Why Tech Is The Way To Customer’s Hearts with Sylvain Nigra

March 18, 2021

 

Summary

Our special guest, Sylvain Nigra, brings decades of experience at some of the most successful brands in the world to talk about what it takes from a technology perspective to create the best customer experience possible. What are the main technologies retailers should be adopting in-store to be successful? What should be the first step in the project rollout? What tools do store associates need to best serve customers?

  • We ask these questions and more of our special guest, Sylvain Nigra, founder and Co-CEO of Retail Performance 360 and former retail director for top luxury brands including Prada, Ralph Lauren, and Michael Kors.
  • Sylvain brings decades of experience at some of the most successful brands in the world to talk about what it takes from a technology perspective to create the best customer experience possible. He is confident that there’s no time to waste, and that the right technology needs to be in place to enable and empower store associates.

Conversation Rundown

[ 3:45-5:27 ] New era of localization of retail
Local shops have flourished during the pandemic. Independent retailers stood apart in terms of their quality of service and product. Beyond that, consumers were more focused on the economic realities of this pandemic. There was a major push towards buying local, whether that meant grocery or fashion. This trend is going to continue even beyond the pandemic.

[ 11:06-13:08 ] Reports of stores' deaths have been exaggerated
Stores play a part in most purchases. Reports of their death have been exaggerated. Of course, some major retailers have fallen recently, and those have been highly publicized. But the businesses that have fallen had long-standing problems. In other words, stores were not to blame. Big retailers, at their best, invest in the customer experience. They leverage stores to market their brand and enable faster order fulfillment instead of viewing stores as an ankle weight.

[ 13:10-14:16 ] The Primark Case Study
Primark has no real eCommerce presence to speak of but they are a brilliantly run brick-and-mortar business. They have retained their market share in the pandemic. Consumers were lining outside the store for hours when they finally reopened. This case study should tell you that brick-and-mortar is the not problem. Brands can survive and flourish operating primarily brick-and-mortar businesses. As long as they invest in the customer experience.

[ 16:01-16:54 ] New KPIs to measure the success of stores
The customer journey has changed dramatically in the last decade. Buying decisions are influenced by a variety of different channels. And stores continue to be one of the primary channels that influence those buying decisions. Local stores are key. And retailers need to come up with new KPIs for how to measure the success of their stores instead of just looking at sales per square footage.

[ 25:58-26:36 ] Customers care about justice
Customers today care about justice. That word, justice, can span a lot of different topics: social justice, sustainability, etc. Many retailers are making statements with their wallets. They choose to give their hard-earned money to those retailers that care about the same issues they do. It's a major issue in the retail industry and one that can be addressed without compromising on profits.

Meet the Experts

Sylvain Nigra, founder and co-CEO of Retail Performance 360 and former retail director for top luxury brands including Prada, Ralph Lauren, and Michael Kors.

Retail Tips & Tweetables

Instead of urgent transformation, it is better to continue to evolve and transform all the time.

Retailers must know how they are actually helping their specific target customer, And if not, there is a need to transform the business.

Online retail cannot beat the ability to touch and feel the garment, see how it shimmers in the light and try it on.

A retailer must have the answer - Why do we have stores? What are they there for?

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