidas, and Wieden + Kennedy to help bring them rich user experiences.

Prior to joining Artefact, Jennifer designed new user experiences for products such as Microsoft’s Live Search and Virtual Earth maps. Working in collaboration with other user experience teams, she also combined research and design thinking in order to inspire design direction across the company.

One Comment

  1. Posted September 17, 2009 at 2:40 pm

    Look forward to hearing about multi-channel experiences–especially from more traditional brand retailers who previously siloed ecommerce and in-store commerce. How do you counsel them to reorganize their businesses (and business units) to create a more consistent cross-channel experience for consumers?