“Customer Experience” is a bandied-about phrase with multiple possible meanings to different people. The customer experience is that part of the shopping process that will either help your business retain first-time and existing customers or disappoint them and inadvertently send them to your competitors.
The phrase is an umbrella for numerous factors underneath it. What factors contribute to a pleasant customer experience? We have identified fifteen. Some readers will find ways to consolidate our list, others may expand it.
To properly identify these factors, we must apply our own experience in the retail industry, and we must put ourselves in the shoes of ‘the customer.’ (Non-footwear retailers pardon the pun.) That customer is not the same in every geographic area of the country, or in the same socioeconomic level. Retail formats are themselves different from one another and that leads to additional or fewer factors in play.
Without having conducted a customer survey, we propose that only two of the following factors have to do with price: well-balanced merchandise assortment i.e., is there enough variety in the price points that the customer can shop there, and the value proposition i.e., is the customer’s perception that what s/he is buying is a reasonably good deal for the price. The assumption is that some customers will shop for price in a store in which others will pay whatever the price. All the other factors apply. The question is: how well does your company address each of these factors?
Answer the following questions for yourself. Would you care to review one or more of these factors of the customer experience with us? Please contact us at info@retailtechgroup.com or at 203-329-2621. We look forward to a discussion!
1) General store appearance – Is our store design attractive and adequate for the purpose? Are our stores orderly and clean?
- Store design
- Cleanliness
- Product Display/Visual Merchandising
- Physical and digital product display
- Software point solutions available in the marketplace
- In-Store Signage
- Digital Displays
- Kiosks
Mobile applications
- QR Codes
- Clear, attractive, informative signs
- Software point solutions available in the marketplace
2) In-store Customer Assistance – Help! – If the customer needs assistance, can s/he get it and in short order?
- In-store Phones
- In-store Help buttons
- In-store QR Codes
- Effective Call Center
- Training and monitoring
- Wait times
Call-backs
- Ample availability of software applications
3) Friendly and Knowledgeable Store Staff – An engaged associate is a happier associate, and a happier associate contributes to a better customer experience. Are our associates?
- Training
- Compensation
- Flexible work schedules
- Employee retention (continuity)
- Paths to career advancement
4) Well-balanced merchandise assortment (price ranges and size ranges) – Do my stores offer the right balance of prices and sizes?
5) In-stock position – Are our stores in stock and, if not, can we get ‘it’ and then inform the customer when and where?
- The endless aisle
- Merchandise Planning
- Demand Forecasting and Automatic Replenishment
- Supply-chain
- Item-level RFID Tagging
6) The right fit (apparel, footwear mostly) – do our products offer consistency in sizing?
- Consistency in sizing
7) In-store Fitting Room (apparel mostly) – Is our fitting room state of the art? How easy is it for the customer to get assistance while in the fitting room?
- Mobile applications
- Magic Mirrors
- QR Codes
- Item-level RFID Tagging
8) Value proposition – All customers sense value. Do our customers know that, when they shop with us, they are getting good value.
- Attractive price/quality relation
9) Convenient in-store checkout options and locations – When the customer is done shopping, how convenient is it to find available checkout locations? How quickly can they check out? Do we offer mobile checkout? Self-checkout?
- Cash-wrap only
- Dispersed
- Mobile
- Kiosk
- Self-checkout
10) Omni-channel functionality – one face across all channels (Catalog, Store, Website) – Customers want to be recognized irrespectively of the channel they are shopping. Is their purchase history available and usable by our systems in all channels? Do our systems provide our customers visibility into real-time inventory information on all channels?
- Easy to read and understand packing slip
- Real-time inventory visibility across channels
- Channel pricing
11) Ecommerce Website – Is it easy for customers to navigate our ecommerce website? Can we offer a virtual tour of our typical store on our website? Can our customers take advantage of augmented reality to see clothes on their body, and furniture in their rooms? Is our ecommerce website available in multiple languages?
- Ease of navigation
- Virtual tour of a typical store?
- Augmented reality
- Multilingual
12) Merchandise Returns – Within the limits of our policies, how easy or difficult is it for our customer to return unwanted/damaged product to us?
- Limit on free shipping of returns
- Return envelopes and labels
- Sales receipt required
13) Speed of transaction – in-store and online – How quickly is a transaction completed in any channel? How long does it take to print a receipt? Can we email receipts?
14) Variety of payment methods and tenders accepted – Do we provide alternative tender types and methods of payment, including payment plans where appropriate?
15) CRM – Can we deliver targeted marketing campaigns to not overwhelm our customers? How well do we resolve customers’ issues? Do we follow up after an issue has been resolved? Do we send ‘thank you’ notes to, or call recent shoppers? Do we have an effective, relevant loyalty program?
If you would like to discuss further how your company may want to address and improve on one or more of these factors of the customer experience, please contact us by email at info@retailtechgroup.com or by phone at 203-329-2621. We would be delighted to discuss it with you. Every little bit helps to enhance your business.