Last week I went shopping at Bluewater with an old school friend for a party outfit. “Pop these heels on whilst you try it on so you can see the full effect” the shop assistant said as I took the items into the changing room.

This stopped me in my tracks…realising that I had never been offered this ‘sample some heels’ option before. Nor my friend. And we’ve been trying on clothes in shops for years. As a sales technique, it really worked and I was surprised at how good the items looked when tottering on killer heels.

When we humans are pleasantly surprised it unfixes us into our learning mindset, and if we feel safe and attached in that moment, we are emboldened to explore other suggestions (see Bowlby’s Attachment Theory).

The assistant then brought in an unexpected option expressing her confidence that it would really suit my figure. Having connected with us by smiling warmly as we entered the shop, I trusted her enough to give it a go. As I stood in front of the mirror feeling tall and fabulous (love a curved mirror – they’re like the Victorian version of a Snapchat filter… ) I experienced a buzz that I just don’t feel when buying clothes online.

I would never have clicked on that item online, but by suggesting it to me there in real time, she stretched my self-image beyond the default pattern of an LBD. She spent time with me, creating an intimacy that I rewarded with a sale as well as increased brand loyalty. High street retailers need to focus on this stuff: this is the magic that will bring a customer into an IRL shop.

So what was it about this physical shopping experience that was stimulating my pleasure receptors? The reward-related cognition part of our brain (see< the incentive salience model) that gives us all that naughty and nice stuff that makes us human.

Following adolescence, a lot of it does seem to boil down to sex and cash. As in the gambling addict who gets the hit from the pattern breaking, there is a similar hit to the dopamine levels of a shopper grabbing a surprise bargain. From the long-term couple that wants to spice things up a bit, to the retailer wanting to generate sales, it’s the break in the expected pattern that gets us humans all hot and excited.

2016 was a year that saw another record-breaking Black Friday ($3.34bn sales) and Amazon seeding the launch of their first human-free grocery store. Robots and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are unbeatable at reading and predicting patterns, so it makes sense to refocus an in-store customer service proposition on helping customers break a pattern e.g. offering makeovers, sampling new foods etc.

How will future IRL stores make their cash? By focusing on pattern-changing and habit-breaking purchases.

The UK is blessed with seasonal weather, prompting a woman to go clothes shopping at least twice a year to change her wardrobe. In turn, I think we will see the cosmetics industry using more seasonal-related advertising to trigger an in-store visit, as many women simply restock their make-up bag online.

Expect to see ‘seasonal makeovers’ to drive footfall for cosmetics in store. When we are in the ‘unconscious incompetence’ stage of the learning cycle (when we don’t know what we don’t know yet) we need our comfort zone to be expertly stretched: best done in store by trained experts. So expect to see ‘life’s stages’ as a driver to shop for clothes in store.

Once inside, retailers need to ensure employees are able to give an intimate customer service and deliver tailored guidance beyond a Google search. Consider the evolution of what a woman requires from her bra during her life stages: from her very first one, to sports, push-up, maternity, nursing, possibly post-surgery etc.

Just ask any bra fitter about the customer moments they remember and they will tell powerful stories of intimate and strong emotional connection: helping a woman buy her first post-surgery bra; a mother and daughter shopping for her teen bra etc.

Through gentle and respectful conversation a great shop assistant can eke this information out to arrive at a tailored suggestion. One size fits one. Which might defy logical prediction.

An intimate, rather than intrusive, service will require a level of trust-building disclosure from the assistant (“my aunt felt the same”) that no chatbot can rival. It’s simple stuff but only easy if practised. We can develop our future UK retail talent pipeline right now around the dinner table this Christmas!

The secret to great real-world service will be genuine two-way communication between a customer and an assistant. The skill level of which will be role-modelled by the manager. Empowered by the regional teams. Rewarded by the board. Voted by the shareholders. Shaped by upbringing.

The best future shopping experience will be one that gives you efficiency online to spend on your debit card, nudging you in-store for the emotional connection to spend on your credit card. I’m not sure a drone dropping my shrink-wrapped party dress in the garden a day after selecting it could have encouraged me to buy the heels too. But is this reflecting only a woman’s perspective…are men the same?

The robots are coming…lets shop for a new top; its time to go Out out!
Laura x