Mega Monday, Cyber Monday, or Spend, Spend, Spend Monday - I think most people indulged in a little online shopping this week.
I like online shopping, I like it a lot but it's not without problems. it can be just as overwhelming, time consuming and delivery can be a pain. However, on the whole, it's easy, convenient and it's here to stay but does it mean the demise of the high-street?
High-street retailers can give us customer experiences that we will never get online but for sure they have to up their game. Dynamic, energetic and knowledgeable sales staff would be a good start and clean changing rooms, unrestricted number of items when trying on and prices to match those on the internet should be the norm. However, customers love to feel special and valued and retailers need to invest in ways that show that.
I recently took a client to an independent high-street retailer where we were warmly greeted and offered refreshments. Clothes were displayed in colour themes, well spaced out with just one of each size on display and there was room to move around. Staff were happy to fetch other sizes or to answer questions. Alterations were free of charge, a discount was given to compete with Cyber Monday, items were carefully wrapped and a free pair of tights added to the parcel.
I asked my client about her experience and she said that she loved it because it put the feel good factor back into shopping and she felt her custom was valued. Will she go back? You bet!
If we don't use it we'll lose it. Give the retailers your feedback, negative or positive!
