Catering for families in stores can increase consumer engagement and sales. But as the family unit changes, retailers need to be creative and considered.
Visit any Ikea store and you’ll find supervised creches, cafes serving up kids’ portions of its famous meatballs and the possibility of children jumping on beds. The retailer’s fun and relaxed nature, together with its affordable products, has turned it into one of the most family friendly stores in the UK.
Family members shopping together is nothing new, yet Ikea is one of the few retailers to have cracked the conundrum of providing entertainment and meeting the practical needs of the family when it comes to shopping. According to exclusive research for Retail Week by Lightspeed Research, more than half of all parents (53%) believe retailers are not doing enough to provide a family friendly shopping experience.
So how can retailers create a great shopping environment for families? When asked in our survey what makes a store family friendly, more than three-quarters (78%) of parents said toilets. This was followed by plenty of parking spaces nearby and a cafe with kids’ meals.
These practical needs are crucial for parents taking their children with them when they’re shopping. Sue Benson, managing director of retail marketing agency The Market Creative, says John Lewis, which offers children’s menus in its restaurants and changing facilities in its parent rooms, leads the race when it comes to “looking after the practical aspects of the shopping journey”.
In-store entertainment
As part of the shopping experience, many retailers inject some form of entertainment to attract families and in turn, that helps boost sales.
At bedroom furniture retailer Sharps’ flagship stores, customers can watch major sporting events on TVs and help themselves to complimentary tea and coffee while children can play in recreational areas.
Sharps marketing director Tim Moore says its approach can lead to customer purchases. “We know from experience that the longer you can keep people in the store, the more likely they are to buy from you,” he says.
Chris McCash, founder of marketing agency ShopFront, says retailers are leveraging the idea of ‘retailtainment’ – shopping experiences in which children can be entertained as parents browse the shop. “In-store retailtainment can rouse interest, generate goodwill and encourage dwell time in store,” he says.
Back at Ikea, which even describes itself as “a fun day out for the whole family” on its website, the retailer regularly hosts entertainers such as face painters and balloon artists.
UK and Ireland customer relations manager Gerard Bos says Ikea aims to create a “total shopping experience” for families. “Happy children lead to happy parents, and happy parents make happy customers,” says Bos.
For retailers wanting to boost their entertainment levels, there’s a variety of ways to go about it. First, think about the age range of children, advises Benson. “Many retailers are introducing technology platforms [such as iPads] and that clearly accommodates different age ranges.”
McCash says seasonal events, such as Halloween, might provide opportunities for retailers to run competitions for best costumes.
And it’s not just stores attempting to lure shoppers in with entertainment packages. Shopping centres also offer a range of activities to appeal to families. At Westfield Stratford alone there are 70 places to eat and drink, a cinema and bowling alley, as well as ad hoc events such as the current exhibition of Michael Jackson’s outfits.
Westfield director of operations Bill Giouroukos says these leisure features “help to increase dwell time in the centre and create a real destination for families, who now want more than just shopping; they want an entire leisure experience”.
However, Interbrand Paris managing director Bertrand Chovet warns that the use of entertainment should be handled with caution. “It can also have the detrimental effect of killing the buying act and lowering the basket per square metre,” he says.
The family remains a key target market for many retailers, whether a naturally family orientated retailer such as Mothercare, which offers parents 4D ultrasound scanning studios and an in-store cafe at its new format store in Edmonton in London, or Greggs, which has just relaunched several of its stores with a children’s play area and baby facilities.
Modern families
However, retailers need to acknowledge that the structure of the family has evolved. Grandparents play more of an active role, more mothers work full time and there’s a rise in stay-at-home dads. Experts warn that when it comes to marketing, retailers should consider all of the different types of modern-day families.
“It’s about insight, understanding a family and the practicalities of family life,” says Benson. “Families could be dad and the kids or grandma and kids, so messages need to reflect those different dynamics.”
This is echoed by McCash, who believes that retailers need to create content that’s meaningful and relevant to family shoppers, based on insight and understanding.
“From a retailer’s perspective, not all families do a weekly shop and not everyone sits around the table to eat dinner,” he says. “If they make assumptions about family dynamics, then retailers could risk alienating a proportion of their target market.”
More retailers appear to be focusing on more than just the role of the mother in their marketing. Mothercare UK managing director Mike Logue says the retailer ensures its marketing photography “reflects families rather than just mums” across all of its channels.
Last year, a Sainsbury’s TV advert centred on a dad taking his son to Brighton for a day out. However, the retailer says there isn’t a grand plan about who is featured in its communications. Sainsbury’s marketing director Sarah Warby says: “It’s not who’s in the relationship that matters, it’s the fun they’re having, for less than they thought.”
These messages of value come from retailers at a time when the majority of parents are cash poor and time poor, according to Netmums founder Siobhan Freegard. “It’s difficult for retailers to create a good relationship with mothers because they’re led by the best offer or voucher codes and less by what a retailer stands for,” she says.
But Freegard offers a way for retailers to cut through the noise and stand out from the crowd. “If every grocer is offering the cheapest chicken then they need to talk about the solution – ‘what can I help you do with the chicken?’”
Working together with consumers to remain relevant to the modern day family might just give retailers the returns they’re after.
Kiddicare’s new Nottingham store
The leap into bricks and mortar for maternity specialist Kiddicare this year centred on creating a family friendly, rich environment.
When the Morrisons-owned etailer launched its first store in Nottingham in September it stood out for its multitude of family features, such as an in-store children’s playroom, Kiddicafe, a present wrapping station and, particularly liked by bloggers, mummy-and-me toilet facilities and daddy versions too.
Kiddicare brand director Elaine Weavers-Wright says it was a result of much customer feedback. “We fit our retail proposition around the demands of parents and families,” she explains.
The format includes community rooms offering free parenting classes, mother and baby events and baby showers, through which Kiddicare aims to create a sense of “togetherness”.
“New parents can find themselves alienated if their friends haven’t had families at the same time or their relations aren’t nearby,” says Weavers-Wright. “We’ve created spaces around the store such as large community tables in the Kiddicafe, as well as the events room to give mums and dads the opportunity to just hang out and meet new friends.”
And the strategy of “togetherness” doesn’t stop at the physical. As part of its ethos, Kiddicare has also created a strong multichannel approach, as Weavers-Wright is more than aware that parents are increasingly stealing time on the commute or when they’re watching TV to research and compare product prices. With online, stores, mobile and apps, Kiddicare is creating a well-executed retail experience – and bags of fun at that for those with children.
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