The company continues to integrate its online and mobile marketing with brick-and-mortar store retailing. For example, when a shopper steps into a Burberry store, salespeople are ready with iPads to tap into the database and see every contact that shopper has had with the company, whether online or in a store or by phone. This allows continuity of experience and customisation of offers.
The stores have digital touches everywhere, from giant media screens to personalised mobile messages leading shoppers to specific product displays or departments. Knowing its customers tote gadgets, Burberry uses 'beacon' technology to sense mobiles and tablet computers as shoppers enter a store and send out messages if customers have opted into the system.
Burberry pays special attention to the in-store experience, because so many customers enjoy checking out the latest fashions firsthand before making a purchase. Inside and out, the stores must reflect the brand and amplify its image--which is even more important for digital buyers viewing web sites or social media, of course. Targeting Tokyo hipsters, Burberry recently opened a glittering new branch in the heart of the fashionable, tree-lined Omotesando district. From the eye-catching exterior to the digital displays to the new styles, this is definitely not the stodgy old Burberry of the past.
Burberry is highly social: Its FB page has 18 million likes, its Twitter account has 3.4 million followers and its Pinterest boards have 121,000 followers. Check them out!
