Retail - Blog Posts
Imagine a faerie as a retail employee - like -
"Hello would you like to join our rewards program?"
"Uuuh... sure!"
"Alright, can I have your name and number? :)"
"Symmetrical Onsen" A hot springs inspired Sims 4 build that could be used as a rental, vacation rental, park, spa, or retail lot. I created this build under my pseudonym, NOPETHANQ, on the Sims 4 Gallery.
Today in retail:
I had a guy tell me my body was tight, that I should have been a stripper and he hopes we meet in another life since I'm married and he tried to give me $200 cash. I kept declining, then he dropped a $20 and demanded I keep it. He asked me if I had eaten lunch yet and said he'd buy it for me.
Gotta love retail! 😂
What I Wish I Knew When Walking Into Retail as an Adolescent
I started working at age 18 and had a lot of difficulty with social cues. If I could teach you anything, it would be that being in public is going to be awkward and that is okay.
My first job was at a grocery store. I was so nervous entering my first shift that I remember my whole body shook with anxiety.
It felt like the entire town was in my line for the sole purpose of watching and judging me. My very first customer was this petite old lady wearing a red bandana in her hair.
Her words seemed to instantly soothe me, "Don't be so nervous; you are doing great!" I swear she could read my brain, and while this did not completely dissipate all fears, it was what I needed to hear at that moment.
Just as finding a comforting anchor is important, so too is the ability to have fun through social interactions. You will have so much more fun at your job if you can find ways to be friendly with potential customers.
Acting as a patron, I have had several grocery store checkout encounters that followed the tune of,
"Hi, how are you?"
"Oh I'm fine, and you?"
"Living the dream."
I cannot stress how boring and nuanced this exchange is.
To step up your retail game, I would highly recommend trying one of two things; either learning to recognize returning customers or learning more about the products of your store.
One of the best moments I've had in retail was when I recognized a customer having to come back in again that same day for something they forgot to grab for a holiday dinner and was able to immediately point them to the right aisle. When you greet each person that enters the store, you have a great chance of improving someone's mood. It's amazing how a simple acknowledgment can make a customer feel more comfortable in your store.
Equally important is being able to talk about a true admiration for a product or manufacturer. You would be surprised how a couple of deep debates about which M&M's trial flavor Mars should choose to make a permanent product can make 8 hours fly by in a wink.
Having a genuine love of a product can foster enthusiasm not just for your customers, but for you as well.
On the other hand, I have to advise you of one terrible social faux pas I once made.
I once picked up a tall cylindrical container on a lone night shift and inquired to the customer, "I have not tried this sauce. Is it any good?"
It wasn't until I flipped the bottle over and read ‘Personal Lubricant’ on its label that I understood what I was scanning. My customer did not answer and I never saw her again, understandably.
Finally, this last point is the heaviest and details a specific example of sexual harassment. If this is a sensitive topic for you, I would love to encourage you to jump to the last paragraph.
I continuously struggle with recognizing the difference between flirting and being sexually harassed. The only guidance I can give you is to ask yourself if you are feeling comfortable in a similar situation. If you are not, try to find your voice and speak up. If the other party can't back down after you request they stop, this is textbook harassment (of any form.)
Without further ado, here is my experience. When I moved from my first job as a cashier, I became a sales associate at a tech store.
I once dealt with a man who drives semi-trucks for a living. Anyone reading this who has been in retail or food service may know exactly where this is going already.
I can still recall his slicked-back greasy hair, backwards ball cap and terrible breath. The week leading up to this moment, I had decided to cut and brightly dye my hair. Immediately, my hairstyle seemed to attract sordid attention.
For over an hour, I remember explaining a product, setting it up and troubleshooting any issues that may come up. In between words, this driver made multiple crude remarks about his wild imagination involving me, him and my purple pixie cut. A friend that he had brought along with only encouraged him by laughing at each comment made. These varied from asking me on nasty dates to probing for my cell number.
I felt trapped by the long product setup and sales process as he made passes toward me. He thought that my eccentric hair meant that I was 'easy.' When I pointedly told him I had a boyfriend, he retorted with, "I know you would love to take a ride on my hairy bush."
I felt so sick about this last comment and was grateful when the sale was finished. I had tried so hard to handle a 'tricky customer' and deescalate the situation. It was only after he and his friend left the store that a coworker came over and told me how she wanted to scream at him to get out and couldn't believe how he was treating me. We then told our boss about the situation.
That same day, the truck driver came back in for product help. I was working in the back of the store when my boss came and told me, "Hey, your boyfriend came back. He's waiting for you." I could have strangled him.
Years later, I still have so much anger over this situation. I am disappointed in myself for not having self-respect or even recognizing the vulgarity of that particular sale. I held a longstanding grudge against my employer for treating me like fodder. And I held a strong hatred for this truck driver (and I'm sure this translated to an extreme hesitance when interacting with all semi-truck drivers in the future.)
In the final analysis of these events, I would like to reassure you that even though the public school system can't socially prepare you, you won't drown if you can remember to find peace, make genuine connections, and respect yourself.
Please let me know if this was helpful and if you would like me to write about more of my retail experiences!
Versatility and Convenience are what the e-commerce industry stands for; it is growing and transforming with each day. To ace as a retailer in the industry, technology can be adopted as the essential sidekick. Online retailers can expand their businesses at scale by continually monitoring trends and KPIs of competition, implementing a comprehensive strategy and following through with consistent work.
