Many years ago, Best Buy was on the ropes. People who used to come to buy electronics from them, were not going there to look at the products and then buying them on the “king” of US e-commerce Amazonl  “Showrooming” became a concept.

A new CEO, with a vision of the future, rescued BestBuy. He turned the “showroom” into an intense customer experience:

• Vendors (e.g., computer companies) could create special sections where customers could better experience the products, with the help of vendor-specialists.
• A commitment to serve the customer after they bought the equipment was demonstrated buy buying and expanding “the Geek Squad”
• Prices were dropped to more closely resemble those of its competitors. Customers could buy online or in-store at the same prices. 

That execution has been the prototype of a customer-experience revolution expanding into all segments of our economy. The question is: what are you doing to reshape the customer experience?

Apple created the Apple Store, which with its experiential opportunities and genius-bar, enabled it to have the highest per square-foot retail sales company. Saks took its second floor sales gallery and turned it into a life-style set of experiences, with the goal of increasing sales.  Lexus transformed the traditional “dirt-oil mechanics shop” into a clean, attractive space where customers could come and putt in the back while waiting for the car repair. 

Recently, a colleague in London was walking through its high end shopping area, and observed several transformations by companies to highlight the customer-experience, rather than direct sales of products. For instance, entire areas are set-up to allow customers to interact with products and take interesting “selfies” to share with others. Indeed, one of the more exciting places he said ws the new Microsoft store, which is a “generation ahead” of the Apple store. 

In most cases, the shopping experience is about learning about the Brand and its products, and have fun doing so. As people build a relationship with the brand, then then share it with others, and then allow people to make purchasing decisions at a later (online) time, often online.  This allows companies to reduce stock in store and reduce the size of “superstores. For instance, Target announced several pilot small stores a few years ago that were about 105% of the side of their traditional stores. 

Watch how this trend is growing… and then ask a question: how can my business improve its customers; experiences!  Share your ideas here, and inspire others!!