Bowling, Boredom, and the Battle for Retail Attention ??
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Last weekend, I dropped my son off at a laser tag, bowling, and video games party at Chermside Shopping Centre. I lingered long enough to see if I'd be one of the cool dads invited to join. When that didn’t happen, I sulked off with the task of entertaining myself by shopping—for all of three hours. I was done in 30 minutes.
Yes, it was mid-October. Every retailer was keeping their pre-BFCM powder drier than a creative strategist at a Christmas party. There was nothing interesting in sight.
But what struck me even more was the lack of engagement from every retail team I encountered.
“Can I help you with anything today?”
“Just browsing, thanks,” came my canned response, despite feeling clueless and uninspired. It usually followed with me touching a garment to feign interest, executing a quick heel swivel, and moving on to the next.
It reminded me how easily we fall into patterns in ecommerce.
I’m pretty sure Nobel Prize winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman wasn't thinking about ecommerce when he said "the more surprising an experience, the stronger the memory," but he might as well have been.
Most retailers have regular conversion or promotional messages which are served up without much thought. What if we mixed things up a bit?
- “Free Shipping over $100” could become “Shipping’s On Us.”
- “Subscribe & Save” could transform into “Unlock Lifetime Discounts.”
- “Refer a Friend” might be reframed as “Reward Your Friends.”
- “Guaranteed Delivery” levels up with “On Time or It's On Us.”
- “Hassle-Free Returns” turns into “No More Post-Purchase Regret.”
- “New Arrivals” comes to life with “Just Dropped. Will Sell Out.”
- “Final Sale” becomes “Please Get This Shit Out Of Our Warehouse.”
You get the idea. Most of the time, well-known and understood terms will do the job for customers in action mode. However, if your key messages are becoming the online wallpaper equivalent of “Can I help you with something today?”, it’s time to mix them up.
Have a play with some of the language that’s been there on your key propositions—I bet you’ll catch the eye of your version of sulky dads looking to kill some time and spend some money.
Cheers, Bushy
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WORK WITH NATHAN
Nathan Bush is an independent Australian ecommerce transformation consultant, with expertise in marketing, technology, and team leadership. If you're looking for fresh ideas, facing key decisions, or implementing significant investments, I'd love to work with you. Learn more and get in touch.