Cannes Lions: Retail stores will become “experience lounges” rather than points of sale, reveals Microsoft and O&M study

The research revealed that digitally-savvy shoppers are driving the retail space to become more than points of sale alone, but experiential showrooms.

China is the most advanced country when it comes to online shopping preferences, with digital divas there “twice as likely” to buy everyday products online compared to anywhere else in the world, according to the report.

Therefore, retail outlets there in particular are becoming “points of experience” rather than just points of sale, and this could in time spread to other areas including groceries.

Meanwhile digital divas were also found to have either a secret or multiple online identities which they use across social forums and devices. Marketers must therefore aim to appeal not just to their female audience – but also to their “alter egos”, according to the report .

Unveiling the report, Ogilvy’s Rory Sutherland (pictured) called for marketers to look at what new technologies can enable alone and view how they change and influence human behaviour.

He likened the digital landscape to the Galapagos Islands, adding that marketers must view how people respond to the environment and adapt accordingly.

“As marketers we have the internet the wrong way around – we are looking at it from the wrong end of the telescope – always focusing on what we can do with new technology, but actually more it’s more valuable to view it as what does it say about human behaviour," he said.

He also warned against the increasingly commonplace mentality of assuming new technology is always good, when that’s not always the case.