The High Street needs a cuddle

Now that Halloween and Bonfire Night have been and gone attention turns to Christmas and the feast of retail and spending. 

Black Friday and Cyber Monday have been embraced by the UK in much the same way as Halloween has become a staple yearly festival shared by our friends across the pond. The names of these days appear to get more wild as the week progresses, analysts favourite sales days are listed at the end of this article*.

I’ve written before about some of the changes that have impacted the High Street including direct-to-consumer sales, the economic environment, and cultural variances. Change continues as quickly as technology and shoppers can keep up.

There is no doubt that what we are seeing is a fundamental change in shopping behaviour and how products are sold which is evidenced by the constant media attention around the death of the high street and what is happening within the wider retail industry.

When we talk about the high street I think it’s best to define this as not only the main shopping streets in a town centre but also retail shopping outlets that exist on the edges of towns and cities across the country. The change in shoppers attitudes and motives impacts both of these and in the future it will surprise no one that we will see a very different shopping environment.

Does this mean that we are on the verge of the end of retail? Of course it doesn’t, it just means that the retail world of the future will be different. Depending on how comfortable you are with change this will either mean a very exciting journey ahead or you will be pining for the good old days.

There is no denying that changes are being driven predominantly by advancements in technology and the way that people choose to shop but is there something missing that is unrelated to this?

We are moving from a nation of shopkeepers, to a nation of checkout girls and boys, and perhaps in the future to a nation of robots and AI droids that will deliver our shopping to us.

The Future of Retail

So what does the future hold? If the widely held media narrative is to be believed we will be doing the majority of our shopping from home with delivery to our houses and if we do leave the comfort of home we will only be going into town to take part in experiences. After all if there are no shops left because everything is online then what will fill the gap?

If you want to get a haircut or shave, go for a workout, drink a coffee or eat a pizza (either at home or in a restaurant), times are good and the town centre is your oyster, but if you’re looking for a department store or a technology fix (ironically) then you better be quick as your options are slowly being eroded.

There are some immersive experiences that are thriving, look at the Swingers Crazy Golf Club in London which is expanding. Who would have thought that such a simple concept of an indoor crazy golf destination with a bar and food would be so successful. Whisper it but why reinvent the wheel when you can take the humble bowling alley, re-jig the offering and locate it in a city centre location. This is the experience economy in action.

The Missguided store in the Bluewater shopping centre has taken an entirely new route to market moving from online to a bricks and mortar store which is driven by the experience that it offers its customers.

Finally who can forget the Apple store which is a whole immersive experience in its own right. People want to touch and feel the product, understand what it can do,and ask questions or solve problems, all of which is dealt with in spectacular fashion by the Apple store concept.

These are all great examples of immersive retail environments but of course these only fit in certain cities and towns. London, Birmingham, Manchester etc. are of course fertile ground for these sort of experiential outlets. However, when thinking of smaller towns and cities these types of stores don’t work due to demographics or are just not prepared to lose their premium offering by being based in Northampton, Lincoln, or Bridlington rather than Leeds, Newcastle, or Liverpool.

Ironically one store that had bags of potential to turn into the ultimate destination shopping experience for kids and adults alike failed miserably to make the most of the opportunity. I am of course referring to Toys R Us, who had the the space in their estate and the products that would have been at home in this new world of immersive experience retail. Such a waste. 

When Toys R Us did feebly attempt to bring people in to the store through tie ins with Lego etc. it was done in such a haphazard and half-hearted manner that it was always doomed to fail. I remember going along to one of these “events” and to say it was underwhelming is an overstatement. A pimply student sitting at a tiny table with a few pocket money packs of Lego for the kids to make and take away. No people skills were displayed and talk about not being able to talk to and engage with children...a massive miss which ultimately played a part in the company's downfall.

The Missing Ingredient

So what’s missing? The bricks and mortar stores that are able to offer some sort of experience are thriving in the current climate but is there something far more fundamental that is missing from many shops?

We are missing customer service, pure and simple.

There are many people that will talk about good old fashioned customer service but did this really exist? I’m not talking about going back to the days depicted in the TV show (potential cultural reference that will alienate those outside of the UK!) Open All Hours where you didn’t touch the goods you were buying and perhaps the actual interaction with the shopkeeper wasn’t what you would want, and I’m not talking about the much acclaimed American customer service with their false smiles and ‘“have a nice day” pazzazz, what I’m talking about is going to a store where the emotions you feel are happy, pleased, cared for, safe and valued rather than irritated, hurried, neglected and disappointed.

Think about some of your recent interactions in shops that you visit. The grumpy cashier in the supermarket, the pressure felt from sales people when you go into an electronics store - “can I help you?, no I’m just looking”, and the attitude you got when asking where the night nurse is when in the pharmacy.

