Why Retail IT VARs Need To Care About Their Customers' Customers' Experience
In a recent survey, Business Solutions and Integrated Solutions for Retailers asked retailers — both large and small — what their top technology needs are and what they plan to purchase in the coming months. One of the most common responses (and one of our topics) is customer experience/engagement.
In a blog from NRF, Business Solutions and Integrated Solutions for Retailers president Jim Roddy says, a session presented by Eric Feinberg, senior director of product strategy at ForeSee by Answers, a provider of customer experience analytics, was particularly insightful. In the session, “Retail’s Future: Where Customer Experience and Employee Engagement Converge,” Feinberg said, “2015 will be all about the needs and rise of the multichannel customer.” He said a trend this year will be customers looking for a “friend in the aisle” and more engagement with associates.
He also provided some resources and information on the topic:
- Presentation slide: 5 Questions Retailers Need To Ask Themselves About Customer Experience
- Answers Employee Engagement/Customer Satisfaction Slope Chart that measures these retailers: Abercrombie & Fitch, Advance Auto Parts, Ann Taylor, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, Costco, Dick’s, Foot Locker, GameStop, Gap, Home Depot, JCPenney, Kohl’s, Lowe’s, Macy’s, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Sears, Staples, Target, Toys R Us, Victoria’s Secret, Walgreens, and Walmart.
- Answers Experience Index: 2014 U.S. Retail Edition (registration required)
- Answers American Employee Study (registration required)
- Feinberg’s summary/blog post of his NRF 2015 presentation
At NRF 2014, Roddy said the message also resonated: “Two trends slammed me square between the eyeballs last week at Retail’s BIG Show, hosted by the NRF in New York City: The #1 issue retailers care about today is enhancing the customer experience. (And) channel executives told me they believe more than 90 percent of retail resellers aren’t helping their clients enhance the customer experience. Ouch.”
He explained retailers are looking for technology that will help them create a memorable shopping experience — whether digital signage, mobile point of sale (POS), online shopping functionality or social media, or customer data analytics.
Retailers equate serving the optimal customer experience with their ability to compete — and if your clients are retailers, whether you recognize this could affect your ability to compete.
Roddy says, “The first step is to obtain a full understanding of the situation, which means education.” He suggested these articles from Integrated Solutions for Retailers as a starting point: