CX – the only tool to retain customers

It’s all about how customers are treated – the eternal philosophy of modern retailing. 

During the recent shopping spree ahead of Deepavali 2024, I witnessed this first hand and could only comfort myself that more than the 4 Ps of Marketing (or 5, or 6 as the list gets elongated from time to time), it is the Customer Experience offered at the retail store that can entice shoppers to spend more. And later, speak about the positive experience to others and further drive themselves as well as more people to the brand / store.

Actually, we had four such instances over the last fortnight – one where we felt a bit cheated by the brand due to the overtures of the staff who were thinking they were doing good to the brand by saving the discounts we deserved. And another, where the staff overwhelmed us with known and unknown promotions that led us to buy more.

Let me start with the positive one first.

My wife and I decided to spend a couple of hours together (no, not the typical husband-wife “me time” without the kids tagging along), rather to explore the Phoenix Mall to see what could suit our needs and budget. Frankly, we went without an agenda (a rarity for your’s truly).

We started exploring at the Fab-India store which was for a change, absolutely empty (it was 11.30am). I tried a kurta first and the girl staff was keen to showcase more designs to me. Within the next few minutes, I had picked up a handful of clothing, once again a rare thing for me, as I prefer to buy clothes from across various brands.

Then, we visited a few other stores until my wife suggested we enter and explore “Avantra” by Reliance Retail. It was my first to the brand store and I was mighty impressed with their assortment. Not that I am a regular buying stuff for my wife, but with a little knowledge of how sarees are displayed and sold, I was quite surprised that the brand had gotten everything right. 

Almost.

The lady staff was quite enthusiastic to showcase the collection to my wife and to her surprise, the product and pricing was just apt. Add to that, a dash of friendly support by the store staff that we ended up buying a lot more from the store, way above our budget. We still decided to bill what we had picked up, to ensure the staff who served us were happy. And the staff offered us a surprise by giving us Gold coins weighing 0.25 gms - 3 units for our shopping! Whoa. 

Passing by aisles of the mall, I quickly entered the “Home Centre” store to pick up a few coffee mugs to sip my filter coffee on Deepavali day. Now, this is the kind of store where customers “indulge” in shopping therapy, especially picking up a number of discretionary items, buoyed by impulse and a push by the staff. 

Alas, we were not so lucky to be prodded by any such staff. Honestly, we found none until we reached the Cashier, who was busy explaining the “Exchange Policy” to another shopper who had come to replace a few things he had picked up earlier.

The most disappointing experience was when we landed up at a women’s fashion apparel store 2 weeks back, (I choose not to mention the name and admonish them here) where my daughter discovered a fabulous collection that suited her needs. She had almost given up on her Deepavali shopping not being able to find what she wanted, having explored over half a dozen small boutique stores as well as 3 department stores earlier in the day at another mall.

What makes a dad happy is when the kid is happy. And happy I was, to pay for more than what we had planned to buy. At the time of billing, I got a message from the brand on my Whatsapp that we are entitled to Rs. 500 off on our next purchase. So, we decided to hold one dress to be billed the next day, as our total bill was a healthy 5-digit figure already. However, the staff wasn’t too happy that we were trying to save some money. She sulked when I informed her that we would bill the item the next day. 

When my wife went the next day to bill the product, the same staff displayed a fuss, that a discount code was required to ensure she was able to deduct it from the bill. Just that we had not received any such code from the Brand. After all, the code gets generated only when they trigger it, which she clearly did not. 

We were anyway going to buy the dress, so my wife decided to proceed without the much desired discount. She did make a mention to the staff, that her husband was part of the retail industry for decades, right after which the staff decided to trigger the code. 

Bingo! I received the code on my Whatsapp and I passed it on immediately to my wife, and then to the staff. Billing was over, product picked up. But my wife wasn’t appreciative of the entire experience.

As the store was just 2 kms from our home, we had discussed the previous day that we shall come here more often, as my kid liked their collection. But the bitter experience made us think twice, if this is where we would spend our hard earned dime.

