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Abstract
Quantifying brick-and-mortar customer experience has been a challenge daunting retailers and brands alike. Recognizing this, The DART Group has developed a toolset that quantifies customer experience and observes alterations of consumer behavior when integrated technology solutions are implemented. By visiting brick-and-mortar stores, evaluating aspects of customer experience, and constructing a Process, Layout, and Metric (PLM) Model, the identified knowledge gap for a retailer can be closed. The PLM Model shows in-store processes with correlating layouts. These layouts show physical changes used to enhance customer experience, ultimately addressing metrics desired by the retailer.
Summary
The DART Group’s mission is to tailor technology integration to make it most effective for various retailers by:
D – Determining the present
A – Acknowledging friction
R – Recognizing opportunities
T – Tailoring solutions
Retailers and brands have access to big data analytics, and leveraging technology to evaluate the digital customer experience is incredibly valuable for efficient assessments and comparisons. While Gen Z shoppers prefer digital options, Baby Boomers prefer in-store and brands need a comprehensive understanding of both demands. Brick-and-mortar should be a central tenet of a brand’s operational strategy if aiming to capture the spending from one or both generations. False demand perception leads to a disconnect between the retailer and the target models leading to the well-known Gaps Model.
This opportunity provided the DART group to develop a toolset to innovate how retailers measure their in-store customer experience. The group also observes alterations of consumer behavior when integrated technology solutions are implemented. By visiting brick and mortar stores, and evaluating aspects of customer experience; a Process, Layout and Metric (PLM) Model was developed to identify knowledge gaps for retailers. This model diminishes the gap by thoroughly surveying the current in-store experience, gaining insight into current customers, providing feedback to retailers, and then taking actions that better serve customers through technology implementation. Process flow diagrams are developed to outline all possible decisions and subsequent actions a customer takes while in-store, specific to the retail model.
Naturally, decisions and actions vary among retailers, however the foundation of the process model is a look, find and buy feedback loop cycle. Layout(s) help understand customer experience by pointing to physical locations in which the decisions in the process flow are being made. Lastly, Metric(s) of the PLM model of an Amazon Just Walk Out Case Study involve mainly customer time in-store, product handling, and customer independence. Other metrics can be recognized based on other case studies to improve customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, brand advocacy, brand quality/operations, and employee engagement.
The DART group also converted the PLM Model to a positive Return of Investment (ROI) by analyzing the metrics, reviewing performance changes and offsetting the cost of technology. This launched the innovation of a Low Contact Model (LCM) for layout which expands Back-Of-House (BOH) operations for a retail format halfway between a dark store and traditional retail. This optimizes Ship From Store (SFS) and Buy Online Pickup In-store (BOPIS) fulfilment models while prioritizing the in-store customer experience.
