One More Reason Customers Don't Return To Retail Stores

By Bob Phibbs

Updated April 19, 2024

Let’s stop kidding each other and be honest…When a customer's experience in your store was crappy, they won’t be back.

And let’s put a finer point on it… when shoppers don’t return, it's because of your employees.

And that is employees at both ends of the spectrum.

They either have been around so long and know too much that they can come off as elitist, judging, disinterested, and intimidating, or they’re so new that they know too little and can come off as ignorant.

The first salesperson type prides themselves on and receives their self-worth from their intricate product knowledge. The employee who knows everything believes that is what the customer wants to hear instead of making a meaningful emotional connection. They feel compelled to vomit feature after feature onto the unsuspecting customer, often making the customer feel stupid.

And if someone, God forbid, purchased something online, those senior employees take it as a personal slight.

Having employees around long enough and those with a lot of product information can come off even worse as condescending, dismissive, and arrogant.

On the other hand, an employee without any retail sales training or product knowledge is little more than a warm body who has to pass on the shopper’s requests, questions, or problems. These employees add friction to the customer’s path to purchase.

How do employees end up that way?

It often happens when management turns a blind eye to employees’ bad behaviors. You can’t do that.

Once, I was giving a manager a corrective action, and she walked away and started furiously cleaning the displays at the front of the store. I had to bring her back to the office, away from other employees, to tell her such passive/aggressive actions were not tolerated as the entire crew - and our customers - could see how she was acting. It was just one symptom of how she ran her store.

A store owner recently asked me, “If an employee is great on eight things but not good on two, don’t the eight compensate for the two?” I had to tell him, “Not if the two they missed were how to engage a stranger and make a sale.”

Product knowledge as their valuable asset just isn’t as necessary these days. Customers can research anything at any time and learn more about a product than salespeople can impart.

That’s a far cry from ten years ago when the salesperson was master of their universe and knowledge was everything. The only place you could find anyone who knew anything then was at the store.

Wisdom is everything today.

Wisdom means your salespeople need to be able to compare and contrast. They need to truly listen and fully understand to present your merchandise in a way that makes the complex simple.

Without that ability, the employees will never get to share all they know, and their shoppers will just walk. And when those shoppers walk, they’ll tell their friends on social media, at work, on the street, everywhere but to your face.

And let’s face it; many salespeople won’t care that their customers walked because they’ve been there so long and had such lax management that they feel safe.

Big changes coming

At higher working wages, retailers have an opportunity – no, demand – employees do everything well – otherwise, they’ll fire them quickly.

And if retailers don’t do that, they’ll be out of business.

Some employers already feel they are paying a lot for not a lot of value – and in many cases, I see what they see.

But entry-wage economics haven’t made them better managers. They’ve been lulled into believing their employees are doing everything right.

Those managers point to the fact they rarely hire someone, which they think means they have good and loyal employees. Maybe.

But when I travel the world, I encounter apathetic employees who seem to have a certain self-loathing about working in retail, which shows in their words, actions, and body posture.

The real reason shoppers aren’t returning to stores?

Shoppers don’t want to deal with any of that, so they shop online instead.

Don’t you?

What to do to get your shoppers to return to your store

If you read this as a senior employee, now’s the time to change. Just because you’ve been there a while doesn’t give you a free pass.

It sounds brutal, but you’re only as good as your last sale. With traffic counts down in brick-and-mortar stores, your opportunity to make sales and stand out from competitors is smaller.

Learn something.

Go to a conference.

Visit another store you know absolutely nothing about.

For example, if you don't sew, visit a sewing store. If you don't weld, visit a welding supply. You get the idea.

See what it feels like to be a stranger in a strange store. See how much they allow you in or make you uncomfortable. Notice how it seems they have a moat around the counter, waiting for you to come to them before they let down the bridge to talk to you, or how they approach you with a sense of openness and curiosity.

Next, go back to your store and look at how you or your crew treat a stranger in your jewelry, appliance, hobby, or other stores.

How can you make them feel, at this very minute, that they are the most important person in your world? How can you make complex decisions easier, like buying running shoes, a tablet, or a gift?

What do you need to learn? What do you struggle with? Are you stuck, treating everyone the same with minimal effort? Are you easily frustrated by the same five questions customers ask you? Be honest. Change it!

If you are a manager or owner, now is the time to build your skill set and manage your employees better. While you should also visit a store, as I mentioned above, you need to look at the choices you have made with the personnel on your sales floor.

We’re known more for our compromises than our successes.

Who do you know needs to go? Even if you’re married to them?

Who needs to look outside their four walls to see what needs to change? Who needs a review? Who needs a warning?

Now, ask yourself why you avoid doing what you know needs to be done. Are you so needy of employees' friendship that you can’t hold them accountable? Are you afraid of rocking the boat? Are you terrified they might leave you?

From personal experience, I can tell you that all of those emotions are valid. But I can also tell you that if you push through the fears, a better working environment is on the other side.

In Sum

So many retailers are fishing for ways to get shoppers to return:

Loyalty shopping rewards like Nordstrom
Flashing lights and DJs in stores like Macy’s Herald Square
Price Matching like Best Buy
Mobile order and pay like Starbucks

But jamming a 60-inch monitor on a display table with jeans doesn’t bring them back. Nor does another app they have to download, nor does free shipping.

We are social creatures. Until and unless your store has employees focused on making the shopper's day, those brick-and-mortar customers won’t return to your store.

Or many others.