The Realise Group

News

The Serve to Conquer - Herald Sun 26 April, 2012

Affordable fashion outlets are matching the high-end service of some boutique rivals.

But, overall, top-end stores are still the best at rolling out the red carpet, a "mystery" shopping survey has found.

There may be hundreds of dollars' difference in the clothes they flog but a Public Defender investigation has found that Calvin Klein and Jeans West are on a par for customer service.

Carla Zampatti and Alannah Hill were next best while more affordable chains Bardot and Supre also scored well.

Long-time fashion favourite Katies had the worst service, the survey found, with busy staff failing to greet customers and one unhelpful when asked.

Mystery shopper Carlie Huppatz said too many shop assistants were absorbed in housekeeping duties such as unpacking stock.

Some greeted customers with blank looks, didn't know their own product and failed to offer assistance in the changing rooms.

"I got the impression it was in the too-hard basket to help me," Ms Huppatz said.

Public Defender tested five high-end and five value-based Melbourne fashion outlets.

Each was scored on criteria including whether shoppers were made welcome, offered assistance and had their needs met.

Higher-end retailers received an overall score of 81 per cent compared with 55 per cent for more affordable stores.

The Realise Group managing director Katie Miles, whose market research company conducted the mystery shop, said customer service was the biggest advantage that traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers had over their competitors on the internet.

Social media meant word of mouth was more powerful than ever: "Retailers really need to be on their game. It's a huge opportunity if they get it right but it can also be a big downside if they get it wrong."

Specialty Fashion Group chief executive Gary Perlstein said staff were expected to make eye or verbal contact within 10 seconds of shoppers entering a store.

Posted 30 April 2012 by Katie Miles0comment

News

Champagne shopping to make us feel a bit special

Herald Sun Article, 22nd Nov, 2011 www.heraldsun.com.au

SILVER-service shopping is being rolled out to stimulate Christmas spending.

Attendances at special events offering exclusive mass discounts, free product samples and glasses of sparkling wine, music and entertainment are growing in a trend dubbed "experience shopping".

The premium events - open to all - are an extension of more elite previews and sales traditionally limited to retailers' most loyal clients.

Customer service expert Katie Miles, managing director of The Realise Group, said consumers increasingly wanted to feel valued.

"The frequency of shopping centre VIP and special events has grown from once a year to a few times a year compared with four or five years ago," Ms Miles said.

"The appeal for consumers is getting a whole lot of bargains in one day in an atmosphere that is fun and leaves them feeling a bit special."

Ms Miles said the events helped centres promote their brand, and encouraged customers to spend more time on site and less time online.

Westfield Doncaster is holding its first Christmas shopping event today after successful autumn/winter and spring/summer fashion extravaganzas in the past two years.

Westfield Victorian regional general manager John Warne said the centre wanted to create an exciting and social experience.

"It will also give customers a chance to shop stress-free ahead of this Christmas rush," he said.

Dancer Danijela Hrastov, 27, and two friends are capitalising with a girls' night out at the centre.

"I'm looking forward to it. I want to get some of my presents shopping done and dusted instead of battling Christmas crowds later," Ms Hrastov said.

"I also want to pick up some specials because I usually always pay full price when I shop, I'm a bit hopeless like that."

Other major events in the lead-up to the festive season include Myer's Christmas shopping night at stores statewide from 5pm tonight, and Chadstone shopping centre's "VIP party" from 9am-midnight tomorrow.

Chadstone's senior marketing manager, Mardi Ashkine, said more than 90,000 people were expected to attend. 

Posted 22 November 2011 by Katie Miles0comment

News

Customer Service Skills in Bricks & Mortar Stores Fall Short of Stimulating Sales

The Age Article, 24th Sept, 2011 www.theage.com.au

Customer Service in traditional bricks and mortar stores continues to fall short of stimulating purchases according to the latest benchmarking data compiled by The Realise Group from over 34,000 mystery shops conducted in the 2010 - 2011 Financial Year.

Results from similar benchmarking exercises conducted in 2009 - 2010 revealed that a majority of service standards are unchanged or now on a downward decline with sales assistant selling skills the biggest concern for business.

64% of sales assistants are attempting to close a sale and only 52% are attempting to add-on or upsell a purchase.

"The results of this year's study should be shocking for retailers given the current economic environment and the recent impact on-line sales has had on Australian bricks and mortar businesses", says The Realise Group's Managing Director Katie Miles.

"Data clearly shows that sales staff need to be skilled up and encouraged to provide shoppers with a customer service experience they are unable to obtain on-line.  Staff need to understand how to convert browsers to buying customers and secure profitable, add on sales."

Staff in Food sectors led in making customer service top priority with an average result of 88%, compared to 84% in General retailers and 78% in Apparel retailers.

"We see little customer service improvement in the Apparel sector where retailers still seem to place their housekeeping and administrative responsibilities above the customer experience making an interesting environment for shoppers where they are often required to place themselves in a retailers line of sight to be offered assistance" said Katie Miles.

92% of sales assistants in Apparel made appropriate product recommendations, closely followed by General retailers with 89%.  87% of both Apparel and General retailers asked questions to determine mystery shoppers' needs.

In the Food sector, 90% of mystery shoppers said that food met their expectations and that their orders were prepared in a timely manner.  96% of payments were handled in a efficient manner.

Across all three categories 88% of mystery shoppers said that they would return to the store based on their experience, up 1% from 2009.  Our question to retailers in all sectors this year is what are the 12% of non-return shoppers doing?

For more information or a copy of this study please contact us at realise@realisegroup.com.au 

Posted 22 September 2011 by Katie Miles0comment