DW's Blog

Amazon And Customer Experience

by DW Green — July 5, 2017

Efforts to control costs, can wind up costing sales

Amazon’s recent acquisition of Whole Foods signals that the future of retailing is moving toward a fusion of digital and physical experiences. The key word is experiences. Whether the digital experience is external (website, email blasts, social media platforms) or in-store digital devices (check stand screens, self service check stands, monitors, kiosks, ect.) the consumer experience is job one. And of course the store shopping experience is most critical. Store merchandising, product presentation, signage, product story telling, product assortment, food service offerings, product demos, employee training, and employee service standards must be exceptional. Duh…this all seems so blatantly obvious. Unfortunately, many retailers fall down in some of these important activities. Sometimes I think that efforts to control costs, wind up costing sales. Does your external marketing experience match your in-store shopping experience? Are you delivering a fun, informative and entertaining shopping experience? Remember, Amazon’s greatest competitive advantage is not its e-commerce network; it is its innovation engine.