The Genius of Customer Experience

I am not a shopper. I really dislike trying on clothes and tend to get quickly impatient when walking around a mall going from store to store…….however, I do love the occasional warm, whimsical feeling I get when walking into a store that has character, some kind of certain aesthetic that makes shopping seem more like an adventure than a task to find this and that. It’s amazing how much little details about a store’s layout, music, decorations, etc. can make me excited to shop….make me want to experience the life of a certain persona.
Take J. Crew for example, there’s just a good vibe or something, right? It’s welcoming, calm, peaceful, classy. I could go on about the J. Crew men’s store in New York for hours. The wood walls, woodsy scent in the air, hardware items alongside men’s work shirts, Fleet Foxes playing in the background. It has this whole persona, so to speak, of the classic working man who knows how to dress impeccably and get the closest shave while still liking the outdoors. Being in the store alone makes me want to meet that guy, or become the girl for that guy….it’s like being in a movie or walking amongst a stage set.
Two summers ago I had the wonderful opportunity of working in the public relations department of Ralph Lauren in New York. And I will tell you that even in the offices of corporate Ralph Lauren the experience is of highest importance. You know what I’m talking about: the polo riding, cigar smoking, bourbon-drinking gentleman who would never be seen in athletic shorts and dirty t-shirt. Mr. Lauren is pretty much the founding genius of this retail aesthetic idea: the whole concept of shopping as an experience rather than a simple purchase. His corporate offices are exactly like the retail stores: mahogany walls, oil paintings, black and white portraits of himself, plush couches and coffee table books. He knows that in order for his designers and marketers to maintain the Ralph Lauren persona, they need to be surrounded by it while working. In corporate meetings Mr. Lauren constantly emphasizes the importance of creating a customer experience. Working retail at Ralph Lauren is no joke. You have to greet customers a certain way, conduct yourself in a certain way. The music playing is something soft and classic. The stores are actually designed to feel like your home, your own closet.
Following in Ralph Lauren’s footsteps, his son David Lauren started the store Rugby. Rugby is marketed towards college students; the feel is definitely preppy, sophisticated, and yet hip. The music is indie/preppy (Vampire Weekend), the walls are adorned with old sport team photos, college paraphernalia etc. He also carries Tom’s shoes and FEED bags geared towards the generation’s desire to help globally. Walking into this store almost feels like a college party. The kids who work retail are hip New York students, the music is loud, the clothes are scattered everywhere, people are bustling all over the place. Part of my job as an intern was to give feedback on how to help the customer experience at Rugby. David constantly wants to ensure that when kids walk into the Rugby store that they feel as if they become part of a cool scene that makes them want to buy clothes in order to live out what they feel in the store.
Creating this customer experience in a retail store really is a science. It is marketing in a physical form. There are entire studies devoted to creating this sensory experience in stores. This form of customer experience includes multiple aspects of Bernd Schmitt’s Strategic Experimential Modules. It is definitely something that appeals to the senses, and it also causes you to feel a certain way, it can even remind you of meaningful memories. Being in a store like Ralph Lauren makes you want to act as well…it inspires you to become someone else or to practice certain hobbies. And maybe most important to Mr. Lauren himself is the ability to make people relate…to connect people to a certain idea and culture….to build community… and to constantly inspire people to dream.