If I think about my favorite shopping experiences, it’s those that offer me something I didn’t know I wanted. Amazon.com goes beyond just providing reviews, they tell me what percentage of customers actually ended up buying that product or went with something else. Target is a place where I don’t mind walking down each aisle because around the next shelf is a designer-looking (but-not-costing) tea kettle that wasn’t on my shopping list but now I have to have. And Warby Parker not only has amazingly cool and affordable glasses that give back, they also have surprisingly personal, responsive and quirky customer service.
Beyond meeting and exceeding the current shoppers’ “table stake” needs of price, quality and convenience (both in ease of navigation and cross over between online/offline… i.e. in-store pick ups from online shopping tools, or creating wish list in store to peruse and order later online) - I believe departments stores have an opportunity to…. delight.
Yes, delight.
Just because department stores are meant to be one-stop shopping doesn’t mean they should sacrifice creating a unique experience. As with any brand in any category, it’s important to know who you are, cultivate that personality, live and breath it in everything you do and then let it ooze out. Aside from Target, the mass department stores seem to be seriously lacking in this territory.
How about co-creating that culture and experience? Let customers weigh in on which items get stocked BEFORE you start stocking it. Enable employees to have real expertise by training & rewarding them versus paying on commission (T-Mobile has incredibly helpful, knowledgeable, non-aggressive staff - wonder if they work on commission?). Or how about tapping into the collaborative consumption trend, bucking the category, and offering rental purses and watches?
By all means, make shopping easier, better, faster. Fix any lingering issues. But people won’t remember you for that. I think stores need to delight — it’s what will make people want to spend more time with you, and come back again and again.
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