Customer Service
3 keys to strengthening customer experience
Here are three steps to creating a more engaging retail customer experience.
November 16, 2021 by Sam Gobrail
Even before the pandemic, retailers were eagerly experimenting with all the different ways they could be reinventing the customer experience.
When the pandemic arrived and made in-person interactions unsafe, Verizon was one of the retailers enabling self-checkout in its stores and appointment scheduling through its app, and there are scores of similar stories all across retail. Alcohol retailer Total Wine & More had already been prioritizing higher-value interactions with extensive training programs designed to help staff members assist customers with their selections and purchases.
Ultimately, these and other innovations aren't just about pandemic-proofing a business — they're about improving the overall customer experience, and they'll be paramount for retail success in the coming years.
Many transformation efforts in the retail industry have focused on how technology can replace people. Self-checkout in grocery stores is one of the primary examples, and nearly half of customers said they used self-checkout "basically all the time" in response to a survey as part of PYMNTS study. As grocers try to contend with vacant positions, self-checkout technology has become a way to improve efficiency and eliminate a common bottleneck in retail.
Amazon is going a step further at its Amazon Fresh stores by piloting "Just Walk Out" technology, which automatically tracks what customers place in their carts and charges them when they leave. While this tech could eliminate the need for cashiers almost entirely, it should be seen not just as a means to increase margins, but also to improve experiences elsewhere.
How can retailers create more engaging experiences? These three steps are a great place to start:
1. Increase options and improve flexibility
Some retailers are quick to see the success of innovations like self-checkout and respond by going all-in. Of course, even customers that prefer self-checkout know that a full shopping cart or one with mostly produce and bulk goods merit the speed and skill of a human cashier. In the same vein, online ordering and contactless delivery don't necessarily replace curbside pickup, which can be a more convenient option for a shopper who will already be running errands in the area where a store is located. To continuously improve customer experience, retailers should constantly strive to increase options instead of embracing a single promising solution.
2. Invest in differentiating customer experiences
Self-checkout has enabled one cashier to monitor six or even more checkout lanes, but that doesn't mean retailers should simply pocket the savings and move on. When innovations cut costs, it's vital to reinvest that capital in differentiating customer experiences. Upskill a few cashiers into a data-driven position designed to assist shoppers in tracking down niche items, finding product substitutes, or recommending easy and delicious recipes that customers will love.
3. Personalize wherever possible
According to research from Salesforce, four in five customers consider the experience a company offers to be just as important as its products and services. Two-thirds of survey respondents said they expect companies to understand their unique needs and expectations and send personalized offers as a result.
Today, retailers have no excuse to fall short on personalization benchmarks, and a plethora of technology ranging from RFID scanners and trackers to digital kiosks and self-checkout lanes is available to help retailers collect data and build a more complete picture of their customers.
Necessity is the mother of invention, and the pandemic necessitated a new approach to in-person shopping experiences that kept human interactions to an absolute minimum. However, the same tools that were implemented can also be used to create more memorable customer experiences that keep shoppers coming back.
To turn the corner away from survival and toward innovative experiences, retailers should keep adding new options for customers, reinvest savings into differentiation efforts, and get to know their customers at a deeper level every time they step into a store.
Sam Gobrail is a principal solution architect and customer experience strategist at Pariveda Solutions
About Sam Gobrail
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