Check out the merch
A. Neatly. Folded. Sweater.
Shopping starts before you even enter a store. If the shop window is presented well, it catches your eye and invites you in. Retailers use displays to catch your attention and inspire your imagination. Think about the Fifth Avenue holiday displays: the lights, the decorations, the perfect rows of neatly folded sweaters.
This is the idea we aim to explore — the methods and the magic behind a great customer experience. When done well, it conveys careful consideration and meticulous execution, and above all, a passion for the product. Historically, retailers have used displays to show a range of colors, styles and options. All focused on generating demand. But the times they are a-changin’. The tools evolved from catalogs to malls to eCommerce, as the vessel to show off product grew in sophistication.
Neatly Folded Sweater — what to expect
“Neatly Folded Sweater” is a new Medium publication, which curates modern views on retail. The Zendesk Retail team recruited a mix of innovative companies to highlight trends, share analysis, and hypothesize on the future of commerce. We have payment companies, design agencies, product development, SaaS solutions, and even a few venture capitalists. We will look at all things commerce — physical, digital, and omnichannel commerce experiences.
Commerce is changing today, more rapidly than ever before. Powered by smartphones and tablets, consumers have wide choice, an amplified voice and broader market perspective on styles. Today, you don’t need to go into a physical retail environment, let alone a mall, to get commerce inspiration. This is an era of subscription commerce — think Birchbox, Dollar Shave Club, Harry’s — in which companies are focused on building great relationships to reduce churn.
Customer experience defines leading retailers
Never before have businesses placed such a premium on the customer experience. Companies need to think about how to get flexible with customers; in store, digitally, and cross-device experiences. Deloitte Digital states that “winning online is not just about getting ecommerce right — it is about building a cohesive, consistent, and compelling experience across all touch points in the customer journey, both online and offline.” This cohesion is an incredibly difficult journey, but one that pays off in winning the connected consumer.
Status quo won’t work here. Today’s market requires retailers to shift their typical operations and make room for experimentation. In addition, they need to take a wider lens on customer experience to meet shifting consumer demand; this might mean new flavors, cross-channel experiences, or even virtual reality. However they experiment, companies either need to hire outside firms or internally develop new skills, such as design thinking and customer journey mapping. The goal is to make doing business with your company as easy as possible for your customers.
Come on in and check out the merch!
If you are interested in contributing to Neatly Folded Sweater, drop me a line (brobins@zendesk.com) outlining what you are seeing in the market.
