The annual party season has started and we are all on the hunt for lively outfits and surprising gifts. It is high season for fashion retailers: inside. At the same time, the staff is in no hurry to make the tills ring, let alone to pack the purchases in glittering packaging. And that’s a shame because this is where retailers are missing out on much-needed opportunities. Especially outside of Christmas time. The moment of packing is the last moment in which you can get your customers to return quickly. It is high time to see the packaging moment as a future sales moment.
The contact moments with your customers are essential for your sales strategy. We all know the commercial value of the moments when we help the client find the right size or when we provide styling advice in the locker room. In the age of digitization and Corona, these contact moments are becoming increasingly rare and fleeting. At the same time, there are fashion retailers who use digitization to improve the shopping experience – even without human contact.
For example, I recently bought a couple of sweaters at Uniqlo and was impressed with the self-scanning checkout. Thanks to the intelligent RFID technology in the cash register system, I didn’t have to unpack my shopping bag, but could simply throw it – with all the clothes in it – into a loading ramp. The pile of textiles was scanned into an orderly quantity on the screen in a matter of seconds. And after a quick wave of Apple Pay on my phone, the receipt was there. No robot arm has yet come out of the machine to pack my purchases, otherwise this moment of convenience would be a scene from the film “Back to the Future”. Although there was no staff involved, the experience was very enjoyable for me and provided a quick way out of the crowded business. It was completely different with a competitor, where I found a cash register with an employee. This time it took longer at the checkout, my clothes were shoved into my pocket more sloppily than I would have done myself, and I heard the mumbled version of “Have a nice day”. Even if this is an unfortunate individual example, I often find that the very last moment of contact in the sales process remains unused. It’s a shame, because with a manned checkout you can cleverly expand your arsenal of contact moments.
From contact to contract: You do that with the ‘b’ of customer loyalty
The trick is to see the packing moment as your stage for unforgettable customer loyalty. If the customer is watching passively anyway, you can also offer them a “show”. A good example of this is the Chanel shop-in-shop in the Dutch luxury department store Bijenkorf. We recently bought a special cream there for my mother-in-law as a birthday present. At the beginning a special gift box was brought out. When the glass disappeared into the box, the saleswoman asked us what other products the birthday child would like. She has generously taken a number of samples and made a whole package out of them in the gift box: a real party package. It was tied with a bow. And when we asked for an extra bag to safely transport this precious gift, another bow was tied around this bag. A Chanel bag never leaves the shop without a bow. A week later, my mother-in-law was in seventh heaven with all her gifts. And she was longing for her own visit to Chanel. Apart from the fact that we will go back next time to surprise someone else, Chanel has won an additional customer in my mother-in-law. That is customer loyalty – or repeat visits – plus customer acquisition in the blink of an eye.
In this way, Chanel proves all too well how to turn a moment of contact into a moment of contract (= customer loyalty) by adding the ‘r’ of retention marketing. And your packaging moment is ideally suited for this. The addition of a small gift and personal attention is not only surprising in the perception of the customer, but also serves as a small compensation for the “waiting”, as a thank you for the purchase and as an invitation for the next time.
How to pack your customers yourself: Tips
How can you do this easily and on a shoestring budget? Here are a few tips on how you can make your packaging an aha experience for your customers:
- Make use of the talents of your employees who are present. In Issey Miyake’s boutique in Tokyo, I was amazed to see how the employee artfully wrapped a customer’s purchases in the clean line patterns for which the brand is known. And to top it off, a small piece of origami in the shape of a bird or a flower was added. In this way, the packaging was cleverly turned into an unforgettable, characteristic moment in the shopping experience.
- Provide an aftertreatment solution for the product being sold. In Madrid, the saleswoman at a sweater shop wrapped my fresh merino wool purchase in a bag. Later, in my closet, this not only spread the wonderful home scent of the brand, but also kept moths away from my purchases. That way I could enjoy it for a long time. The fragrance is also a powerful medium for imprinting your brand in the minds of customers.
- Make every contact with your product a happy moment. Humor is the best advertisement when I think of my favorite sock shop. When I pack my purchases, they ask me if I need a bag for my socks. This is a laundry bag for socks with the text: “Socks are properly separated! Your socks won’t get lost in it when washed. At the same time, every time I wash them, I think back to my visit to the shop with a smile.
With a surprising packaging moment, you can make a visit to your shop a pleasure, even well beyond the Christmas season!
This is a contribution from Melvin van Tholl, Customer Experience Architect from Bloody Believers. The creative agency that helps brands and companies develop breakthrough solutions for their customer experience. He does this for companies in the Netherlands and abroad. In this series, he takes you into the wonderful world of consumers and shows you how you can future-proof your business based on customer experiences. This translated post previously appeared on FashionUnited.nl.