If you pay much attention to the impressions given, the next generation of shoppers, as they grow into that role, will know of nothing but online shopping. To continue to attract visitors into a physical bricks and mortar location, there is no doubt that retailers are going to have to fully embrace the electronic universe as part of their marketing strategy. The key question therefore, is how to do so. Here are five steps to consider for your business.

Make your social media conversations the start of a physical experience

If not already there, it's time to face up to the fact that every retail business is going to need to have an online and social media presence. In a way, places such as Twitter or Facebook are modern extensions of traditional print advertising, in that you can use them to inform and interest, and then to guide your customers to wherever you want them to be. They should be lively and shareable, written for the generation you want to talk to, telling them what they want to know, and then making it easy for them to take the action you want - some of the later points will help facilitate this.

Make visiting your store an experience rather than a chore

With shopping increasingly happening online, it's very easy to build a negative impression of the traditional physical retail store. However, let's compare this to movie-watching activity. Young people still enjoy the experience of going to the cinema, in spite of the many ways they can choose to watch at home or online. Therefore, if visiting a store is made part of an event and not simply another way to buy an item (there are quicker alternatives), then you are much more likely to gain an audience of customers. Look for ways to move people from the online to the in-person. These can include special shows or demonstrations, electronic vouchers only available for use in-store, or making use of the unique events that can only occur physically (it's difficult to try on new clothes from your mobile). To misquote a line from the movie Field Of Dreams: "If you enthuse them they will come", therefore look to create and promote a series of unique events, product launches and the like within your physical premises.

Make your online activities encourage a physical visit

There are a wide range of ways to use your online presence to facilitate a visit to your retail store. Many businesses are already providing a complete stock inventory on their website, allowing a potential customer to check availability of a specific item before committing to a visit. Added to this, it's then possible to use a click and collect facility to tie down that personal visit - when much more than the already chosen purchase is available to consider. For example, you might add a bonus to any order that is placed with a discount voucher for any other purchase made when "collecting". 

Make sure your website is fully optimised for mobile viewing

It's easy to gain an impression of a stay-at-home generation, buying from their bedrooms, and never seeing the light of day. However the reality isn't all that bad; people of the millennium are truly mobile, and with devices to match. Many retailers have not yet caught up with the need to ensure that their website is compellingly mobile-friendly, easily and instantly viewed to best effect on phones, iPads and the like. By achieving this, you can then attract impulse customers, who suddenly are looking for a product and are in your neighbourhood. A quick search, a satisfactory online experience, such as being able to confirm your opening hours, and they can be walking through your door within moments.

Make it as easy to pay as possible

A generation ago, Barclaycard stepped into the sunlight, the first credit card offering a new dimension of payment options (apparently there used to be something called cheques). Now, as you can find out at Barclaycard.com, they are leading the way beyond the plastic and into delivering mobile and contactless payment methods that enhance the physical buying experience. The next steps are already being trialled: contactless payment gloves. These create a handy new way to pay for your shopping without the need to rummage around for your wallet- shoppers can simply touch their glove onto the card machine to pay.
Matching this ease-of-payment to simplification of purchase, delivering action-demanding social media messages, and then enhanced in-store experiences, are all ways to help the world of physical retail claim its deserved place in the modern marketplace.