Through the retail network, I tried to reach out to the brand owner, a second-generation entrepreneur from the city. The gentleman was rather unapologetic to my wife when he called her. Instead of saying “sorry” for the poor experience, he insisted that the brand will reimburse another Rs. 500 to our account which we can reimburse during our next buy.

Sorry, but we were not harping for the discount for which we escalated the matter to the owner. The young man, with limited experience in retail, perhaps, wasn’t able to understand our dismay and rather focussed on the monies. We earn, spend, loose sometimes and the cycle is repeated. But the way the entrepreneur justified the entire episode on a professional Whatsapp group in front of 200 others, was rather in poor taste. His explanation as well did not include the word “sorry”.

This is what happens when business owners presume that Pricing (and Discounts) are the only reason consumers attach themselves with brands. Not sure, whether he understood the magnitude of the issue on hand, but I did. And I decided, that I will ensure such a poor customer experience is never accorded to anyone in such cases where I am involved.

The bitter experience however did not deter our Deepavali celebrations. We had a great time as well as enjoyed when the kid wore the dress from that particular store, as much as we did, when family members wore clothing from Fab-India and Avantra.

Here’s to more celebrations and much better Customer Experiences.

Orange alert for Chennai

The Meterological department has announced an Orange alert for the city of Chennai as well as a few other districts on 14-15 October 2024. 

I wanted to pen down a few thoughts towards preparedness ahead of rains. 

To consumers;

Stock up provisions, especially fruits, vegetables, dairy and consumables ahead of rains. If you’re an offline shopper, then Sunday evening is probably put to good use. 

If you are a staunch supporter of quick commerce platforms like Blinkit, Zepto and the likes, then you have an additional day that is Monday.

Stock up, please, for no more than 2 days as we expect heavy rains only on Tuesday and a bit of Wednesday. Given that there would certainly be waterlogged roads around us, do add for uncertainty on Thursday. 

By stocking just adequately as required, we also leave behind some inventory for others around us. 

Fuel up your vehicles, in case of an emergency. IF you stay in an apartment complex or have GenSets, then fill up diesel enough for 3 days, as there could be power shutdown due to water logging. 

Avoid ordering food on Tuesday/ Wednesday during and after the rains stop. Don’t worry about the sake of F&B outlets and delivery persons, they will manage their lives. 

Avoid putting the lives of delivery persons at risk during and after rains stop - after all they wade through the artificial lakes around us to deliver food. 

Even if you do order food and they arrive late, avoid scuffles and arguments with them. They have risked their lives after all - just so you enjoy your steamed idlis, bucket biriyanis, penne and pasta. 

If you are large hearted like many, then please offer them a tip - be it cash, clothes (for changing), an old windcheater or boots / slippers. Ensure they are not torn and in a usable condition. 

To retailers - 

Even as we celebrate 12/12 every year as Retail Employees Day, cut cake, take videos and share on social media for publicity, please do show it in spirit by letting staff take it easy on Tuesday and Wednesday (and whenever it rains heavily). 

Though there could be limited water logging near the store they work at, rest assured that hardly a few customers would wade through for retail therapy. 

Yes, it’s the festival season and we want to make the most of every working day. 

However, what’s the point in getting a store full of staff without customers! 

The Greater Chennai Corporation has “announced” a slew of measures to tackle heavy rains and water logging, though the results will be evident in just 4-5 days from now. 

Here’s wishing a safe week ahead to one and all and a happy shopping period ahead. 

Convenience over Experience or Vice versa?

At last count, the quick commerce players such as Blinkit by Zomato, Zepto and Big Basket are said to have delivered over 1,000 units of the newly launched iPhone 16 series. In contrast, a single Apple Authorised Reseller (AAR) store – the exclusive Apple franchises across India sold over 150 units a day on 20 Sep. 2024 when the iPhone 16 was launched.

