How Burberry is Building the Store of the Future
Burberry is known for being a leader in digital technology especially amongst luxury brands. In the mid 2000s Burberry set a goal to become the first fully digital luxury company and then embraced eCommerce, social media and live streaming long before many other luxury brands. Since then Burberry has continued to have a strong vision for how to use technology to provide a better customer experience. This vision is on display in Burberry’s first “social retail store” in Shenzhen China which opened in 2020.
Since China represents 40% of Burberry’s sales it was a natural place to test a new concept like a “social retail store”. Another part of the rationale for opening a store like this is while consumers spend a lot of time online discovering products, particularly through social media, they also want to experience a brand offline. Here are some of the features of Burberry’s “social retail store” that give some insight into what the store of the future will look like.
1. One of the features that stands out about this store concept is that it is integrated with WeChat. WeChat is the most popular messaging app in China with more than 1 billion users. Burberry and Tencent owned WeChat thought deeply about how WeChat could be integrated into the shopping experience at Burberry especially since that’s where so many consumers are spending their time. Burberry has also found that 80% of Burberry’s customers have used a digital touchpoint in advance of shopping in person making the integration with WeChat beneficial.
2. Customers shopping at Burberry can use a mini program in WeChat to book fitting rooms, merchandise to try on, make appointments with sales associates and share exclusive content with others on social media.
3. By scanning a product’s QR code customers can access more information about the merchandise in the store.
4. Customers can book store tours and make a reservation at Thomas, the in-store café, all while using WeChat.
5. Customers also gain digital currency by playing a game through a WeChat mini program which they can trade in for rewards some of which include exclusive menu items at the Thomas cafe.
Do you like this content? If you do subscribe to our retail trends newsletter to get the latest retail insights & trends delivered to your inbox
“Burberry has always been a brand of firsts, built on a belief that creativity has the power to open spaces. We test new ideas and push the boundaries of what’s possible,” said Marco Gobbetti, Burberry’s former CEO. “When it came to innovating around social and retail, China was the obvious place to go as home to some of the most digitally savvy luxury customers. Together with Tencent, we have pioneered a new concept that will redefine expectations of luxury retail.” “The first step in an exclusive partnership between our companies, Burberry’s social retail store in Shenzhen is a place of discovery that connects and rewards customers as they explore online and in store. It marks a shift in how we engage with our customers and we can’t wait to share this innovative experience with the world.”
Tencent echoed Burberry’s sentiment when Davis Lin, senior vice president at Tencent said this: "we are delighted to see the successful launch of Burberry's first global social retail store in Shenzhen. We regard this as the starting point for a new era of innovation.” “Through connecting social and retail environments, we will create innovative digital services and delightful experiences for our users, help brands build deep emotional connections with consumers, and support the laying of strong foundations for the long-term growths of brands."