DMSRetail

Here’s an interesting article from Gavin Johnston at www.anthrostrategy.com. Reprinted with permission.

If you’ve ever shopped with a child in tow during the hectic holiday shopping season, you’re no stranger to stress, particularly during the holiday shopping season. But, retailers who apply human biology and the cognitive theory to in-store design could potentially gain a leg up in making moms more comfortable – not to mention more likely to shop and spend? Moms are busy people, juggling a multitude of duties. It is important to remember that moms are usually the primary shoppers in a household. And shoppers aren’t always the person who consumes a product. Because moms are juggling so many duties, it is easy to make little mistakes in a retail setting that will drive them away. The more a store can do to provide an environment that puts them at ease, the longer they will stay and the more loyal they will become.

1.   Red is Dead. Humans are hard wired to associate warm colors with natural spaces that trigger the brain to feel calm and make shoppers want to linger. Differentiate your store by saying goodbye to traditional red and green and hello to warm colors like maroon and evergreen. The soothing colors will decrease stress and create a non-threatening environment encouraging moms to purchase.

2.   Arch this way. For centuries, arches have served as symbolic gateways, signaling the entrance into a “special” or safe place. Anthropologists refer to this as “liminal space.” Archways signal to us that we are entering a space that is different and therefore special. Moms are more likely to purchase when they are in a relaxed, safe environment and believe they are buying a unique product. Use arches in your retail space to draw attention to special offers or seasonal areas and create a safe shopping environment.

3.   You touch it, you buy it. The more often a person touches a product, the more likely they are to buy it. Touching something, even in passing, subconsciously signals ownership and draws in. Moms, in particular, are trained to touch as a way of ensuring quality and safety of objects for their family. When we test for quality, we are committing ourselves to something and in doing so make it our own. Use fixtures and displays that require shopper interaction to increase engagement and lead to higher purchase rates.

4.   Get intimate. Personal space ranges from 2 to 4 feet. When moms feel they are doing something intimate, rather than just a task, they will have more positive associations with the experience. To create an intimate shopping experience, arrange your displays with 2 to 4 feet of space on either side of the shopper.

5.   From a space to a place. Familiarity with a location puts people at ease and lets them take their time examining things. Public space have no personal connection and are potentially threatening. Moms that feel like they are in a comfortable, familiar space will spend more time and more money. Don’t be afraid to use furniture on the edges of an aisle to make it appear more homey.

6.   Sometimes “mom” is not the word. Forget about “mom” for a minute. Human beings respond to symbols. Moms are constantly being reminded of what their social role and sometimes it can get tiring. Periodically use symbolism in displays that reminds them of their lives outside motherhood, such as pictures of a woman relaxing or shopping for herself.

7.   Hidden treasures. People love to find hidden gems, whether they are shopping for food, cards, or anything else. “Hide” merchandise in unexpected places throughout an aisle. When moms find these items, it reminds them they are clever and skilled shoppers. This will drive them to continue shopping, as they look for additional deals.

Human perceptions of space, although derived from sensory tools that all humans share, are shaped and patterned by culture. Designing your retail space to reflect these often subconscious behavior patterns will put moms at ease, which leads to increased time in the store – and increased sales.

All the Success!
DMSRetail Inc.

PS: Retail Selling Skills & Customer Service Fundamentals YourTime Study Course provides the skills, knowledge and tips you need to boost sales now…Help for the Holidays is right here!! Check it out: http://www.dmsretail.com/retailsellingandserviceskillshs.htm

PPS: Phoenix workshops are coming up in January 2012. Register now and get the new year off to a great start. Send an email to Josephine Hill, Events Manager at jhill@dmsretail.com

All of us are looking for success in our retail businesses. What else? Apart from and beyond everything else, sustainable success requires consistency. What do we mean by that?

We mean being consistently great in all aspects of our retail business.

Short term successes are sometimes possible due to some lucky combination of factors. But, we can’t rely on lucky combinations. They are too few… and too far in between.

What we need to do is to set the foundations of our business right so that we can repeat our successes consistently.

This also has a profound impact on customer satisfaction. Your customers expect a certain level of performance from you on the basis of the perception you created. By being consistent at your skill set and service levels, you satisfy the minimum expectations.

And if you put a degree of constant improvement process in place, you’ll create a winning combination for your retail operation.

At minimum, some of the areas you must deliver on a consistent basis are:

1. Sales Skills (Trained staff on professional retail sales skills)

2. Quick response to all sorts of customer issues (Rapid response procedures in place)

3. Clean, tidy and efficient store environment (Great visual merchandising and maintenance)

4. Streamlined and customer friendly checkout process.

Pretty basic, right? Yet, just wander around the malls and shopping centres and see for yourself how many retailers are failing in consistent delivery of the basics.

Companies who understood this simple philosophy went on to create empires.

All the Success!

DMSRetail Inc.

PS: The Super Retail Success Bundle is a must have resource. It’s right here:   http://www.dmsretail.com/superbundle.htm

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Today’s ‘Word to the RetailWise’ is: Make sure your customer knows that you value their business.

It sounds straight forward but, here’s a story about an employee who thought that he was doing me a favor by processing my order! Seriously.

I was driving home from an afternoon spent with relatives in a distant city. I spent about 8 hours in my car that day. I was tired and hungry. So, I stopped at one of those service centres that are dotted along major highways and I went in and placed an order for some food. I had two or three different choices of food vendors.

The employee took my order, and my money, and told me to move aside while I waited for my food. No problem, I didn’t want to be in the way of other customers.

