Maximize Sales During the School Shopping Period by Avoiding Back-to-School SyndromeJohn Larson, senior partner at John Larson & Co. and coauthor of Capturing Loyalty, discusses.

[Collection]Over the last 20 years, one of the “constants” that I have observed in my work with major retailers to establish customer loyalty is a consistent five to seven point decline in customer satisfaction beginning the end of July and running through Labor Day. Initially, this was easy to write off as a statistical anomaly, but over time I’ve come to realize that this is an especially challenging time of year for engendering high levels of customer satisfaction. Eventually, I developed a term to refer to this decline: “Back-to-School Syndrome.” Two things typically happen during the back-to-school shopping season that contribute to Back-to-School Syndrome: The influx of customers at that time of the year lengthens lines at the checkout register, in some cases doubling the time it takes to pay for the merchandise the customer has just selected. Many of these additional customers are unfamiliar with your store. Some of them may actually be first-time shoppers with you. These customers will need help in finding the specific items they are looking to purchase (e.g., “Where do you keep your lunch boxes?”). The challenge retailers face during the b-t-s shopping period is navigating how to attract infrequent customers and capitalize on the opportunity for increased

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