The staff at one of the stores told me Sat. 21 Sep. that the sales was bit dull being the second day while he was confident of selling over 200 pieces on Sunday, as he expects a lot more customers to drop by at the store. There are an estimated 3,000+ AAR in India, though all are not equal in footfalls and revenues. 

During my 40-min hang out at the store, there were at least 30+ Apple aficionados at the store (along with yours’ truly!). I spotted a few kids in their early teens with their parents exploring the new launch of iPhone, Apple Watch among the iPad and iMac. 

Two elderly couples, possibly in their 60s came to have a curious look at the range of Apple products. They seem to have come with an intention to buy, I could make out. 

 

The typical fanboys and fangirls were engaged in a thorough dissection of the various features of the device even as the store staff struggled to answer many of their tech queries.

 

There is a charm in offline retail, after all, I reckoned.

Last week, Hari Menon, Founder & CEO of Big Basket, which was launched in 2012 and sold off to the TATA Group in 2021 said at an event that local shops (read Kiranas) were not under the threat of Q-Commerce. 

Incidentally, Big Basket launched its quick commerce service with the iPhone 16 – an order places at 0800 hrs was delivered at 0807 hrs on 20 Sep.

 

Despite the convenience of doorstep delivery of groceries and household items, pet food, fresh food and everything in between over the last few months, electronic items too, why do people still step out of their homes and shop at offline stores – to buy the iconic Apple devices or Apple, the fruit?

As the adage goes, humans are social animals and need company. They need to simply step out of their physical bondages (read: comfort zone) to get a peak at what’s happening around them and around the world.

 

Take the film industry’s conundrum, for example. When the OTT model of watching and consuming entertainment took shape during and after the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, visitation to cinema theatres was declared a no-hope zone. Yet, movies are raking in crores of box office collections – the only catch, audience want crisp scripts and not just stellar star cast.

Even though foodtech players like Swiggy and Zomato are minting in billions of dollars annually, offline visits to restaurants has not dwindled. 

For most restaurants, their delivery channel through foodtech is between 15-20%, and consumers continue to visit their premises just like before 2020.

 

Quick Commerce brings in tremendous convenience for consumers while E-Commerce offers a massive range to shoppers, as they can sift through thousands of products before they buy. 

However, what amount of dent it would create to offline and neighbourhood shops is yet to be seen. “Picture abhi baaki hai mere dost”, as Shah Rukh Khan would say with a grin.

AI in RetAil

I had the good fortune to speak early September at one of India’s most prestigious educational institutions, Coimbatore Institute of Technology, which has been a breeding ground for several top technocrats this country has produced. 

Among various notable such people include the current Chairman of the eponymous TATA Group, Mr. N. Chandrasekaran. 

I was invited to speak at RISE 2024, the in-house conclave of the college, where I addressed over 300+ students and faculty members for over 90 mins. 

 

That I succeeded yet again, keeping the audience awake right after the lunch break, has been a sort of a successful streak to me as a speaker across various conclaves, conferences and events worldwide since 2006. 

Perhaps, it was the intriguing subject that I chose this time around, to keep the listeners not just awake, rather get excited about the possibilities that Artificial Intelligence brings to Retail. 

Way back in the 90s, my first brush with retail was shopping at the ration shop in our locality every month, where I would be assigned by my parents, the task of bringing rice, sugar and kerosene, among other things. 

Why kerosene – we would use them to boil water for bath using a pumping stove! 

Later on, I witnessed firsthand the early days of organised retail in India, with the mushrooming of concepts such as Lifestyle and Shoppers Stop in fashion and the likes Subhiksha, Stop and Shop, Nilgiris and RPG Retail’s Foodworld in grocery retail. 

 

When I joined the erstwhile Madras’ first Baskin Robbins ice-cream parlour as a part time employee in 1997, I witnessed and used the billing machine for the first time, which kept a track of the day’s sales.

From there to now, the use of technology in Retail has not just stunned me, rather has kept me guessing on what’s coming next. 

