Create a memorable experience by making your customers feel special

Top 6 in-store practices transforming customer experience, Part 6 of 6

Personalisation

Personalisation is when your customer feels important and appreciated in your retail store.

Why personalisation?

Creating a personal experience allows consumers to connect personally and build their loyalty to the brand. Exceptionally prevalent in e-commerce platforms, companies leverage customers’ data to customise recommendations and provide each customer with an individual shopping experience. As a result, this encourages customers to shop online, and businesses should reflect this behaviour in-store retail experiences.

Apple

Apple is a company that has identified this retail opportunity and has brought it to their physical stores. For example, its “Shop with a Specialist” feature allows consumers to browse and shop their products with a specialist at the Apple store, a personalised experience.

Before the pandemic, research from customer engagement software JRNI concluded that 64.8% of millennial respondents¹ scheduled face-to-face appointments an average of one to two times annually. Data by Shopify also shows that 50% of consumers find the option to schedule a time for in-store shopping relevant to them².

How to personalise your services?

In addition to appointment shopping, here are a few strategies you should implement to give your customers a personalised retail experience.

• Encourage employees to call customers by their name
• Create exclusive events and experiences to deepen their engagement with the store.
• Learn about the customers’ wants and expectations of the product and present them with a range of options that fit their personal needs.

Great in-store experience is the key differentiator of your brand. Now more than ever, in-store shopping serves a greater purpose than just supplying your customers with what they need. Customers value your efforts when you go out of your way to address pain points and offer solutions that exceed their expectations.

End Notes

¹JRNI. (2019).Consumer behavior 2019:What consumers want now in the omnichannel world + expert tips to dominate it now. JRNI.[Online] Available: https://www.jrni.com/uploads/resources/RS-Research-Consumer-Behavior-2019.pdf. [Accessed: 10-December-2021].

²Kat Ambrose. (2021, February 24). Appointment shopping 101: How to create safe, sales-boosting in-store experiences. Shopify. [Online] Available: https://www.shopify.my/retail/appointment-shopping. [Accessed: 10-December-2021].