TSO Network Update - January 2019

January 2019 z 19 How to Make Brick and Mortar Stores Better than the Internet Online mattress company Casper is opening 200 stores across the US; online consignment store ThredUp is planning 100, and don’t forget about original online retailer Apple, who already has over 500 brick and mortar stores. Why are so many online brands opening physical retail stores? Because the Internet is fast, friction-free, but cold. In other words, online shopping has limits. Brick and mortar physical stores can do something for shoppers online can’t, provide a feeling. More than that, brick and mortar stores can provide a feeling that people matter. When people feel they matter, they buy more. Discover more about retail sales strategy here Yes, the converse is true as well that when you don’t make people feel they matter, they abandon your brand in droves, but that’s not the point of this post. To make your in-store shopping experience more fun, more engaging, and let’s face it better than shopping for your products from an online competitor, give shoppers the feeling they matter by providing... A sense of humor like that best friend who makes you smile. Retail is about treating yourself or someone else to a present. It should be fun and not serious. You can interact with someone, show them a funny product, and ask, “Have you ever seen something so ridiculous?” You can find a way to laugh about something you said or a mistake you yourself made when buying something. Unless you know your shopper really well or have mad skills in communication, you shouldn’t try to get a laugh at their expense as it can easily backfire. Practicing this would be a great exercise to work on in your daily huddle with your crew. You can ask them to share a customer exchange where there was laughter; you can role-play what someone could say about a product, and you can ask for ideas for how to make shopping fun. You don’t have to have all the answers but you do have to make the sense of laughter relatable to your associates. Again, you don’t want laughter at the expense of others, but you do want it to make your own job more fun. A sense of discovery like spotting land after months at sea. Brick and mortar can capture a shopper’s imagination with unexpected items. Great merchandising can do this, keeping your store uncluttered can do this, and highlighting something extraordinary in an unexpected area of your store can do this. A green dress featured near a baby stroller might be perfectly appropriate in-store but wacko online. That’s the point, shoppers are open to distraction and discovery in store, where online they’re on a mission. But also a sense of belonging and familiarity like shopping from your friend’s closet. This can be summed up in the Cheers TV show lyrics which say, “You want to go where everyone knows your name.” A relaxed and inviting store that is more of a living space than a retail space is the new norm. Couches in the middle of the store where shoppers can read or have a beverage, musical instruments looking like a band just stopped playing, and a coffee bar in the corner all give a more relaxed vibe. Urban Outfitters does this really well. There’s a place for neat merchandise but don’t make it neat for neat’s sake; a few jeans not folded perfectly on the table or a blouse draped across a display make it look like touching is encouraged, not forbidden. And for gosh sakes, lose those do not touch signs at once. A sense of pride like it is your own personal store. When shoppers feel the merchandise, the lighting, and the personnel are welcoming and comfortable, they feel they belong. They look at your store as their store. That starts with giving your employees enough training and freedom to bring the best of themselves, the playful, the curious, and the empathic to work every day. That happens when you have pride in, not obligation to, your store. continued on next page