Department stores are a gateway to experience local communities

There are plenty of stories about department stores being the place where people connect. Before shopping became more transactional, it was a truly all-encompassing experience.

This article about Harrods' little known secrets is an interesting reference about how the department store consistently aimed to offer a complete experience during its history.

What hasn't changed is a department store's ability to build a sense of community, where people still identify themselves and each other based on where they shop. This is especially true in a world where meeting in person is no longer as immediate and obvious as it used to be and offline experiences are in many ways experiencing a rebirth. Retailers and retail groups are more often than not seen doubling down on their investment in brick-and-mortar. The relaunch of La Samaritaine by DFS / LVMH is a good example of that, with a €750M and a 16-year overhaul to completely reinvent the iconic department store. Even with a massive investment in the project, one thing that hasn't changed is the sense of community and personal interaction that drives the experience at the department store.

Unsurprisingly, store associates are still very much there and remain a pillar of the local experience.

Localized digital services elevated by the human touch

The old paradigm of in-store VS online sales is quickly crumbling. Innovative retailers and especially department stores have long been looking at the user experience as the driver of their survival and growth. As a result, many of them pioneered the Omnichannel era with services that connect online with offline sales and vice versa. Those include the now-ubiquitous services offered by department stores to drive conversion from digital in-store: "Click & Collect", "Reserve In-store", "Try in-store, Buy Online".

To match and elevate these solutions built for convenience, department store employees play a key role as they help drive these omnichannel experiences, with an accent and focus on empathy and localization. This in tun helps drive conversion, long-term engagement and returning customers.

Here are some high-level examples of how department stores can further drive conversion and loyalty through personal engagement:

• 1:1 in-store shopping appointments: by matching prospects and clients to stores associates to book an in-store appointment, department stores are able to capture more information than ever about their customers and empower their employees with better solutions to sell. This is especially true when the offering covers the deep and wide inventory of brands and products that department stores are able to offer.
• 1:1 video personal shopping: similarly to in-store appointments, store employees can engage online shoppers through video to help drive conversion and upsell. In this case, there is an important caveat: Live Chat and Video can be very useful but the disruptive element of these solutions for employees can cause bottlenecks and frustration. As a result, it is highly recommended to either complement or even replace online queuing with an agile booking and "time-matching" solution that fits video consultation more seamlessly in the agenda of each store associate.
• Live Shopping and in-store shopping events: shopping events are nothing new, but the technology growth driven by the Pandemic has really helped consumers adopt video as a channel with Live Shopping. As a result, retailers are able to not only leverage online shopping but also drive in-store experiences with an audience that is more open than ever to look beyond standard eCommerce shopping.

Regardless of the tools used, in-store employees remain a pillar of the Retail ecosystem. Empathy, personal touch and the sense of belonging that they are able to spur with customers is hard to overstate. As a result, retailers and especially Department Stores should double down on leveraging their front-line employees, not only to welcome or educate clients but also and more importantly to build relationships and nurture Loyalty in the long term.

Department Stores: the neighborhood away from home

The local experience and personal link that department stores are able to provide is actually able to extend beyond the physical space. More than even, undecided shoppers relate to and count on their preferred department store associates to make decisions even when they are traveling abroad. They then leverage video, chat and emails to keep the conversation going, before "returning to the base" following their travel.

The ability for DS brands to create this immutable link build on empathy and personal relationships with their customers is invaluable and shows once again how successful department stores can remain in driving business and long-term growth in retail.

Ryan Miller - Head of CSM / Clientela - rmiller@clientela.com

*Clientela is a RetailTech company based in New York and Paris.

For more than 10 years, Clientela has defined and developed applications dedicated to improving the performance of salespeople and employees of major brands, distributors and department stores.

Main services are Clienteling, Drive-to-Store and boutique's resource management.

www.clientela.com*

Learn more about Clientela here