b'STATIONERY BIZEleanor Tattershall at Marby & Elmthat is full of designers and architectscustomers wanted to come and seethe natural customers for our brand,things in real life, which they then she explains. ordered online later.Customer experience is key In fact, research by the InternationalI FOUND A LOT Council for Shopping Centres shows As well as stores affording anthat the impact of an emerging retailerOF CUSTOMERS opportunity to deliver great service,opening a physical store can be a your visual identity needs to representboost of +45% to local ecommerceWANTED TO your brand. At Marby & Elm muchsales. Building a stronger multichannel of the furniture was bought on ebaybusiness overall requires a cohesiveCOME AND SEE or comprises customised vintagecustomer experience, whicheverTHINGS IN REAL pieces. For Katie, the clean, brightchannel they wish to use across their space made merchandising productsentire journey of discovery, selectionLIFE, WHICH THEY really easy. I cut vinyl for the walls,and purchase. This also means that and really enjoyed creating a windowsome of the historic metrics used byTHEN ORDERED display to attract attention. The pomphysical retailers can be misleading. pom window has become sightly iconicFor example, theres no point focusingONLINE LATER.on Instagram. I ended up doing a livesolely on sales per square foot if your video of making pom poms and thestore is actually driving significant number of messages Ive had fromonline sales. people who were inspired to makeMarby & Elm window displaytheir own pom pom walls has beenThe value of omnichannelincredible! Both Eleanor and Katie extol the virtues of physical retail alongside Customers do not think indigital. Oh Squirrel is planning a channels further pop up for 2019 and Marby Ensure that your website supports your& Elm is firmly established in the store, and that your store supports yourClerkenwell retail scene. Its refreshing website. Katie found that customersto see success in a physical environment who follow Oh Squirrel on Instagramfrom two very different stationery came from all over London to herbrands and its an optimistic illustration pop-up shop. This positive cycleof the value of physical stores as part of worked both ways: I found a lot ofan overall growth strategy.SPRING//SUMMER 2019 73'