While shopping for my fashionable yet comfortable, rubber soled shoes (not an oxy-moron) to wear to the Global POS and Store Operations Summit in Vegas Sept 13-15, I had a thought!  Are retailers really thinking about ME when they change their stores or add new technology? Take for example the new ATM system at my bank. I can’t do multiple things in one transaction anymore! What were they thinking! And here’s another favorite…my number one shopping hole, Bloomingdale’s (Atlanta, Perimeter), decided to drop their petite professional lines such as Ellen Tracy, Dana Buchman, and Anne Klein(I’m 5’2”).  I love to shop so of course I spend major $$$ (ChaChing, J) there every year.  Am I a ‘Premier’ customer? Yes. Did they notify me? No.  Did they offer me any alternatives? No.  And did I mention that I LOVE to shop?   BIG mistake! 

Need I say that I arrived in Las Vegas a bit skeptical.  So, you can imagine my surprise that the buzz at the Summit was clearly customer, customer, and customer. (Happy dance, all is not lost. They really do care about ME!) So where’s the disconnect?  Aha! The people in attendance at the Global POS Summit were store operations people. Of course they are thinking about the customer. Case in point, going back to my Bloomingdales story; After the petite fiasco, since I no longer was shopping at Bloomingdale’s, I was passing through the store when I happened on one of the floor managers. I told her my story and she asked what they could do to win my business back.  Yes, there is restitution! After negotiating complete alterations services, I have returned to the Bloomingdale’s fold.  But this does not fix the problem now does it?

‘It is all about the customer!’ may be the mantra of retail but are they really listening?  Was FaceBook listening when they ran ads on their site and outraged their customers!  Now don’t get me wrong, many of these customers were not outraged by the ads themselves but rather that ‘their’ space had been invaded.  You see, the customer has come to believe that their ‘space’ is personal while the corporation is thinking, another revenue stream. NOT! Isn’t this the same disconnect we see in retail?  The customer has come to think that the shopping experience is personal while the retailer above the store level thinks they are still controlling the business. It’s time we all got on the same page and I don’t know about you but, my money is on the customer.

As recently as a decade or two ago, retailers WERE still in charge.  They could dictate the shopping experience; tell shoppers how to buy and where to buy.  All of this has changed.  The customer is in the driver’s seat now, the internet has leveled the playing field, WalMart has taken price out of the equation and retailers have to figure out how to stay in the game. All this change is expensive if not daunting and since it is in MY best interest to help them see the light (did I mention that I shop a lot J), I have come up with a new strategy for retailers to follow for every project to ensure that I am at the top of their minds.  Let’s use a new ranking system that begins by assigning Customer Impact Points aka the ME Factor to everything. 

Let’s say the retailer is thinking of putting in a new coupon based loyalty program; so how might this work?  To gain my attention for a loyalty program, I am likely already shopping there.  With me so far? Maybe it is because Amber knows me by name (she does, ChaChing J 100pts) and treats me like a queen with her undivided attention (she does, ChaChing J 100pts).  I am now well positioned for the loyalty program.  I sign up and receive mailings with coupons (ChaChing, J 100pts).  Oh boy!  A shopping spree! Let’s see what is on sale or just arrived? Still with me, because here comes the clincher? I look at the brochure and unfortunately it is full of 20-something fashion (ClaClunk, L 100pts) which I am NOT. The coupons never make it to my purse and I never make it to the store (ClaClunk, L 200pts).  Who just lost out? 

So here’s my suggestion and challenge.  Let’s help retailers help ME, oops I mean help themselves, (whichever) by assigning ME Factors to all product and service offerings.  Do you sell technology to retailers?  Do you know what your ME Factor is?  You should and if you can’t come up with one directly, it might be time to look at partnerships or alliances that do! If you aren’t sure, pass your story to me and I will gladly tell you what I think!  Did I mention that I love to shop? J

Yours Truly:

The Shopper Next Door