*By Michael Teich*
Sparkling water and fancy coffee may not be enough to lure consumers into struggling brick-and-mortar shops. But creating uncontrived experiences in stores will help retailers survive the transition to a digital economy, said Rima Reddy, a principal at innovation accelerator XRC Labs.
"The key is to not make them so that they feel like they are forced," Reddy said Thursday in an interview on Cheddar. "That's really hard. They really have to be perfectly on-brand."
Retailers could benefit from Bonobos' strategy of designing stores like showrooms and shifting the focus away from just selling, she said. This would save stores money by reducing expenses on real estate.
Beyond an improvement in the real-life shopping experience, retailers need to invest judiciously in the right technology. Reddy said stores should integrate tech that adds value to shoppers ー not just flash for the sake of flash.
Tech, above all, should make shopping more efficient, Reddy said. And in her view, that means augmented reality.
"AR has really practical implications for customers," she said. "VR, when you have to wear a headset, it's just novel. It's not really helping the customer in any way."
For full interview [click here] (https://cheddar.com/videos/unoriginal-in-store-experiences-wont-save-retailers-says-expert).
Workers at Kaiser Permanente walked off the job, representing the largest healthcare strike in history. Michelle Castillo broke down what could happen next and what it could mean for patients.
Wednesday marks World Financial Planning Day. Rebecca Walser, president and founder of Walser Wealth Management, joined Cheddar News to discuss why financial planning is important, how it can be done and why it's best to start early.
Traveling can be expensive and if a situation arises, costs can add up. Nick Ewen, senior editor at The Points Guy, joined Cheddar News to explain what travel insurance can cover and when you should purchase it.
A prosecutor opened a criminal fraud trial Wednesday by telling jurors that FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was on top of the world a year ago, hobnobbing with people like football star Tom Brady and ex-President Bill Clinton, before his historic fraud was exposed, leaving customers and investors without at least $10 billion they thought was secure.
Staying on top of your personal spending shouldn't be as complicated as you think. Lazetta Braxton, a certified financial planner, joined Cheddar News to provide tips on how to track that spending, such as grouping expenses into different categories.
Uber is adding a new task to its list of services: mailing consumers' return packages.
United Airlines said it's buying about 110 more planes from Boeing and Airbus.
Data shows auto sales rose in the third quarter.
Netflix is planning to raise prices, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Studies show about half of Americans will experience a layoff in their lifetime. Cheddar News' Ready4Work docuseries on Thursdays at 8:30pm provides tips in its latest episode on what to do if you get that pink slip.
