Experiential Retail Essay

1474 Words6 Pages
Topic: Experiential Retailing Companies and consumers alike understand that it is obsolete to simply stock up products on shelves and expect it to sell well. Over the years, companies have implemented the use of marketing strategies and advertising with the goal of increasing sales. One such tool that has been gaining popularity nowadays amongst retailers is experiential retailing. Experiential retailing, according to Healy, Beverland , Oppewal and Sands (2007) is a strategy that is utilized in order to transform the products and services alike into a consumption experience for the consumers. It seeks to satisfy the emotional and hedonic needs of the consumer as well as their functional needs, whilst seeking to capture the brand’s essence in the process (Kim, Sullivan &Forney, 2007). Experiential retailing comes in many forms including the use of technology, extravagant store design, entertainment and interactive booths, all of which is aimed to engage the consumer and create an immersive and enjoyable shopping experience for them when purchasing their desired goods and services (Pine &Gilmore, 2011). ). Focusing on the in-store experience, would therefore increase frequency of visits and dwell time which in turns increases sales, profitability and long-term customer loyalty. In this essay, eBay will be used as the business example to be discussed in regards to the above statement. The four experiential realms will be referenced and considered in view of eBay’s efforts and attempts on experiential retailing. EBay can be summarized as primarily an online auction site that allows customers to create individual online stores to sell their products. This process is facilitated by the ability to create communities of interest, a safe paying service and a peer review process in the global environment. What it achieves through this is the removal of physical
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