How To Engage A Wider Retail Vision During Busy Shopping Periods

Originally posted in Forbes

Throughout the year, retail sales can peak and trough. However, busier periods—such as the festive shopping season—present a strong opportunity for retailers to increase their customer base and maximize sales. While many might keep a short-term view of this opportunity, focusing solely on their performance within that short time span, the reality is that these periods can act as a catalyst for long-term customer retention and sustainable business growth.

The festive shopping season is a prime example of this. From Black Friday to January sales, retailers have a three-month window to attract new customers, provide exceptional experiences and develop strong relationships that retain their business.

Of course, in the build-up to these opportunities, retailers must prepare accordingly. Increasing stock levels, providing overtime for staff and offering attractive discounts and promotions might seemingly create pressure for short-term success. However, it is important to keep an eye on the wider retail vision and to utilize these periods for long-term growth.

The Importance Of Customer Relationships

According to Bain & Company, consumers spend an average of $132 per month with retailers that have earned their loyalty while only spending $71 per month with brands they give lower ratings. When customers feel valued by a brand, not only do they continue to spend with that company, but the trust they have developed leads them to spend more. Meanwhile, research undertaken by Gartner shows that receiving value during a service interaction increases the likelihood of a customer sharing positive word of mouth by as much as 97%.

Strong customer relationships are critical for retailers. By providing a high-quality service to customers, retailers can positively impact their relationships with customers. Not only do these relationships improve the likelihood of increased and repeated spending with their current customer base, but they also improve their chances of growing their customer base through word of mouth. At this point, the process can be repeated, and retailers can soon find themselves in a virtuous cycle—constantly growing the number of customers they reach and retaining them, too.

The Customer Retention Challenge

Strong customer relationships are important, but they don’t necessarily come easily, especially during busy periods. With heavy in-store traffic, delivering a high-quality customer experience can be difficult: crowded areas, lots of waiting around for customers and long queues all work to the detriment of the level of service retailers should be striving to provide. Busy stores also cause potential stress for in-store associates, who, rather than focusing on creating exceptional experiences, might instead rush through interactions to maximize the number of customers they can attend to.

These periods also create the potential for struggles outside of in-store sales. Many retailers today have developed an omnichannel presence, providing customers with various options to complete their shopping. In theory, this is a highly effective practice that facilitates fulfillment options such as buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS), or buy online, return in store (BORIS). However, during peak shopping periods, an inefficient order management operation can quickly lead to retailers failing to fulfill omnichannel orders—which can be catastrophic to customer relationships.

Effectively Managing Relationships During Peak Periods

A few key tweaks to a retail operation can effectively help retailers deliver high-quality in-store experiences despite heavy in-store traffic, transforming a potentially stressful environment into one that takes care of and values every customer who walks through the door.

Everything starts with staff and the tools they are provided with. Preparation is essential, and the human element is crucial in delivering an optimal customer experience. Therefore, retailers must ensure that firstly, they have enough associates on the shop floor to manage a surplus of customers, and secondly, that they are all well-trained in how to interact with different customers, as well as how to utilize best any tool that will help them service in-store visitors.

From here, two factors become critical in building relationships: personalization and speed.

According to McKinsey, 71% of consumers expect companies to interact with them on a personalized level. With the right customer relationship management (CRM), retailers can leverage secure customer data to tailor interactions and empower in-store associates to deliver tailored interactions that make shoppers feel valued. This can include making product recommendations or alternative suggestions based on previous purchasing history. The right data can also enable retailers to create personalized loyalty programs, providing discounts and promotions on specific items that are relevant to customers.

In a cost-of-living crisis, loyalty programs are proving highly effective for retailers, attracting repeat business from customers while also enabling consumers to secure great deals. They also help retailers attract younger generations. Deloitte found that 60% of consumers aged 18 to 24 claim to like point-based loyalty schemes, with 20% also claiming that they would stop shopping with brands if they were to end their loyalty program.

A personal experience is crucial, but combining that with speed creates convenience that few other retailers can deliver. With mobile point of sale (POS) technology, retail brands can transform their entire operation effortlessly. Capable of interacting with a retailer’s wider technology stack, mobile POS solutions enable real-time insights around stock and order management, CRM and wider data and analytics. At this point, associates can create personalized experiences, provide up-to-date stock information for customers and activate tailored discounts and promotions all through one device. Importantly, however, mobile POS enables associates to conduct transactions anywhere in the store.

Suddenly, associates can provide a highly bespoke service and facilitate fast checkouts at the customer’s pace, eliminating queue times. The time of both customers and in-store associates is optimized. Customers leave the store having been provided with a top-tier experience, and associates can quickly move on to the next shopper.

Remember The Long-Term Goal

Relationships in retail are crucial. While peak shopping periods can create stress, they are also the perfect breeding ground for long-term relationships that blossom and expand a retailer’s customer base. If retailers can deliver true value during these seasons, they can seamlessly set a strong foundation for future growth.

Sergey Kozhevnikov, VP of Product Development, Teamwork Commerce. Read Sergey Kozhevnikov’s full executive profile here.