National Retail Federation - NRF Retail Reference Center - Technology Can Enhance Personal Service In-Store

Share |

Association for Retail Technology Standards
National Council of Chain Restaurants
Loss Prevention (LPInformation.com)
Retail Advertising and Marketing Association
Community of Online and Multichannel Retailers
STORES Media, Knowledge Series, and more
NRF Foundation Research & Education
Forum for International Retail Association Executives

NRF Retail Reference Center Image: Text decoration - bullet

Technology Can Enhance Personal Service In-Store

Steven Keith Platt
Platt Retail Institute
July 2012

The success of a retailer hinges on many factors. Marketing, online, and mobile strategy; store location; merchandise assortment; supply chain management; and marketing activities, among many other things, come to mind. Ultimately, sales at a brick-and-mortar retailer depend upon the number of customers that walk in the door. Once inside the store, the focus of all retail activities is on the most important element of all – converting shoppers into buyers. And perhaps the most impactful way to convert shoppers into buyers is offering quality service.

An investment in more store staff will, in many retail environments, result in an increase in sales. On the other hand, store labor is the largest operating expense a retailer encounters. As a result, retailers are continually trying to fine-tune the balance between the appropriate number of trained sales associates to provide a service level consistent with their brand, while not wasting money on excess labor. Thus, balancing customer service requirements, on the one hand, and skilled labor staff costs, on the other, is critical to retail success.

Retailers have embraced various means to increase customer service levels without the associated labor costs. This has led many retailers to make investments in technology. But the importance of the sales associate cannot be underestimated.

Email to Friend | Printer Friendly

Subscribe to the NRF News Feed