March 22, 2009
Price matters; so do availability, signage and advertising. But the feature that contributes most to a successful sale is the consumers shopping experience. When its done well, the shopping experience trumps all other factors. Consumers will accept less selection, travel a greater distance and even pay more, if the experience they have is better. Its understandable, then, why every retailer is striving to master and offer, and with good reason in this difficult economy, a compelling experience.
So, how do you sculpt the shopper experience to create an engaging, memorable and unique interaction specifically appropriate for your customers? What are the required raw materials and tools?
The process first articulates the shoppers expectations, and it identifies and catalogs the Experience Assets, that is, the specific objectives and unique features that can be used to shape the shopping experience. These, in turn, allow us to define what that specific experience should be. Finally, we can assess our list of assets to determine if they are, indeed, appropriate to the successful shopping experience we wish to create.