To assist the growth of online retailers, critical strategies that are not so commonly employed need to be implemented. Some of the not-so-common strategies are discussed below
Src:apacciooutlook
Five Tech Innovations That Are Revamping the E-Commerce Sector
Technology is the backbone of e-commerce and has disrupted this industry as consumers now prefer shopping and making purchases online. With the advancing technologies, brands have to determine how would they market themselves and grow their sales. Moreover, adopting appropriate technology is will assist e-commerce brands to be efficient, minimize their expenses, engage their customers and improve the buyer experience.
Listed below are five technologies that will impact e-commerce the most:
1. Blockchain Technology
The blockchain is a powerful and promising technology that enterprises are looking forward to utilizing. Although e-commerce industry is growing, there are problems associated with it such as supply chain management, payments, data security, satisfied consumers and retailers and therefore the blockchain technology is bringing solutions for all these problems.
In the supply chain management, blockchain helps in visualizing the entire process thereby increasing transparency and assisting the customers to see how their orders are being handled. Also, this technology enhances data security. As blockchain is a decentralized technology, it helps in the reduction of the chances of the data being stolen.
2. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality
Both these technologies help businesses in influencing its customers to make purchases whether it’s an online store or a brick-and-mortar store. These innovations contribute to getting deeper into customer experience offered by the various e-commerce brands.
Augmented Reality has modified the shopping experience entirely; it helps the customer to be a part of the story that is featuring the product. It helps the customer to infuse the real and virtual elements together in their shopping experience.
Using virtual reality, users can explore the virtual showrooms. Moreover, through this, consumers can visualize products before they buy them thereby reducing the chances of post-purchase hassles.
Keep Reading
10 Point Checklist on How to start an E-Commerce Business
Checklist for potential entrepreneurs who are planning to launch an e-commerce business: https://goo.gl/viM5gF
Four Industries That Blockchain Will Revolutionize
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were dependent on larger enterprises as credit cycles were not under their control. Payments used to get a delay, and the credit terms as stated in the contracts were also not honored by few parties. Here blockchain can resolve this issue as the smart agreements is based on consensus among parties.
The industries that can be benefitted from this technology are mentioned below: https://goo.gl/jtGLEa
E-Commerce Trends That Can Level up Your Business Tactics
Every industry witnesses the change in trend and which is kind of necessary to keep the business relevant. Therefore, to establish a plan for the future, one must look back at what they have done with their business.
What’s trending today may certainly befall the upcoming year; eCommerce business is large and is continuously evolving. Therefore, keep reading to learn about.
Full Read: E-commerce for Business
The Pathway for Retailers to Attain Better Customer Loyalty
Today, loyalty programs have become one of the most powerful arsenals used by global retailers to incentivize consumers, ensure repeat business, and subsequently increase ROI. Recent surveys indicated that over 62 percent of these retailers plan on revamping their loyalty offerings next year, while many others are already battle-ready with offers no shopper can ignore.
However, to have a successful loyalty program in place, it is vital that retailers need to understand customers’ behavior and preferences. A global study across retail and hotels published by Oracle Retail highlighted the fact that many organizations have the wrong idea about the end-users’ likes and dislikes.
For example, 58 percent of the retailers believed that consumers would sign up for every program they offered, but in reality, nearly 70 percent of the end-users limit their participation. This shows that organizations need to first understand the mindset that drives customer loyalty perceptions and then develop engaging programs accordingly.
Better Customer Loyalty for Retailers
The Importance of AI in Automation
In this race for applying AI in unique and attractive ways, an important piece of the AI learning curve is missing—the flashy AI technology used at the front end cannot be fully appreciated without a complex infrastructure that comprises end-to-end process automation. Read More
There is no creature on the face of the earth as unmistakable foul and cannibalistically cruel as the customer
I feel like I'm beating a dead horse here, but MY GOD I don't think people realize how stupid other people are unless you've worked retail. Or, not even stupid, but they just believe the rules don't apply to them.
I'll give an example.
I work in a coffee kiosk inside of a grocery store which has two main entrances/exits and a third through our liquor department. Management decided that on weekends, the entrance (technically) in the middle would close/lock at 8pm, even though the store doesn't close until 11pm. This is kind of stupid to me, but I also see how empty the store is around 8, so eh, not my problem. The kiosk also happens to close at 8, and also also happens to be situated right next to the now-locked entrance/exit.
Between the kiosk and the registers there is open tile, though not really a lot width-wise. Management, in all their wisdom, locks the door at 8 sharp, and puts a dandy little sign in the middle of this walkway. I'm kidding about the little part - this sign is about two and a half times bigger than your common Wet Floor sign.
Notice earlier how I said the sign is in the middle of the walkway? That means that people have to ACTIVELY walk around it in order to continue on the the doors. Barrier 1, ignored. Now they are at the automatic doors, which are not opening. Because they are locked. This is when they really notice something is wrong. Barrier 2, noticed but ignored. Instead of looking at the paper, eye-height sign on the door that says THESE DOORS ARE LOCKED, they instead push on the automatic doors like that's a normal way to open them. Barrier 3, ignored.
My coworker and I are finishing up closing around this time, and we get to watch the fireworks. We could be kind, and stop these poor souls from getting too far in their fruitless journey, but after so many back-and-forths of
"Sir you can't go out that way, those doors are locked."
"Wh-But that's the way I came in!"
"I know sir, but now they're locked."
"Well that's stupid!"
"I know sir."
a barista gets tired. Eventually, either they get frustrated and walk away from the locked doors, or they turn to us and ask why they aren't opening.
This sometimes leads to my favorite exchange:
"Those doors lock at 8pm."
"Well they should put a sign up about that!"
"They did ma'am. You walked right past it."
Sometimes there will be a modicum of shame, but most of the time they just walk off. But the best part will always be when someone else watches this exchange go down, walks right up to the doors, and expects them to open anyway.
Humans are truly a wonder.