Then, after a few minutes, the employee put my hot sandwich on my tray. He told me t hat the other item I had ordered would be ready in about 5 minutes or so. You know, 5 minutes…’or so’… is not really a long time but, at a fast food restaurant you kind of expect it to be…well, fast.

So, I told him that he should keep the sandwich until my second item was ready. He said “No, you can just go ahead and start eating and then come back when it’s ready.” I told him that I understood that I could but I would rather have them at the same time. His reply was “What’s the problem? You have something to eat, just come back in a few minutes.” And he had a fake smile pasted on his face the whole time.

I was tired and exasperated….tired of these employees who treat me like I’m being difficult…like they really don’t care if they have my business or not.

In no mood for a battle of wits with the guy, I found a place to sit down and I ate my sandwich.

Several minutes later, after I had finished my sandwich, a different employee brought my second item out to me and I thanked him. But I still felt that I wasn’t treated properly. This feeling could have been avoided if the employee I encountered first had responded differently; if he had just shown a tiny bit of respect for his customer. He had plenty of options open to him.

Many might say this is no big deal…but when, exactly, is it a big deal?

Very few companies go down overnight. It’s a gradual process which happens one dissatisfied or disappointed customer at a time. Be good to all of your customers…one at a time.

All the Success!
DMSRetail Inc.

Today’s ‘Word to the RetailWise’ is: Make sure your customer knows that you value their business.

It sounds straight forward but, here’s a story about an employee who thought that he was doing me a favor by processing my order! Seriously.

I was driving home from an afternoon spent with relatives in a distant city. I spent about 8 hours in my car that day. I was tired and hungry. So, I stopped at one of those service centres that are dotted along major highways and I went in and placed an order for some food. I had two or three different choices of food vendors.

The employee took my order, and my money, and told me to move aside while I waited for my food. No problem, I didn’t want to be in the way of other customers.

Then, after a few minutes, the employee put my hot sandwich on my tray. He told me that the other item I had ordered would be ready in about 5 minutes or so. You know, 5 minutes…’or so’… is not really a long time but, at a fast food restaurant you kind of expect it to be…well, fast.

So, I told him that he should keep the sandwich  until my second item was ready. He said “No, you can just go ahead and start eating and then come back when it’s ready.” I told him that I understood that I could but I would rather have them at the same time. His reply was “What’s the problem? You have something to eat, just come back in a few minutes.” And he had a fake smile pasted on his face the whole time.

I was tired and exasperated….tired of these employees who treat me like I’m being difficult…like they really don’t care if they have my business or not.

In no mood for a battle of wits with the guy, I found a place to sit down and I ate my sandwich. 

Several minutes later, after I had finished my sandwich, a different employee brought my second item out to me and I thanked him. But I still felt that I wasn’t treated properly. This feeling could have been avoided if the employee I encountered first had responded differently; if he had just shown a tiny bit of respect for his customer. He had plenty of options open to him.

Many might say this is no big deal…but when, exactly, is it a big deal?

Very few companies go down overnight. It’s a gradual process which happens one dissatisfied or disappointed customer at a time. Be good to all of your customers…one at a time.

All the Success!
DMSRetail Inc.

Today’s ‘Word to the RetailWise’ is: Upgrade and simplify systems to avoid losses due to POS errors.

The majority of retail employees can tell you at least one story about something ‘weird’ or ‘unexplainable’ that their POS (Point of Sale)system does. Honestly, you would be surprised at how many of these systems are not user friendly.

And anything that is not user friendly….is, by definition, error friendly! And errors cost you money.

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Sign up to join us for a Complimentary Webinar on Wednesday, August 24, 2011, featuring Mr. Romeo Richards, a leading authority in the field of Loss Prevention:   

Webinar Title: Retail Profit Protection

As usual, two complimentary sessions have been scheduled for your convenience.  Please register for the one that is most convenient for you by clicking on one of the links below:
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Retail store employees are not sitting back in a calm, quiet office environment – plucking one thing out of their in-tray at a time. They are usually running around doing several things at once, all the while their workplace is open to the public. Talk about multi-tasking!

We heard about a Store Manager who was not allowed, or able, to open her cash drawer with a key. So, if the POS system would not obey a command to open the drawer for any number of reasons…and, yes, there are plenty of very good reasons…then everything stopped. Staff were frustrated and customers were angry.

She recalled a day when the drawer was closed after a sale. The moment it was closed the cashier realized she had short changed the customer. Too late! Too bad! You can imagine the scene there!

Anyway, the point being made is that POS systems must be designed to take the nature of the business into account. Don’t go out and buy one based on price alone. Make sure it does everything you need it to do…and make sure it does it simply.

One last thought….receiving merchandise into the POS system, and transferring merchandise out, must be a straight forward and quick process. If it’s not, you’ll see the results in your shrinkage – real or not – you may never know.

All the Success!
DMSRetail Inc. 

PS: Our YourTime Study Courses are available for you or your employees to study anywhere, anytime, at your convenience. You can check them out here:
Retail Selling Skills & Customer Service Fundamentals: http://www.dmsretail.com/retailsellingandserviceskillshs.htm
Retail District Management: http://www.dmsretail.com/retaildmstudycourse.htm
Retail Operations Management: http://www.dmsretail.com/RetailOperationsCourse.htm

PPS: If you like ‘Word to the RetailWise’, we encourage you to forward it – in it’s entirety – to your colleagues and friends who have an interest in retail. They can sign up here for their own free copy. It takes about 3 seconds. http://www.dmsretail.com/retailwise.htm

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