Falling Back in Love with Retail

A remarkable thing happened the other day. In fact, the unthinkable happened. Brace yourselves, folks, because I quit using Amazon Prime. Rash? I’ve been accused of worse. Crazy? No. Allow me to tell you about a recent shopping trip that changed my outlook.

Despite nearly a lifetime spent in the retail industry, I don’t consider myself a “shopper.” I fall into the typical male demographic: Along with a remote glued to my palm and the occasional grunt, my “shopping” ventures are the path of least resistance – I know what I want, take the shortest possible route and retreat. Especially with big-box stores, which I avoid like the plague. Normally my mantra is “I don’t do over 10,000 square feet.” But the need for a new television taxed my typical shopping habit. It’s a product that has essentially two purchase options: Amazon or Best Buy. Even my local go-to source for anything with a plug, Standard Television and Appliance, got out of the television business (the opportunity and markup now being mattresses; save that for another story). I believe I witnessed the debut of Madonna on MTV on my current old set, so you can imagine how much has changed with OLED, QLED, HD, 4K and lots of other techno jargon and sexy futuro-consumer acronyms out there.

To bring myself into the 21st Century, research would be needed.  Lots and lots of click-throughs later, I threw my hands up after reading my 237th conflicting Amazon user review. My eyes burned from so many comparison graphs and flashy videos touting the latest and greatest, and my carpal tunnel flared up as I slammed the laptop shut and waved a white flag.  This was the crux of the retail wars going on in my own head – online versus bricks and mortar. It was at that moment that I decided to pay a visit to one of the big boys — way beyond my 10,000 square foot rule – aka Best Buy.  

To my surprise, the store was clean, and as the regimented male shopper that I am, I made a beeline for the television area. By the time my big-box anxiety was beginning to kick in, not one, but two well-informed sales associates working as a team calmly put me at ease and helped me make a cool and rational television purchasing decision. Within 20 minutes, I was out the door with a visit from the Geek Squad in the books. Two days later, still expecting something to go wrong – perhaps a smashed television, a hammer through my wall, a TV crashing to the floor – I was blown away once more. Two friendly installers arrived at my door and had my newfangled 4K television up on the wall so quickly I couldn’t even get through Tuesday’s TV Guide listings. Like a holy apparition, there was Wendy Williams beaming at me in full 4K glory. They took me through the set-up, answered my questions, cleaned up and were out the door with the trash. Oh, and they were on time to boot!

Current retail convention had been challenged. Here I am, convinced, as we all are probably, of how simple and convenient online shopping is. And it is in the case of replenishment: those staple items you know and repeatedly use, like that shade of lipstick or that type of detergent. In the case of a more complex purchase, requiring an investment of thought, consideration and dollars, I now realize buying online isn’t worth my time, short of a bit of research. I reflected on the drastically different approach almost taken to purchase that television.  How many hours had I clicked away on Amazon never really getting to the bottom of anything? And with recent Amazon orders, I noticed that my purchases were not necessarily coming from Amazon but some “marketplace.” Not knowing who I was really buying from bugged me. If something went wrong with my new TV, I took smug comfort knowing there is no need to deal with an overseas phone farm for “customer service.” There was no worrying whether my order would arrive crushed or left on the doorstep in the rain (like many of mine have). And I was able to capitalize on the in-store expertise to help me make my purchase decision without having to decode user reviews, stars and bad grammar. And there would be no guilty feelings for supporting a technology company where retail is the byproduct instead of the first order of business.

I don’t aim to endorse retailers like Best Buy or disparage online companies like Amazon, but I am noticing that the tables are turning. Retailers are finally understanding that the survival of bricks and mortar rests on the service experience. My Best Buy experience rekindled my belief in physical retail and made me really “get” what I’ve always truly known.

Here are six simple things for retailers to keep in mind when it comes to survival of the fittest:

1. Invest in your people, particularly those on the floor. Train them and stoke their passion for a subject matter. Be it televisions, underwear or artichokes, let them be the experts they are.
2. Pay them well. Yes, fair pay does motivate. It’s simply good business. (The retail industry has a horrible track record of not paying living wages, and it’s time to stop this practice.)
3. Understand that working in retail is a valid career and not a temp summer job. Everyone should have the opportunity to earn a living wage and advance up the ladder.
4. You the management work for your sales associates. Not the other way around. This is the “Nordstrom principle” behind their service model. Your sales associates are selling, after all. They are literally financing your paycheck.
5. Listen to your associates. They have their finger on the pulse of the customer and know what they want.
6. Become part of your community whether a global, national or local retailer. Giving back counts and doesn’t go unnoticed by your customer.

As retail evolves, so does Jonathan Lander. Having overseen new retail directions for Rockport, Nordstrom, Nike and AT&T, he expanded his approach to include deeper forms of technology with augmented and virtual reality. Through traditional retail design, visual merchandising, presentation, digital technologies, as well as social media, Jonathan embraces a truly holistic approach to retail.