By
Bob Phibbs
In a conference call, GAP stated that “About 70% of shoppers across its three chains (Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic) walk out of the store without buying anything.”
It said GAP would begin offering “order-in-store” for out-of-stocks to address this.
A customer goes into an average of just three shops while visiting a mall. That means they are 33% inclined to buy when they walk through your doors.
If your store staff isn’t closing a sale 33% of the time, look at what they are bringing – or taking away – from your customers’ desires to purchase.
As a retail expert, I’m often asked about what keeps retailers up at night. Right now, that would be fewer people coming in the doors. Conversion rates are down; there’s a relentless push to lower quality to achieve price points, and …oh yeah, Millennial shoppers don’t have the inclination or money to spend on what once were must-have clothes.
In fact, they’d rather browse than buy.
Look no further than this Abercrombie sign I spotted in the mall last week.
This brand prided itself on not having sales; then they did a complete reversal.
So it seems GAP and Abercrombie are struggling to figure out how to appeal to the changed demographic of teens.
But what about the Baby Boomer shoppers like me?
Best Buy
I wanted to buy a new LG LED TV and I went to Best Buy knowing they had it.
The young retail employee dutifully answered Where is it? How much is it today? Is there anything comparable? Questions. He then pulled out a clipboard and asked, “Are there any windows in the room you will have it in?”
I thought, wow, this is great. He’ll use one of my retail selling techniques to help me solve my problem. I replied, “There are two. Will that affect my choice?”
“I just have to write your response on this form so I can show I asked it,” he replied without answering my question.
Geez, I thought.
Fine, I purchased the set. I got it home, and all my favorite movies looked like Star Trek episodes from the 60’s. I brought it back, and a different salesman said, “Yeah, many people don’t like the soap opera effect. You probably want one of the plasma TVs, which works better for some older customers.”
“Fine, show me,” I replied. “Well, they’re expensive, and we can’t carry them in this location; you’d have to go to Connecticut.”
Sale? Lost.
Not because of price or being out-of-stock but because the salesman didn’t commit to selling what he could.
He didn’t close the sale.
He didn’t offer me an alternative.
He let me walk.
With that refund, I went to the appliances section to check out a new washer and dryer. After waiting 10 minutes, a guy came over and dutifully answered my questions about the permanent press cycles. “I don’t make any commission on this, so you can trust me,” he said. “Doesn’t matter if you buy it from me today or someone else. I’m paid just the same.”
He, too, had his clipboard and wrote permanent press on the form. “You can ask for anyone, and they can help you.”
Oh, I see. They’re not into selling it as long as they have proof they are trying to sell it.
I went back later to try to buy them. After waiting another 10 minutes watching five couples open refrigerator doors, look at signs on dishwashers, point at washer features, look for a salesperson and then leave, I asked the greeter, who was eating an open bag of Chex Mix spread out on her small station, to find someone for me. Another five minutes passed and I asked another register clerk, “Are they coming?” “Yes, we told ‘em.” I didn’t wait; I left.
Now I know you’re asking, Why didn’t I just go someplace else? All the independents are gone in my area.
The story's point is that Best Buy had plenty of traffic, but their employees didn’t commit to making a sale.
One more story…
I entered a watch store, and I noticed two young saleswomen looking at their iPads as I walked in.
Neither one of them noticed me.
I stopped at the Panerai watch display case. A personable young woman came over and asked, “May I show you one of the watches?”
“Sure,” I said. At that moment, one of the other women walked over and said to her, “I’ll handle it,” and she came over to the case.
“Which one are you interested in?” she asked.
“That one. I’ve never heard of Panerai.”
“They were made for the Italian navy in WWI,” she stated. As I put the watch down, I said the band seemed flimsy. “It was made for the Italian navy in WWI; I’m sure it’s sturdy.” With that, she returned the watch in the case and walked away.
If you read my posts on my shopping experience at Nordstrom and Radio Shack, you know a lot is going on at the customer level that most brands simply aren’t acknowledging… and it comes down to how little retail salespeople really want to make a sale.
Your Store Might Be In Trouble If Your Employees:
1) Are making customers wait without acknowledgment. Customers waiting used to be the rallying cry of retail. When employees leave customers waiting unnoticed, those customers leave, taking their money with them. That’s a lot of money, goodwill, and word of mouth walking out your door…lots of it.
2) Are covering their butt. When the paperwork becomes more important than the customer, i.e., those Best Buy clipboards, employees work to satisfy the system and leave their customers cold and disconnected.
3) Are dismissive. When your employees are perfunctory, they often destroy the possibility of a relationship. I'm looking at you, watch woman...
And trying to cover up your troubles by buying off customers doesn't work.
Want to create a healthy brand?
You build a great retail brand from the customer interaction up. Look at Container Store, Lululemon, and even Starbucks.
An unsupervised employee will take the easy way…away from the customer who pays their salary.
An unmotivated employee will go through the motions...because they have to.
It’s not about promotions, everyday low prices, or omnichannel. Otherwise, Sears, Kmart, and JCP would probably be on almost every shopper’s list.
A healthy brand is about people.
And if you can’t manage the people correctly, you can’t move the merchandise.
In Sum
Look, customers are kicking back at retailers after years of neglect. They’re tired of waiting, they’re tired of surly employees, they’re tired of no one giving a damn on the sales floor.
33% of them came in to buy something from you. If they don’t buy, your merchandise has to be sold at huge discounts, your brand shrinks, and I have to ask...
How long can your brand survive?
