In-store experience should be consistent

Throwing light on various essential aspects of changing retail scenario at In-Store Asia 2015, the discussion on'The In-Store Experience: The Next Frontier For Revenue Growth & Profitability' had panelists sharing their respective brand's success strategies that has set them apart from their counterparts.

Mohit Khattar, MD, Godrej Nature's Basket said, "Customers expect you to go the extra mile because all food retailers are selling same food items but the difference in buying experience and service can make lot of difference.” He added that one has to understand that all customers are not discount driven. Many customers are willing to pay full price and even premium for a specialty. Customers are hungry for new experiences, new tastes, and newer flavours. And catering to this, Godrej organises cookery demonstrations at the store so that customer can relate and engaged with the brand. And customer engagement is not restricted to a physical interaction anymore but it can be taken forward through social media or loyalty programs

Viraj Jit Singh, CMO, KidZania India gave the credit of KidZania's success to their policy of making kids aware of how society functions in reality. "Building right experience as per your customers' needs is the key to success.”

Speaking about the experience economy, Sachin Kamat, Director - Employee & Customer Engagement, Enrich Salon & Academy said, "Delivering the same quality of experience in any city, at any time of the day—every single day is our mantra of success.” At Enrich, employees are first, customers are second. "We do beauty services and we also deliver self-esteem. They want to feel good about themselves. Focus on employees experience is the best way to deliver customer experience,” he added.

Adding a very important topic to the discussion, Vinay Nadkarni, MD & CEO, Globus Stores, emphasised on the evolution and importance of visual merchandising as per evolving customer needs. He said, "Unless you really connect with customers you cannot march ahead. Your store window should be like a R K Laxman cartoon where you can convey what best and unique you can offer to your customer in one space.  Use floor space to understand your customer and then mould your store experience as per their needs. In-store experience should be consistent.”