The New Face of Retail?

Marketing at Retail has a great article by David Polinchock (CEO of Brand Experience Lab), describing his experience of brands that are utilising product knowledge as a key driver for in-store sales, and hiring/ educating their staff accordingly.

"We stopped at Napapijri,
where the salesperson there could tell us everything about the store
and the brand. She knew when it started, its history, where the
materials came from, and just about anything else you could think to
ask. She took us from item to item. Not trying to sell, but educating
us about their products. And they do have cool stuff! But it wasn’t
just a one-time fluke. We’ve been there now three or four times, and
each visit has been the same, but with different salespeople. They
showed us the product books that they use to study from — and they
were proud to show us these books. Have your employees ever been proud
to show off their training materials? I mean, think about that.
Employees proud to show off their product knowledge!"

Not only does he highlight some very cool experiential oppportunities being offered (a walk-in freezer at Burton where you can test the warmth of their jackets, Diesel Denim Gallery’s washing guidance and laundry service), the points raised are definitely worth taking note of-

"We spend so much time trying to figure out how to create great
experiences for our guests, but many times we don’t even think about
the employees. And if they’re not feeling elated and excited first, your guests never will"

read The New Face of Retail?