News

Making the most of self-service

You may be missing its potential to bolster your brand

February 12, 2009

Borders has integrated self-service technology with the mobile phone in the store.

A comfortable gaming "conversation pit," where gamers can face off against one another, attempts to recreate GameStop as a "third space," much like Starbucks revolutionized the social aspects of drinking coffee.

GameStop's concept store relies on technology to raise the level of self-service and interactivity, which seems appropriate in a video game store.

But other retailers also can integrate selfservice into the shopping experience in a way that supports the brand's relationship with the consumer.

Many retailers view self-service as a way to reduce costs — but that attitude often leads to lost interaction with customers. The most successful self-service installations support that interaction and reinforce the brand's image. A self-checkout lane added as an afterthought or a forlorn informational kiosk plugged into a corner won't keep customers coming back.

"A lot of self-service, interactive technology has been put in place to take out costs or eliminate labor or to take away breakdowns in the customer experience," said Ken Nisch, chairman of JGA, a retail design and brand strategy firm. "Not too many have been installed to actually add (to the) customer experience." He cited the banking industry as one that moved the self-service pendulum too far in one direction.

"Banks spent several years pushing people out of their buildings to ATMs but realized when you made it easy for people to do transactions without a person, it very quickly turned that business into a commodity business," Nisch said. "The danger of self-service technology is that you may chase your customer away rather than making the experience more memorable."

Consumers value speed and convenience, so a self-service approach must meet those most basic needs, not just accomplish a task. For instance, an informational kiosk also could take orders if a product is not in stock. Consumers love technology that cuts steps or transactions instead of adding them.

"Whether it's self-checkout or fast-food ordering, retailers should make it easy and fast for me to place an order, and if I can't find what I'm looking for, help me find it," said Fredrik Carlegren, IBM's self-service marketing manager.

To integrate self-service into a convenience store chain, retail design consultancy Chute Gerdeman developed a concept for Sheetz, which operates 350 stores in six states.

Technology permeates the experience, from outdoor digital signage that displays images of mouth-watering burgers drenched in thick, rich ketchup to touchscreens for ordering sandwiches and other food.One goal of the strategy was to attract a new customer base. Sheetz wanted to draw affluent women who might pick up a premium coffee or lunch on the way to work. The retailer also wanted to serve its blue-collar male base. With help from a concierge to explain the system, both groups quickly adapted to self-ordering.

"Once we showed the guys they can push the button to get extra mayonnaise on their sandwich, they took to it," said George Nauman, principal and chief marketing officer at Chute Gerdeman.

Creative uses of self-service can help drive customers to different products.

Multichannel opportunities

Self-service has expanded beyond a single interaction, such as a self-checkout. Consumers are now comfortable using multiple channels of self-service that link in-store, mobile and online interactions.

For instance, Chute Gerdeman designed prototype stores for Radio Shack that build on the Apple Store's Genius Bar concept.Consumers ask questions at a central help center. If the staff is stumped, the customer uses a computer kiosk to search a Radio Shack answer site for solutions.

"We think technology has to be at a number of places in the overall experience for the customer to make the connection," Nauman said.

JGA chairman Nisch was involved in the design of a Borders concept bookstore in Ann Arbor, Mich., that opened in February 2008.The concept store integrates the in-store and online experiences with informational kiosks and media download centers.

The Digital Center is the interactivity hub of the new store. Consumers use multiple computer kiosks and stations dedicated to services such as music and book downloads, as well as mixing and making custom CDs through Borders Digital Music, which features millions of titles.

Nisch sees the Borders approach to self-service as enriching the consumer's experience rather than shifting service to the consumer.

"This is a case where the customer sees it not as a default to service but as a way to get additional services," he said.

Throughout the Borders Digital Center, customers are encouraged to take their time working on their projects. Borders staffs the Digital Center with trained personnel ready to guide customers at any technical level through the process.The concept store retains the computer information stations known as "Borders Search" to help customers locate titles in the store and on the Web site.

Borders launched its own e-commerce site after breaking away from Amazon.com and integrated the online experience through in-store access. Users can access wish lists and place orders for home delivery.

"We set out to give customers a reason to choose Borders over other retailers and with the launch of Borders.com, we're now able to truly deliver on our cross-channel strategy," said Borders Group CEO George Jones.

Give them more

As self-service spreads throughout the American shopping culture, consumers will be drawn to retailers that think the way they do. The barriers between in-home, in-store and online grow ever smaller as Web-capable phones and net books get in the hands of a wider swath of the buying public. Consumers want to access personal information on a Web site and the same database in-store or on their phones. Retailers that get that concept will get more traffic.

"Consumers want to sign up for personalized information, edit that in their phone or take other action," said IBM's Carlegren.

As online shopping becomes more commonplace, consumers expect to see customization options in stores similar to what's available on the Web. For instance, customized sports jerseys or athletic shoes are available online but are rare in the bricks-andmortar world.

"You'd think the place where you should be able to customize items the most would be in the real world where you can actually see samples of materials or see mock-ups, but that's been very slow to happen," said JGA's Nisch.

Although the promise of interactive fitting rooms, custom-fit jeans and other high-tech marvels remains, consumers are ready for the next level of self-service. Despite economic pressures, retailers can't afford to wait.