Online Eats Average

How can I delight you? That’s what Neiman Marcus is asking its customers today through in-store messaging. I’ve written about the need for retailers to surprise and delight before, so I won’t wax on about it again, but I was exposed to some interesting research while at IRDC in September that really gave me pause. WD Partners conducted a research initiative centered on examining the drivers to choose shopping stores versus online that polled 1800 respondents of mixed-aged strata. The research revealed that store associates have such a generally bad reputation for being unhelpful that their perceived value ranked 11th of 12 possible influential factors to shop a particular environment – or a store versus website.

I didn’t find this revelation particularly surprising, but some of the retailers I was with did. Understanding that your sales force is probably one of the single largest operating costs for a physical store, one would assume the retailer would want to ensure that there would be a return on such a significant investment. Are they just “hiring bodies” as the saying goes? Retailers need to start thinking of their sales associates as brand ambassadors, not the hired help. In a recent white paper by Accenture, there was a terrific recommendation: organize store employees into two distinct groups, one customer-facing and one back-of-house only. I thought this was absolutely brilliant in its simplicity, as I think most retailers tend to make the mistake that sale associates are a one-size-fits-all proposition. The mindset for fulfillment is quite different from that of customer engagement; the former should be hired for skill and the latter should be hired for attitude.

Ever since returning from IRDC and hearing that research, I’ve been hyper-conscious of sales force behavior. I’m going to share with you a sampling of my observations. I was in Bed, Bath & Beyond one Saturday afternoon looking for cookware. It seems the only downside of my recent divorce from my Sicilian husband is that I finally need to learn to cook (and he took all the cookware). I must have looked as clueless as I am to the nice young sales associate who came up to me and offered his assistance. He walked me through at least five different cookware sets, taking the time to explain the pros and cons of each. I had no idea there was such a variety – my aunt just told me to buy Calphalon. Keep in mind this was a busy Saturday afternoon. Other sales associates appeared to help other customers, and the focus of my sales associate slash guardian angel remained focused on my needs. I didn’t end up buying a set that day, but I did end up buying a whole host of other things, and will happily return to that particular store for my home needs.

The flipside of this was my web encounter yesterday with Pier 1 Imports. Another purchase driven by the divorce, I’ve flipped my living room with my dining room (the dining room was larger to accommodate the ex’s massive Sicilian family for holiday meals) and am getting rid of the formal dining chairs in lieu of counter stools. I couldn’t get the website to allow me to utilize the “pick up in store” option so I could save the shipping cost. So I called the 800 number. They were very nice, but I discovered that their web fulfillment is very different from store fulfillment, and the PUIS option is not always available, depending on the item.

Lesson 1: Don’t make offers that can’t be fulfilled.
So I needed the stools shipped. The website advertised free shipping, but it turns out for bulky items there’s a handling fee by UPS that Pier 1 passes through anyway, they just don’t charge their own shipping fee.

Lesson 2: Free shipping means free.
So we’re finishing up the sale, and I tell the associate on the other end I’m part of the designer program, and am entitled to the 15 percent off. She informs me they can’t honor that for web purchases, but if I take the receipt into the store they will take off the 15 percent. Then her computer froze and she had to pass me to someone else to finish the transaction. The new person told me that was not the case, the designer discount is not valid for web purchases, but she could offer me the super secret “platinum card” discount of 10 percent since it was a Tuesday.

Lesson 3: The web experience MUST be consistent with your in-store experience, policies and all.
Retail sales associates are the chief differentiator between the online experience and the brick-and-mortar environment. Invest in your staff, encourage and nurture their development. Make them proud to be a part of the brand. Remember, love means never having to say “you’re sorry.” Online eats average. Be remarkable.

Kathleen Jordan, AIA, CID, LEED AP, is a principal in Gensler’s New York office, and a leader of its retail practice with over 24 years of experience across the United States and internationally. Jordan has led a broad range of retail design projects as both an outside consultant and as an in-house designer. She has led projects from merchandising and design development all the way through construction documentation and administration, and many of her projects have earned national and international design awards. Contact her at kathleen_jordan@gensler.com.