How to Keep Up with Amazon and Capture Consumer Interest

SUMMARY: Amazon has set the standard in retail by creating a seamless, intuitive online shopping experience. In the minds of consumers, this is now the level of excellence to surpass, and retailers are consistently challenged with providing an experience that delivers. But there is a way to simplify and achieve this goal. Read on the find out the key elements you need for a retail experience that stands out.

If you want to buy a pet duck or rabbit, don’t look on Amazon. Live animals are included as part of the four categories that the most successful retailer on the planet will not sell. (Houses, cars, and cigarettes are in the other three.) It says a lot about the kind of customer experience the retail giant brings to the table.

Named after the world’s longest river, Amazon is known not only for its endless selection of goods (minus the live animals), but also for its intuitive customer experience—an experience the rest of the world must emulate to keep consumer interest.

But, while we see Jeff Bezos and Amazon leading the charge, it’s important to note that they are taking the lead from someone else: the customer. And customers have changed the way they shop over the past few years.

The Bar is Broad and High

It’s no secret that the COVID pandemic fast-tracked the digital transformation of retail, and the result has shifted consumer demands significantly. Many want online or contactless interactions, immersive experiences, and digital support channels like chatbots. All these changes have made an unprecedented shift towards digital retail experiences that offer the convenience that Amazon has been differentiating with all along—and adding special touches like personalized product recommendations, lightning-quick delivery, unparalleled customer service, and unique loyalty perks.

With the bar so high, it can be overwhelming to know where to invest your time and energy. Amazon has kept on course by adhering to a simple yet critical set of principles. The good news is that these are elements all retailers can use to stay on top of digital transformation and customer demands:

Convenience and Efficiency

This is not your grandmother’s shopping experience—or is it? The pandemic has forced new generations to embrace digital experiences, and they have chosen to keep them. Online shopping and curbside pickup are now the norm. Amazon’s one-day shipping has raised the expediency expectations of customers.

You can offer the same level of convenience and efficiency by optimizing your corporate network. Elements like cloud-driven network management or Wi-Fi 6 connectivity elevate network flow and make it possible to accommodate faster services or services that are outside of the norm.

Build a Network Powered for Next-Level Retail

Social Media Rules

Years in isolation have introduced people to TikTok and Instagram as *the* place to discover new products. Have you come across Dan-O’s Seasoning yet? A couple of fun, entertaining food experiments and walkthrough recipes on TikTok have sales skyrocketing.

You can leverage this level of social commerce by taking the time to understand online options like Instagram and TikTok and finding powerful ways to use them. The built-in analytics for these apps alone is worth the time. And when sales spike from your newfound online presence, you’ll want a solid wireless network to support the load.

Brand Awareness

It’s no longer enough to have a tiny alligator on your chest or a swoosh on the side of your shoe. Consumers want to know what goes with it. What do you stand for? And does it align with their values? How environmentally conscious are you and where do you source your materials? Brands in the past five years have been made and broken by the answers to these questions.

You can make your brand reputation a good one by doing some corporate soul searching and digging into your mission statement. What do your customers really care about? The trick, according to social media company Buffer (whose customers include Shopify), is to ensure your business lives and breathes your brand. Use the above tips to demonstrate how your company lives out those principles corporately and within the community and world.

The Network is the Key

Ultimately, the network is the key to making it all work logistically and operationally. Think of it as the canal for your river. Extreme has a sophisticated set of networking options that can provide retailers with the visibility and control needed to upgrade their customer experience. Through these solutions, retailers can connect quickly, reliably, consistently, and securely across multiple locations while maintaining visibility into retail traffic patterns across the entire network. This helps you access real-time insights on customer visits, buying decisions, and other behaviors.

Making It All Flow Together

Keeping afloat and in the flow with customer expectations may be a major challenge. The twists and turns along the way are keeping retailers challenged. And the standard set by Amazon is making it extra tricky. But by focusing on three key elements and priming your company network for growth and change, you can stay afloat—even competitive—in today’s market.