Other examples of poor and at times distasteful customer service include a recent experience we had in the opticians that I should have gone to. The frames that my wife chose were not the ones that had been used when we went to collect her glasses. Not a great start but a situation that was easily retrievable with an apology and a commitment to resolve the issue as fast as possible. The problem was we didn't get so much as an apology and in fact got accused of being in the wrong. These interactions obviously leave a sour taste in the mouth and get us thinking about the next time that we need glasses perhaps we should abandon the high street with this most personal of service and head online.

Of course negative customer service isn't only linked to the retail industry, there are many examples elsewhere as shown by these recent hospitality industry incidents where a hotel doesn't get it right and British Airways clearly make an absolute mess of people's dream holidays.

Focusing on the positive and the sort of customer service that stores should be offering led me to these examples:

• Make surprise and delight key components of your customer service strategy. Repeat customers are the best types of shoppers to have and they’re very appreciative of retailers who remember them, whether that be by way of personal note to thank for their custom through to a discount voucher to encourage their repeat custom.

In these days of “new” retail and the fast changing technology available there are now even more options to providing customer service that engages the consumer. A robust and future proofed CRM system is key to this process.

A current example of technology being used is provided by the way that big brands have recently started rolling out mobile checkout capabilities, which give store employees capabilities to check out customers using mobile devices, an experience similar to Apple stores.

Through convenience enabled by in-store technology, retailers are moving away from the old industry mindset of getting customers into stores so they’ll spend more time, and as a result, more money. The focus is now on making the in-store experience as efficient as possible. Even if the customer only spends a few minutes picking up a low-price item, it’s not seen as a negative. The idea is to build loyalty to a brand that encourages ease of transaction and repeat visits.

• Be the retailer who takes the time to personally assist a customer and find the perfect fit. In these fast paced days when the consumer never has time for anything and we’re expected to find everything online a retailer can really distinguish themselves by offering a truly personal service.

If a customer comes into the shop trailing two young children be the shop that offers something to amuse the children while Daddy or Mummy try to look for a new pair of trousers or try to get some grocery shopping done. To an extent this has been done by Tesco and Ikea in terms of their free fruit for kids offering and the provision of a free creche respectively. These sort of things are the sort of customer service that people will talk about with their friends and it’s word of mouth advertising that money can’t buy.

Before the summer my nephew was looking for a new cap to see him through his school summer holidays. He’s at an age where it needed to be fashionable and on trend (cool as I used to know it!) and he dragged me along for the shopping experience. We were in a shop where he was looking unsure as to what he wanted so we were approached by the really friendly customer service assistant who sincerely wanted to help. He took the time to find out what what my nephew wanted and what his preferences were, and then he walked us through the different brands and styles they had. He then hand-picked which caps would suit my nephew best to reduce the choice slightly. It was amazing to watch and my nephew was truly enthralled by the experience.

• Upselling isn’t all bad and if it enables you to educate customers at the same time then all the better. Upselling can be seen as sleazy and bad for customer service but this isn’t the case if you do it right.

I joined my sister and my young niece shoe shopping and the customer service assistant was very pleasant and as was required took the measurements of my nieces feet and then helped her select and try on various pairs of shoes. 

After this process the customer service assistant then came up to us and said, “I noticed that her feet were a bit sweaty. What types of socks is she using?” My sister replied that she uses regular cotton socks and we were told that “cotton isn’t ideal for sweaty feet, do you want me to show you some of the socks we have that can help?”

The customer service assistant proceeded to tell us about the various types of socks they sold, the materials they were made out of, and which ones would work best for my niece. My sister ended up buying a couple of pairs!

It just goes to show that if your staff are encouraged to pay attention to each customer and determine any potential needs or wants they may have opportunities present themselves and again customer service is what people leave the shop remembering.

Bringing it all together

As the above examples of quality customer service highlight when a customer is treated in the right way not only do they leave with a warm fuzzy feeling that makes them want to tell everyone about it and return to the store, the benefits for the retailer are immense not only through repeat business but also through the upselling and associated benefits that these experiences bring.

In essence, retail is not dead; it is just changing. Retailers who want to compete will need to up their game and create engaging customer experiences, both online and in brick and mortar stores. As Forbes magazine says, “Physical retail is not dead. Boring retail is.”

*We have the standard Black Friday and Cyber Monday but what are the rest of the days of this sales centric week potentially called? Make sure you don’t miss…

• Sofa Sunday - wearing your favourite loungewear to purchase on your mobile device
• Two-for-one Tuesday - everyone buys their ultimate BOGOF deals
• Wobbly Wednesday - get the ingredients to make your favourite desserts on offer in your favourite supermarket
• Tipple Thursday - you’ll need a drink after all this spending

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#RobinKiziak is an experienced finance manager with over 10 years experience in the distribution/logistics and retail industries