By Jim Roddy, president, Business Solutions magazine and Innovative Retail Technologies magazine
One of the most insightful presentations I attended during NRF 2015 was “Retail’s Future: Where Customer Experience and Employee Engagement Converge.” The session was presented Tuesday morning, Jan. 13, by Eric Feinberg, senior director of product strategy at ForeSee by Answers, a provider of customer experience analytics.
I won’t be able to relive for you the data-packed half hour, but these quotes by Feinberg and links to his source documents are the next best thing. There’s a lot of information here, so hold on tight:
- Feinberg: “2015 will be all about the needs and rise of the multichannel customer.”
- 2015 trend: “Customers are looking for ‘a friend in the aisle’ and more engagement with helpful associates.”
- Apple has a better customer experience because they put “a genius in the aisle.”
- “I’ve been droning on about this for years: employees are the critical link.”
- “Retailers: It’s not about you. It’s about the customer. Sorry.”
- Presentation slide: 5 Questions Retailers Need To Ask Themselves About Customer Experience
- Answers Employee Engagement/Customer Satisfaction Slope Chart that measures these retailers: Abercrombie & Fitch, Advance Auto Parts, Ann Taylor, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, Costco, Dick’s, Foot Locker, GameStop, Gap, Home Depot, JCPenney, Kohl’s, Lowe’s, Macy’s, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Sears, Staples, Target, Toys R Us, Victoria’s Secret, Walgreens, and Walmart.
- Answers Experience Index: 2014 U.S. Retail Edition (registration required)
- Answers American Employee Study (registration required)
- Feinberg’s summary/blog post of his NRF 2015 presentation
The NRF BIG Show was held January 11-14, 2015, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. The event attracted over 33,000 retail professionals from around the world.