  

I have been using Apps such as Amazon, Zepto, Swiggy for e-commerce, household and grocery shopping and for ordering food respectively for over a decade now. The amount of machine learning and artificial intelligence used by these companies, especially the likes of Amazon, is very interesting. 

Offline retailers in India have been laggards to embrace artificial intelligence, primarily due to heavy investments that go in to building such modules. However, the choice for them is limited. The writing on the wall is clear - start building AI into your business planning NOW or perish. 

 

One could argue that even a rudimentary ERP is in nascent stages in Indian retail, let alone AI in Retail. However, the choices we have on hand are extremely limited. 

One of the key reasons for loss of sales is not having the right merchandise at stores, and not lack of footfalls. 

Embracing AI / ML is a must for offline retailers, which was the essence of my presentation at the institution. Will share the link of my lecture here, soon. 

Much ado about quick deliveries

Among the most happening news last week was the latest fund raising of Zepto, a Quick Commerce company. In all, the company has raised over USD 1 Bn (INR 8,200 Cr) in 12 months and is currently valued at USD 5 Bn (INR 60,000 Crores). And what business is Zepto in – as we all know, a term popularly addressed as “Quick Commerce”, a richer offspring of e-commerce. 

If e-commerce companies deliver goods in 1-3 days, Q-commerce companies deliver in 15 mins or less. This is a kind of invention of a product (or service) that no one really wanted. 

When e-commerce in India started getting bigger around 2012 – 2016, delivery in 3 days was a “wow moment” for customers. And then came Amazon’s Prime subscription with which 1-day delivery was made possible. From 2018-2022, one-day delivery was almost the norm, be it Amazon or Flipkart or Myntra or Ajio or any other. 

Circa 1996. That was when I was first exposed to modern retailing. My mother asked me to visit a particular shop where the sugar was cheaper than at the neighbourhood ration shop where we would usually would buy dal, pulses, kerosene and sugar, of course. 

The name of the shop was Subhiksha. It wasn’t just a new shop, rather a new concept. Where one could stand across the counter, look at various products and ask for them to be shown and then decide if one wanted to buy or not. 

Quickly, Subhiksha moved in to one of India’s first ever self-service models of grocery retailing, where one could walk around the store, browse and buy. Add to it, there were several offers and promotions offered by brands.

Cut to Sep. 2024. 

Shoppers browse the apps of Zepto, Blinkit (by Zomato) or Instamart (by Swiggy) alike and then order stuff (that they mostly don’t need, atleast immediately) and those which could be delivered in just a few mins. 

Thousands of users have shared their dissatisfaction that their orders didn’t reach on time as promised – 10 mins or less. I wonder, when did consumers, let alone humans become so busy, that a wait of 10 mins for grocery (or 30 mins for pizzas) is considered eternal? And the FoMo of missing out on ephemeral offers! Phew. 

Back in the day when Dominos would advertise that their pizzas would be delivered in 30 mins or consider it for free, many customers prayed that their deliveries be delayed, so their pizzas would come free. This is just the bane of humankind.

The only characteristic that differentiates humans vs animals is that of greed. The love for greed that consumers carry is incomparable to any other living beings. Even the wildest of animals will hunt their prey only when they are hungry. And this greed (for offers, discounts and promotions) is what keeps us retailers going. 

However, humans (as consumers) in several occasions buy things which they never needed in the first place. And at times when their shopping was inconsequential. 

Take End of Season Sales (EoSS) for example.

Shoppers wait for the occasion and throng branded shops at malls and high streets to buy apparel, shoes, accessories, home improvement items and what not. And then struggle to find use of these products, which end up rotting in wardrobes unused. 

Similar is the Q-commerce conundrum. 

All of a sudden, men, women and children in metro cities yearn for pantry and grocery items to be delivered before half a litre of milk comes to a boil. As if we are headed towards a catastrophe or an Armageddon moment. 

What started off during the Covid-19 lockdown – such as the fear of avoiding shops due to crowds, has now become a staple at several thousand household across India. Scarcity (of time)has never been more celebrated ever!