design:retail - May 2019 - 17

MAY 2019

EXPERIENCE

DESIGN:RETAIL

PERSPECTIVES

Swipe Right
RETAIL GURU JUDY BELL EXPLORES
THE POWER OF REVIVING RETAIL
RELATIONSHIPS
➞ A SHOPPER STEPS INTO your store with fingers or feet,

online or in a physical space. You've engaged
their interest, now how can you begin to build
a relationship that lasts? For years, we've talked
about the importance of offering shoppers an
"experience," but what's next? What goes beyond a one-night stand toward developing a loyal
and trusted relationship?
Looking back in time, relationship building was at the core of shopping. Successful sales
people kept little black books with their customers' names, phone numbers, sizes, brand and style
preferences. When they unpacked the season's new
arrivals, they would pre-shop the assortment and
invite their clients in to try the selections. Andy
Markopoulos, a legendary leader at DaytonHudson, understood the importance of personal
connection, and he did that through visual merchandising and store design. "He treats people who
come into the store as guests, and the way he does
his store design and the way he encourages all of the
visuals, is to really make the people who shop the
stores feel very good about being there," says Judy
Neidermaier in a Markopoulos tribute on Vimeo.
Everybody loved to buy something at Dayton's:
the carefully wrapped treasures in tissue paper always smelled so lovely, and all were proud to carry
the package with the coveted Dayton's logo. Delighted shoppers knew they had something special.
In this highly regarded retail space, Andy inspired
visual merchandisers to create vignettes that instantly caught shoppers' attention-and often even
drew out a smile. Andy and his team would build
relationships with shoppers through mannequins
and props, elegant furnishings and signage. And
the sales team in the store was so carefully trained
that they built on those visuals by offering expert
advice and making eye contact when speaking to
shoppers. How often today do cashiers look at you
when they say thank you?
Recently, I was shopping for a pair of jeans at a
nearby national department store, which in fact,
used to be a Dayton's store. There were no salespeople in the denim department, so I selected a few
styles of jeans and searched for the fitting rooms.
Once inside, the process involved a few trips out

JUDY BELL
FOUNDER
ENERGETIC RETAIL

"In the past, time-trusted
visual techniques,
coupled with expert sales
training and adequate
staffing, were a staple in
retailers' success stories."
onto the floor, back and forth, to find more styles
and sizes. Thirty minutes later, I was ready to make
a purchase and there were still no salespeople in
sight. This was not on a Minnesota Polar Vortex day;
it was in the middle of summer. In time, I eventually
found a checkout in a neighbouring department,
I made my purchase, and then "swiped left" on
shopping that store in the future. It was simply too
much work.
Contrast that with my visit to Evereve a few
months later. It was my first time in the store; I
went in to exchange a gift. One of the sales team
members approached me and told me that she
had a few styles of jeans that were a perfect fit for
my body type. After some gentle persuasion and a
friendly chat, she escorted me to the fitting room
and I began to try on several styles. I couldn't believe the difference in fit compared to those I had

purchased in the department store without assistance. I was having fun, too-these jeans took
10 years off my age! Who knew the fountain of
youth could be styled into a jean? I walked out
with two pairs, and went back the next season
for two more. I "swiped right" on Evereve and
their expert team of jean fitters, and I've recommended the store to friends who now shop there.
That "first date" built a relationship of trust in
the brand's unique expertise, coupled with their
warm, fun and engaging approach. I mattered,
and they were clear about it. They wanted me to
look my best.
I think today many retailers have "thrown the
baby out with the bathwater." In the past, timetrusted visual techniques, coupled with expert
sales training and adequate staffing, were a staple
in retailers' success stories, but today they are too
often left behind and replaced by information and
data at HQ. At checkouts, sales people are required
to pitch charge accounts and ask for zip codes.
Sometimes they must ask if you want to round
up the dollar amount of your purchase for charity. These rote questions wipe out the possibility of
any "real" dialogue and are even annoying to some.
There are shoppers who would rather just pay for
their stuff and leave through the nearest exit. A
properly trained sales team member can recognize
that and speedily move the shopper out the door,
but not if they have to recite a litany of sales pitches.
It all seems like an easy fix for brick-andmortar stores-relationships are part of their
heritage. Some are taking up the charge, like Kroger,
which in 2018 announced they were adding 11,000
team members to store staffs to emphasize customer service. But what about online shopping? If
Andy Markopoulos were here today, I wonder what
message his version of online shopping would convey? Onliners are trying: clients' preferences are
recorded when they shop online, and they receive
messages from Amazon, like "Recommended for
You," and from Barnes and Noble, like: "Because you
purchased 'Little French Bistro,'" etc. I think these
suggestions and gentle nudges do work, but so much
more can be done both online and in-store by looking through a new lens: that of retail relationships.
Retailer and shopper connections are important.
Consider that loneliness is at epidemic levels in the
United States and, possibly, worldwide. Last year, in
the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Theresa May
appointed a Minister of Loneliness. Isn't it a good
time to look at shoppers realistically and wonder
about how Andy would have put a smile on their
faces? How would he have encouraged them to
"swipe right?"

design:retail - May 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of design:retail - May 2019