Expert opinion: In the age of the robot, human contact could become a USP

Contemporary retail is, understandably, obsessed with technology.

But as long as markets have existed, sociability has been at their heart despite their commercial imperatives.

They are places where all the senses are indulged and where conversation, whether haggling, passing the time of day or simply shared enjoyment of life, play a big part.

Of course retailers are right to seek the efficiencies that new technology can provide. Of course they are right to make convenience shopping trips as easy and fast as possible, offering quick, speedy fulfilment.

And of course technology opens up rewarding new ways of developing relationships with customers through understanding them better and catering to their needs and interests more effectively.

People power

But perhaps they downplay people power – the role of the person; the representative of the brand whose human empathy and instincts can make all the difference.

Retailers aren’t a social service. They don’t exist to provide a listening ear to the lonely. But many would happily acknowledge that they are proud that their staff so often deliver that extra touch

Card Factory chief executive Karen Hubbard tells a story that many people in retail, from boardroom to shopfloor, would identify with.

While spending time working in her shops, she noticed an old lady in one branch who was spending ages choosing a card.

Hubbard offered help and, as the satisfied customer left a bit later, she turned around and told the retail boss that she was the only person she had spoken to that day.

Retailers aren’t a social service. They don’t exist to provide a listening ear to the lonely. But many would happily acknowledge that they are proud that their staff so often deliver that extra touch.

It’s something that matters in all sorts of ways.

Brand advocates

That one shopper becomes a repeat customer and through their own – perhaps limited but nevertheless influential – word-of-mouth marketing, they become an advocate of the retailer.

Human interaction opens the doors to trade from all sorts of people, who on their own may comprise distinct, particular and perhaps small groups, but altogether represent a sizeable customer base.

Sainsbury’s, for instance, described itself as the “first retailer to trial slow shopping” as it adapted to reflect societal changes such as an ageing population.

“People who want to use the service are greeted at the entrance to the store, where a colleague is on hand to assist customers with their shopping”

Sainsbury’s spokesperson on its ‘Slow shopping’ initiative

In its Gosforth store in Newcastle upon Tyne, the grocer dedicated time between 1pm and 3pm on Tuesdays to the idea.

JS said when it launched the initiative: “During this time people who want to use the service are greeted at the entrance to the store, where a colleague is on hand to assist customers with their shopping.

“Chairs are put out at the end of aisles to enable people who struggle to stand all the way round the shop to have a rest. The store also mans two helpdesks where they offer samples of favourite products.”

There are 850,000 people in the UK who suffer from dementia and the idea of slow shopping was championed by Newcastle local Katherine Vero, whose mother suffered from dementia.

She said: “My mum used to love shopping but as her dementia developed it became increasingly difficult and stressful for us both.

“But I didn’t want her to stop going out and become isolated. I wondered if there was a way to help us enjoy shopping.

“After she passed away I was inspired to come up with the idea of slow shopping and was delighted when Sainsbury’s agreed to help me trial it. I hope other retailers will follow.”

Sainsbury’s has devoted more than 50,000 hours to training store staff how to help customers with disabilities, evident or otherwise.

Common sense is key

It’s not just ‘traditional’ retailers that have recognised the difference that humans can make, however.

Pureplays have piled effort into working out exactly when online customer queries or service should be diverted from chatbot to human being.

They know that many customer conversations run into dead-ends when conducted only through technological methods, and nothing frustrates their online shoppers more than when that happens.

And they know too that the sale is lost if human common sense and insight cannot be deployed at the right moment to sort out problems.

“A store should be a social centre, not merely a place for shopping”

Harry Gordon Selfridge, founder, Selfridges

Selfridges’ founder Harry Gordon Selfridge, who revolutionised retail in so many ways, once said: “A store should be a social centre, not merely a place for shopping.”

Surely his words are as relevant today as they were when he was the retail disruptor of his time?

While jobs are at risk from automation, that technological shift also creates the opportunity to put the people who remain in the industry centre-stage. It’s already happening.

Whether it is John Lewis’s effort to provide consumers with an engaging and memorable experience by sending staff to theatre school, or Debenhams’ idea of ‘social shopping’, such initiatives show that leading retailers are placing bets on the fact that human contact and experience, along with top customer service, are core to their appeal.

While the smooth, typically faultless efficiency of Amazon and its etail peers certainly counts as great customer service and has moved the dial, there are times when it is the human touch that makes the difference.

Great service is the most obvious example.

New research by the Institute of Customer Service – which surveyed various forms of communication for its Customer Dividend report – showed that businesses with the best customer service outperformed others on measures such as turnover, earnings and profit per employee.

Aldi was identified as one of the companies which “has achieved some of the strongest long-term revenue growth whilst maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction”.

Aldi is a retailer that places perhaps as much emphasis on high efficiency as it does low prices, so its ranking in the study illustrates that while people may be costly, they are worth the investment.

As the retail landscape changes, and technology continues to transform shopping, it would be wrong to forget the human factor.

Faceless communication is becoming more important. It’s a welcome development in many ways.

But ‘the computer says no’ response remains a frustration in life that technology has not yet overcome.

Perhaps it wouldn’t be outlandish to imagine that in the future, consumers may choose – and perhaps even pay a premium –  to spend with retailers that place human contact and human service at their heart.