Bring us your poor, your tired, your broken down merchandise

Seems like a lifetime ago customers brought broken merchandise back to the store or a designated repair center to get it fixed. Those days are long gone. Now, retailers allow customers to bring in their ruined merchandise and exchange it for new products or a store credit. Some will even issue a refund.

In their 2006 MIT Sloan Management Review article, James Stock, Thomas Speh and Herbert Shear lament how product returns have come to be viewed by companies as a necessary evil, a painful process, a cost center and an area of potential customer dissatisfaction. They show that many successful organizations have realized that an effective product returns strategy can provide a number of benefits, such as improved customer service and customer knowledge.

There's the famous urban legend about Nordstrom taking back supposedly defective tires - which they've never carried. Even more impressive as well as true - since 1986 American Girl has had a Doll Hospital. They invite customers – 5 to 9 year-old girls – to bring or send in their broken dolls to have them repaired. And that’s not all. The doll comes home wearing a hospital gown with a “Get Well Soon” balloon in her hand. That’s amazing – breathtaking, in fact.

Where have all the store employees gone?

While a big part of the Internet’s appeal is that customers can use it anytime anyplace, that doesn’t mean all retail should be self-service. In pursuit of lower costs or eliminating customer lines or wait times, some retailers have hollowed out their stores to the point where there are virtually no employees.

Home Depot has customers doing their own check out. Macy’s installed scanners so customers can do their own price checks on the sales floor. At Target, the digital camera desk is frequently unmanned, and there's no staff in the electronics aisles. Each decision has its own logic, and makes sense in isolation. However...

... As a Best Buy district manager told USA Today, "A lot of this [consumer electronics] stuff is commoditized. So what is the difference? It's our people. It's got to be…As the economy tightens, everyone is going to be lowering price to the lowest possible point, so service becomes the most important differentiator between retailers. It's the reason why a consumer would choose to shop at one over another."

Whether or not you like Best Buy, you gotta give them credit for understanding that shopping in a store is a social experience, and an opportunity for a retailer to strengthen its relationship with its customers.

It's All About the Customer

Since forever, merchants have ruled in retail. Most of them believe that it’s the product that sets them apart and defines the brand, though they rarely use the “b” word. Sales associates, store design, web design, usability, and customer service – the main people and places through which customers interact with retailers – are generally not on the path to the top jobs at most retailers.

Don't get me wrong - I'm a big believer in product. Without an assortment, a retailer stands for nothing. In my view, product is necessary but not sufficient for building enduring retail business value.

And that’s the reason for this blog: To highlight what’s new in the retail customer experience and celebrate what works … to champion the retailers who get it right, and call to action those who don’t.