5 Retailers That Have Made Experience Their Business.

It used to be when consumers needed a cooker, they went to the local appliance store. When their kids outgrew their school clothes, they headed straight to the department store. Out of bread or milk? They were off to the supermarket. That was that and no other options were as convenient.

Fast forward a few decades and now consumers have many more choices about what they buy, how they buy and who they buy from. That same cooker can be bought at Lowe’s, online or in-store. It’s also available from Overstock.com, Wayfair.com and Amazon—the list goes on on on. On top of that, today’s consumers aren’t as price-conscious as previous generations, making it even harder for brands to stand out.

According to Galia Reichenstein, general manager, U.S., at mobile adtech company Taptica, retail has hit another “crisis point, with waves of store closings.” Indeed, retailers including JCPenney, GameStop and Bebe have all been in the news lately, with shops closing across the country.

“Customer experience is key to turning the corner on this trend,” Reichenstein told CMO.com. “Customers still want to shop today, but they want to do so on their own terms and in a way that is most convenient for them. CX allows retailers to dig a little deeper and further develop a relationship with consumers.”

Michael Klein, director of industry strategy and marketing for retail, travel and CPG at Adobe (CMO.com’s parent company), agreed that retailers are no longer in the business of just selling products.

“From a retail perspective, it's going to be about the ability to deliver a seamless, more frictionless experience that will bring value to the customer,” he said.

Retailers that can “engage and delight,” while making the shopping experience easier and less time-consuming, will be the ones that win in the end, Klein said. “Rethinking how you do business and how to best engage customers will help you to give your customers more than products,” he added. “You’ll deliver experiences that adapt to the way they live and help make their lives easier.”

Jill Standish, head of Accenture’s retail practice, said that retailers making a commitment to become experience-led businesses must first define their customer journey and identify all of the various ways a consumer would interact with a brand—both online and in the shop.

“If you’re making a commitment to experiences, you’ve got to ensure that they’re memorable, shareable and repeatable,” she told CMO.com. “And there are a lot of brands who are trying new things out both online and in-store.”

We take a look at five.

Sephora

According to Standish, Sephora has done a great job at making shopping more of an experience, whether a person comes into one of its shops or goes online to Sephora.com. Sephora’s “The Beauty Workshop,” for example, has become a popular way to learn beauty techniques. Customers who prefer to learn online can watch how-to videos and get beauty advice via the branded Beauty Talk community. For shoppers interested in going to a physical store, makeovers with expert artists is proving to be a worthwhile experience. Additionally, the retailer has made beauty classes available in shops that cover topics such as “age-defying skincare,” “teen makeup” and “no-makeup makeup.”

“What Sephora has shown us is that the shop can morph into an education centre and that allows the brick-and-mortar retailers to really differentiate themselves from the online pure-play retailers,” Standish said.

Sephora’s Play! subscription box is another way the retailer is committing to experiences. By subscribing, consumers get a box by post each month with curated, deluxe samples. After receiving each box, the customer is asked to go online and provide Sephora feedback on what he/she did or didn’t like so that the next box is on target.
 

Lululemon

Active wear retailer Lululemon is focused on making its way into consumers’ hearts and minds. As part of that effort, it turns its shops into studios, where shoppers can take a yoga class taught by a local instructor. Its website also has an “Inspiration” section, which serves as a directory for the experiences available at a nearby store.

“It’s almost like a lifestyle cult, where the brand is a living experience for you instead of just being a brand you wear,” Standish said.

Lululemon also is attentive to mobile-equipped shoppers. Back in 2014, it began piloting RFID in-store to give customers access to online inventories while they shop. Like a pair of leggings, but the shop doesn’t have your size? RFID to the rescue, because shoppers can purchase the item online, quickly and easily, while in the shop.

Another experience win: Lululemon’s New York City store, in the Flat Iron district, offers a section called “The Concierge,” which recommends nearby classes and locations and is even letting shoppers book classes on the spot.

Kohl’s

Last year Kohl’s announced that it would be making a bigger commitment to digital, with a greater focus on customer analytics, data and insights. That intelligence is now being used to make smarter decisions around merchandising, allocation and localisation of shops. The company also said it is aiming for 85% unique assortments by the end of the year, meaning no two shops will be the same.

The retailer has made significant enhancements to its fulfilment processes to enhance the shopper experience for buy online, pick up in store and ship from store. The retailer implemented technology for associates to help customers get in and out of the shop more quickly. According to Kohl’s, the investment is paying off: Last year, more than 39% of orders were fulfilled via the trio of fulfilment options.

“The customer experience has been and always will be, fundamental to our business,” says Kohl’s on its corporate website. “We are continuing to leverage technology in a purposeful way to make shopping at Kohl’s a simple, engaging experience that our customers truly enjoy.”

In addition, last year Kohl’s rolled out Kohl’s Pay, a mobile payment offering exclusively for its Kohl’s charge customers. Users can shop, scan, save and pay with the app while in-store.
 

Rebecca Minkoff

The Rebecca Minkoff brand launched its first shops in Manhattan and San Francisco in 2014--testbeds for what CEO Uri Minkoff called “Retail 3.0,” for which the shops endeavour to translate many of the benefits of the online shopping experience to brick and mortar.

Developed in collaboration with eBay, both locations feature a large interactive screen at the entrance, where customers can browse products, request beverages to enjoy as they shop and pick out items they might like to try on with the help of on-screen recommendations

IPad-wielding sales associates set up the fitting rooms, where RFID-tagged items are displayed on an interactive mirror. Should the customer want a new size or suggested co-ordinating item, they can request it via the mirror. Customers armed with the mobile app can check out from the dressing room and opt in to a list of what they’ve tried on that they may wish to buy in the future.

“Each piece of technology aids in making a purchase,” Minkoff told CMO.com. “It can remember your fitting room sessions. If we know you like the colours pink and black and are a size two, we can set up a room for you with appropriate options. And you never have to leave the fitting room half naked to find an associate.”

Apple

Apple’s in-store success is undoubtedly due to its culture. “The soul of the Apple Store is its people—how they are hired, trained and taught to engage the brand’s customers,” according to a Forbes article, which laid out the following playbook:

A: Approach customers with a personalised, warm welcome.

P: Probe politely to understand the customer’s needs.

P: Present a solution for the customer to take home today.

L: Listen for and resolve issues or concerns.

E: End with a fond farewell and an invitation to return.