This morning, in between two meetings, I had an hour to kill. Since I was in a very high shop density district of Paris I should spend some time to check out the retail reality again.
Despite being in the highest shopping district of Paris 2 weeks before Christmas, there was very little traffic in stores. Was it the damp weather, the cold temperature or the fear of being at the wrong place at the wrong time? Anyway, I was pretty much on my own with the sales staff available to help me out… Sad situation…
I admit I do not much enjoy speaking to sales associates when I visit a store as I read behind their recommendations the following: sales conversion tracking + store product sell-through KPIs and incentivized salary…
However, today I experienced integrated cross channel situations I wish to share with you:
All, I mean literally ALL (more than 10 in less than an hour) sales people I talked to referred to the digital platform of their brand.
- One said that he carried only part of the collection in store and that I could see other colors and models online. He added that he knew the website was running price promotions I could be interested in…
- Another used the company website to look up if a product was available in a size I was requesting as he did not have it in store.
- Another, admitting he was not a snowboard expert, connected to the company website to see what type of gloves were recommended on that channel.
- One recommended I should buy the product on line and retrieve it in store for free in a couple of days, as she did not have the full range I was wondering about…
- One showed me a furniture piece I was wondering about and recommended I bought it online as it was heavy and to bulk to be carried around Paris…
I’ll be back!
By servicing my requests with alternative tools and channels, I felt the sales reps were really considering me as a person to help and not as a source of revenue for them. All of these situations made me think very positively about those brands!
That customer experience is one of the domino effects of digital implementation.
