Customer experience is a term that is extensively used in the online ecommerce space to benchmark the ease with which a website visitor navigates through the portal. However, this is not a parameter that is exclusive to the online space. For years, brick and mortar stores have relied on their store layout and designs to provide an experience that is unique to their brand.
The most famous example is the Apple Store which strives to create a “magical experience” to its visitors. Restaurants have known to paint their walls with specific colors in order to increase appetite or make the experience relaxing. In a retail store, every small change can drastically impact the sales and conversions of your products. In this article, we will take you through five such steps that can improve customer experience.
Remove Clutter : When a customer walks into your store, the first thing that runs in their mind is “okay, so what should I do now?” A minimal design that is clutter-free ensures that the store only displays what they want the customer to see. Do you sell headphones? Then make sure the store has a clear display of the most popular headphone units with no distraction (like flyers lying around, other accessories you want to cross-sell, etc.). A cluttered store is the main reason for high footfall-to-sale ratio.
Make It Easy To Touch-And-Feel : In this day and age of ecommerce, why do people still walk into a brick and mortar store? There are a few reasons to it, but the most important one is the opportunity to “touch and feel” a product they want to buy. This is especially true when it comes to electronic products where a customer is able to gauge the appeal only on actually using them. For this reason, always ensure that your customers can easily touch-and-feel a product without having to request a salesperson. Computer stores usually have stand up desks that make it easy for customers to use a machine before deciding on whether to purchase it or not. Similarly, book stores have small stools for customers to sit and read the books they like before deciding on a purchase.
Listen To Your Customer : Unlike an online commerce store where the customer can only see what the website chooses to show, a brick and mortar shop allows customers to ask questions about the product before making a purchase. This being the case, when a customer walks up to the salesperson at a store, their job is to not push for a product, but instead to listen to the customer and answer their questions. This is of course one of the very essential traits for any salesperson. But this becomes all the more important when understanding the advantages of a brick and mortar store against ecommerce websites.
Offer Parking Space : A lot of times, brick and mortar store designers only focus on the layout and design of the store itself. But as a brick and mortar store, your competition is not just the online store, but also other brick and mortars in your neighborhood. All things being equal, a primary reason for customers to pick one store over another is availability of parking space. In the absence of a parking spot, customers are often hassled which ruins the store experience even before it has started. So as a good thumbrule, always make sure that your store offers ample parking space to its patrons.
Customer experience is a dying art in this day of discounts and promotions. However, a business can thrive better by offering a unique experience that makes a customer feel special and valued. These tips above are just the basic essentials to enable a store that offers customers an experience they deserve.
