Luxury Retailers Take Note: Consumers Want You to Know They’re Coming

Most purchases can now be made online – whenever and wherever. With this on-demand mindset, the in-store experience is transforming too, with a demand for much higher expectations than ever before. For a customer to take their time to physically come into an establishment, they are expecting more than just the opportunity to buy. Customers expect to be treated like a VIP, to be truly served.

For luxury retailers this is great news. Stand out service is the name of the game. So in this case, the convergence of the digital and physical retail worlds is a welcome development. Here, the virtual tools for scheduling and communicating can add value before a customer steps foot on site. Once there, service agents can have customer-specific data in hand, present products in the customer’s price range, and desired characteristics. This is not only what the customers want and need, it’s now what they expect.

81% of consumers surveyed for the TimeTrade State of Retail Report  would like it if a luxury retailer knew their preferences ahead of their arrival. They would prefer, for example, for a jeweler to be expecting them and know their preferences (such as budget, ring shape, style etc.). This ensures a more personalized and productive experience, making the most of both parties’ time.

To make this feasible, consumers are quite willing to cooperate. 59% of consumers surveyed by TimeTrade are willing to book an appointment with the retailer.

Pre-scheduled appointments for luxury retailers can benefit both the customer and the company:

• Customers get to skip the waiting line and be served at a convenient time for them.
• Customers experience higher quality service, generating greater satisfaction and loyalty.
• Sales happen faster and more streamlined as agents can better anticipate customer needs and wants.

While the efficiency of this kind of transaction may result in less browsing, the customer satisfaction and loyalty resulting is more likely to create a repeat buyer with a longer lifetime value, a worthwhile trade-off, especially for luxury retailers. Since it can cost up to twenty times as much to attract new customers as it costs to keep the ones you already have and the probability of selling to an existing happy customer is up to 14 times higher than the probability of selling to a new customer, it’s worth it to work hard to make your existing customers happy customers.

Would your customers welcome the chance to schedule in advance? Today’s technology makes it easy.

For advice on how to design an intelligent queue management system for maximum conversions as well as happy customers talk to a Qtrac expert today.