AUGUST 22 NEWSLETTER
With two of our team members lucky enough to head overseas in the last month, the world is feeling like it is back in full swing. In this month's newsletter, we explore Airport Retail and the power of remembering your customer’s names.
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
If you’re one of the lucky ones jetting off on holidays, you’ll no doubt be tempted to wander the shops within the airport terminals which are finally coming back to life now that border restrictions have lifted following the Covid-19 pandemic.
The aviation industry wasn’t the only one hit hard by the grounding of flights across airports all over the world these past 2 years – airport retail partners have suffered significantly too.
To give you an idea of just how much they’ve been impacted, retail revenue at Sydney’s international airport fell to $87.4 million dollars in 2021 compared to $184.2 million in 2019!
As passengers return to the skies, it’s a welcome return of customers to airport retail stores too. Although the typical traveller and hence shopper is changing and retailers need to be mindful of this.
There is a shift towards younger, non-business travellers in many airports which has created opportunities for different types of retail tenants, particularly in the fashion sector.
With this new demographic also comes a greater demand for digital solutions to make shopping before travel even more convenient. For example, Perth airport is launching a new online shopping platform offering products and services such as duty-free goods, click and collect as well as click and deliver options to help airport retail bounce back!
As tough as it is to see everyone’s Euro-trips across our Instagram feeds lately, we’re super happy for the retailers that will benefit from the long-awaited revival of domestic and international travel. The outlook is good. Really good in fact with the global airport retail market set to double from where it is today to US$41.6 billion by 2027.
Safe travels and happy shopping!
NEW STUDENTS
Welcoming athleisure brand Lululemon to Retail Leaders Series class roll.
ANNA - THE MEMO
For well-thought-out contributions during class & effort in completing assignments.
Have you ever walked into your regular cafe or favourite store where you were greeted with your name?
Remembering your customers names is a practise that is often overlooked, but is an excellent way to stand out and create customer loyalty.'
93% of customers are likely to make repeat purchases when offered a great customer experience. With 56% of customers noting they would return based on team members remembering their names or personal preferences.
With this, the proof is in the pudding. Remembering your customers names or personalising their experience by remembering their preferences is one of the top ways to create a profitable customer experience.
In the reverse remembering your customers name has also shown an increase in employee morale.
When customers feel valued they too are likely to remember your team members names, thus creating a great relationship that encourages your team to show up to work with a good frame of mind ready to continue creating great customer experience.
Asking names of your customers can be daunting to some, but we have found asking for a customer's name in the first greeting can be an effective way to open the dialogue between ourselves and the customer
So how do we implement this into our customer experience training?
Simple - Inspire the will - Train the skill.
Ask your employees to share a personal experience where they've had a sales person or team member remember their names. Ask them how it felt and what result it had on their experience. This will inspire them to create the same feel good experience for their customers.
Encourage your team members to introduce themselves and ask for the customers name in the first moments of their greeting. By repeating their name back with a "nice to meet you *name* it will be easier to remember their name when assisting them or or saying their goodbyes. You may also like to motivate your staff to introduce the customer to other team members - the more the merrier.