Article

How Dunn Edwards enhances the customer experience

Dunn Edwards Paints takes a multi-pronged approach to reducing customer friction and becoming a hub of convenience, service and experience.

Fredrik Carlegren of Toshiba talks about retail challenges with Rich Stefani of Dunn Edwards Paints. Photo courtesy of Networld Media Group.

January 16, 2020 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

Astute retailers have known for some time they need to improve the in-store customer experience if they want to win customers' business.

Hence, a session during the National Retail Federation's Big Show offering an inside view of how one long-established retailer is addressing this multi-faceted task drew a large turnout at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City this week. Rich Stefani, CIO and group vice president of technology at Nippon Paint USA, the parent company of Dunn Edwards Paints, described several ways the company, which has 140 stores, is working to reduce customer friction and improve the buying experience.

Fredrik Carlegren, executive director of Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions, which partnered with the retailer on reconfiguring its point-of-sale solution this past year, posed questions to Stefani. Both men agreed that stores of the future must be hubs of convenience, service and customer experience.

Stores' roles changing

Stefani said stores today are no longer playing the same advisory role they played two and three decades ago when most customers relied on the store for extensive guidance in their buying decisions. Today's customer, by contrast, comes to the store with more knowledge about what they want to buy thanks to the internet, and has specific questions for store personnel.

To meet customers' expectations, stores need to be able to create experiences that will distinguish them from competitors, Stefani and Carlegren agreed. Doing this is a tall order, to be sure, but Stefani said retailers today have access to the data they need to accomplish that goal. Stores today, for example, can know what the weather is like at any given location before the customer enters the store.

One step at a time

Installing a new POS last year was a foundational step in enabling Dunn Edwards to take advantage of new software that will help the company achieve its goal of being a hub of convenience and experience. The POS system has already allowed orders to be processed with fewer steps.

"There are lots of steps in the (old) process and that can take a lot of time for the customer," Stefani said. "Frictionless technology is exciting."

One of the unique aspects of paint retailing is that customers usually have to wait after they place orders. Stefani hopes 5G phones, which some observers claim will provide faster service, will bring better service. He also hopes there will be more reliable communication networks and less need for redundant networks to prevent occasional service outages.

Another challenge many retailers face, he said, is not having access to WiFi in all of their locations.

A look forward

Stephani also believes artificial intelligence will make it easier for retailers to use more of their data to gain actionable insights about their businesses. Retailers will be able to notice changes in customer purchasing habits that will allow them to find out where they need to maintain or improve customer service.

Dunn Edwards Paints is also exploring buy-online-pickup-in-store (BOPIS) technology to reduce the number of people waiting to be served, thereby cutting the wait time and improving the buying experience. He recognized, however, that BOPIS does not work with all types of merchandise.

Because customer demographics vary by location, retailers need to offer products and create experiences that are specific to customer needs at each location, Stefani said. A cookie cutter approach won't work.

Dunn Edwads Paints has the additional challenge of serving two distinct types of customers: contractors and homeowners, Stefani said. The first audience wants speedy service while the second wants professional design assistance.

"We've got to be able to capture revenue from both customers," Stefani said. "I think we're going to have to be flexible in terms of format."

Employees also need to engage

One way to improve the customer experience is for the employees to make it a point to engage with the customer, Stefani said.

He would also like to see his company do more to promote its positive attributes, such as the fact that it operates a gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) facility.

Hopefully, technology will make it possible to communicate more information as well as provide a hub for customer experience.