App-y days

Apps have become a vital part of modern retail but how do you make sure you’re getting the app right for your business? Noah Baker from Red Ant explains all

Data-driven applications that enable retailers to enhance customer experiences based on customer insight are the future of retail. But there’s no point rolling out an app across stores nationwide if it’s not designed with users in mind. It’ll likely fail to move the needle on customer experience and store associate satisfaction and productivity.

A Salesforce 2022 survey reveals that nearly 90% of buyers say the experience a company provides matters as much as products or services.

For brands considering retail transformations, 21 percent of retailers surveyed by Red Ant claimed that their biggest retail tech challenge is confusion over which retail technologies to implement. And many retailers are easily distracted by shiny new retail apps which provide only surface level results and aren’t designed with their users – or long-term-loyalty - in mind. 

The importance of a user-first approach to app design

Probably the biggest barrier to retail tech adoption is lack of user understanding. Therefore, a user-first approach to app design and development that is based on a complete understanding of users - customers and store associates - is critical to success. But putting this into practice is all too often overlooked by retailers’ tech teams.

Focusing on this more human side of software means rethinking how to approach mobile design and ensure that the steps within processes address how the app can be used. But some retailers have not moved on from a time when there wasn’t a need for certain kinds of functionality to be built into their product and often have websites and apps that are lagging in the UX revolution.

Ultimately, retailers can’t afford to end up in a situation where tech designers have built an app which a huge subset of users can’t access or utilise effectively. As they are increasingly called upon to answer customers’ questions around sustainability, sizing, and other product information, the store associate is a vital conduit of information for a successful customer purchase, and needs to be afforded the same level of tech as the customer themselves. Designing accessible apps means designing them so all users – store associates, customers and management - can navigate their user interface quickly and easily. Ease of use is paramount to the success of an experience or app.

Key foundations for developing a user-first app

The discovery phase of the vendor/customer partnership is critical to building successful retail apps, in-store and online. Some key foundations for a user-first approach to application design and development include: 

Setting a vision and mutually agreed goals and challenges. The importance of vendor/retailer collaboration, in terms of balanced decision-making in the partnership, cannot be underestimated. Setting measurable targets with the CIO, eCommerce manager or product owner - depending on the size of the retailer - is critical so that retailers are clear on what success looks like, when they’ve got there and what the reporting and analytics will look like. As well as being a tactical team of experts, it’s also vital that the chosen tech partner is a strategist that can offer a vision.

Reporting is an intrinsic part of the process to prove how the technology is driving improvements and is cost-effective - thinking beyond sales revenue to evaluate factors including whether a clienteling app makes employees’ lives easier, and if it drives productivity.

A comprehensive tech infrastructure assessment is vital to understand what’s in the current ecosystem, what the challenges are and what the retailer is trying to achieve. Any tech dependency should be taken into consideration, including store WiFi and other Business as Usual (BAU) capabilities.

Creation of user stories and requirements gathering is an essential stage, to identify and understand users’ needs and preferences for the retail tech solution. It allows the team to see where the product can help them and identify where any gaps might be.

These short, informal descriptions of a software feature written from the perspective of the end user explore key how/who/where/when/what questions designed to demonstrate their value to users. Written in easily-accessible, non-technical language, they avoid the need for long, detailed functional requirements documents and ensure everyone is on the same page. They help create obtainable goals and to estimate budgets and delivery timelines.

Addressing real-world challenges such as, ‘As a frontliner, I want to be able to register a missed sale, so that I can record when a sale was missed due to lack of stock availability’, allows for a realistic, user-orientated approach to every project, and empowers the team to find the best technical solution.

End-user store visits and targeted workshops, especially sessions around customer data and client validation. This involves thinking about areas such as how product data will be affected or any customer permissions the tech partner needs to be aware of. These workshops will serve to define the high-level epics for the project.

Setting up a dedicated training programme to ensure that store associates understand how to use the new tech you’ve developed. Both internal and external training are key. Getting feedback from users is also a great way to innovate as it’s a team effort and functionality can always be refined.

True user-first design reaps rewards 

Many things must line up for retail transformation success, but designing apps with users in mind is the most effective route to their adoption. Vital elements also include having the right partnership balance, with dual responsibility between the tech partner and the client to make sure the right processes are in place to set the project up for success. Ultimately the retailer must have a clear understanding about what the tech will do, how it will be measured, and the part they play in success on the infrastructure side to enable the technology to work effectively.

A tech partner should also be able to facilitate the brand’s engagement with store staff so that they understand and positively embrace this new tech - the importance of training can’t be overstated. This means ensuring training is as seamless as possible up to and well past go live for all store associates and stakeholders. Being present at launch is vital to ensure any tech infrastructure issues are swiftly mitigated and that the app is embraced positively by all parties, with a proactive plan to get user feedback from day one. Teams can use feedback from users to adjust features and to guide future developments.

Designing retail apps with users’ needs in mind, providing ease of use and the right information at their fingertips will generate meaningful and impactful user experiences that truly boost sales and brand loyalty.