1. Emotional Connection
2. Perception of Value
3. Cognitive Ease
4. Summing It All Up

We’ve all walked into a store and felt an employee's cold stare, wishing we would pivot our feet and turn the other way. Instead, we exchange an awkward glance and wander the store for exactly 20 seconds before walking out. Everyone feels awkward. You’re not going to buy anything, and you probably won’t feel welcome back into that store for at least a while; the brand’s image may be slightly tainted in your head.

Now, we’ve all had the opposite experience. You walk into the store; the employee isn’t overly pushy, lets you walk around but ensures you know that they’re there for you, and engages in a conversation that leads to you buying more than you expected to. Sure, it was probably their intention, and sure, they might not be that nice in real life, but you left with a great new pair of shoes, your new favorite sweater, and a positive experience that made you feel good about yourself and the world around you.

In this weird time when human distance isn’t so far in the past, people crave real human connection more than ever. Plenty of people who possibly live alone or simply want a new conversation find themselves wandering into stores to get inspiration and connect with people. Whether they walk in intending to purchase a product or not, the number one characteristic of the store is the face of the brand, in most cases, the staff. 

Whether the customer wanders in on a mission or unintentionally, the connection between retail staff and the customer is usually established immediately. Whether or not the customer chooses to engage is a choice. Still, it is up to the retail staff to create a welcoming environment for the customer to feel comfortable exploring, wandering, touching, feeling, smelling, trying, listening, etc. 

We’ll break down the basis of psychological explanation between retail staff and customers into three categories, starting with emotional connection. 

1. Emotional Connection

• Impact: Creating a positive emotional connection from the get-go with customers can significantly alter customer experience. Starting with a topic as simple as the weather and diving deeper into dinner suggestions can establish a more profound connection that creates trust between consumer and employee, which lays a foundation for greater brand loyalty and increased customer retention. Similarly to how many people view celebrities and trust their every move, hearing a “cool” retail employee’s take on their favorite spot for a spicy margarita or a secret bookstore establishes a trust deeper than the sweater that is about to be purchased. It creates a connection that yields a higher chance for that same customer to shop repeatedly, return with friends, and recommend to people in their ecosystem.
• Application: Many of us are emotional beings. Playing to emotions, whether positive or negative, allows for building trust. Whether celebrating a new job or buying a breakup necklace, trusting the employee behind the counter allows for a more personalized experience that usually makes shopping in-person much more enjoyable and keeps customers coming back, especially in-store rather than online.

2. Perception of Value

• Customers’ perception of value extends well beyond the price of the product. With the rise of influencers, and even before with products featured in magazines in blurbs about celebrities, customers trust products with some value proposition beyond the price. Whether their favorite musician uses their regular blush or their TV crush has the same vintage sweater, these small yet mighty pieces of knowledge can increase the value of a product tenfold. Retail employees knowing these small facts can assist in increasing the value of their products.
• Another way to increase the product's value is by explaining the multiple uses. With the rise of “girl math,” people love to justify spending, primarily if they can utilize the piece they’re purchasing differently. Understanding the variety of ways a product can be used, such as a candle vessel being used as a cocktail glass post-melt, increases the item's value and can send the customer from being on the edge of purchasing to buying two. 
• Application: Providing excellent customer service, ensuring product availability, maintaining a clean and organized store, and offering loyalty programs can enhance the perceived value. Customers are more likely to return When they feel they are getting good value.

3. Cognitive Ease

• Impact: Cognitive ease refers to the ease of the shopping experience. When the process is smooth and intuitive, customers are more likely to have a positive experience.
• Cognitive ease explains the shopping experience's ease. When shopping is smooth and intuitive, such as Reformation’s automated dressing room experience, customers are likelier to enjoy themselves and less likely to worry about trivial things.
• Application: Ensuring that stores are clutter-free, well-lit, and have proper signage is helpful, but from a person-to-person standpoint, this is one of the critical aspects that can make or break a shopping experience. Cognitive ease is assisted with knowing what the customer wants before the customer does. This can be by the ease of product suggestion, having multiple sizes available, or knowing what color looks best on them. Pulling items from the back that you assume they will like based on their other finds assists in this process as they feel like you’re personalizing their shopping experience to them, even if you’re simply pulling the three newest shirts. In a cosmetic example, being able to provide different scent suggestions based on one fragrance note they mentioned provides cognitive ease as then the customer doesn’t have to smell all 150 scents. People do best with the least amount of options. Provide A and B: “Which one do you like better? I think they would look great on you!” This combines all three points we discussed, from trust to knowing what the customer needs. This creates a seamless retail experience that will keep customers returning and provide a meaningful, tailored retail experience for everyone who walks through the door, almost guaranteeing a customer for life. 

Summing It All Up

Providing a positive retail experience is the difference between a throwaway retail experience and an unforgettable shopping experience that converts a customer for life. With each decision you make with your business, including employee training, make intentional decisions to capture the essence of deliberate, positive human interaction to create a welcoming environment that harbors room for people to be themselves and feel comfortable. 

People make any place. Let yours be memorable. Create a retail environment that leaves a longstanding impression. We’re Retail For The People and here to help connect you with the best people in retail.