There is more to good retailing than decent product and interesting merchandising – that can be done online, but what else is possible?
The launch of ‘National Treasures’ at John Lewis on Oxford Street last week was a clear illustration of a simple idea: ‘Give ’em reasons to come back.’
“Shoppers are reminded about what made them walk through the doors in the first place”
In truth, although it was backed by a measure of product promotion, hard sell had absolutely nothing to do with what was on view. Instead, this is about persuasion and giving shoppers a smile in the mind as they wander around any John Lewis at the moment.
The other point that is worth bearing in mind is that usually, this is the kind of thing that finds its way into the windows and then stops.
The thinking behind this is perhaps that once you’ve managed to get customers across the threshold, then why bother paying anything more than lip service to what appears across the store exterior?
The alternative, of course, is to live the windows’ promise, and this is what National Treasures is about. We are all familiar with the phrase and the windows confirm what might be considered clichés, but are in fact items that we know and love.
Throughout the store the theme is picked up, played with, and shoppers are reminded about what made them walk through the doors in the first place.
Offline experience
All of which is a straightforward response to online shopping. You can certainly look at everything that you’ll find in a John Lewis store online, but the fact of the matter is that this is a retailer with 48 stores to service and make pay their way.
As such, National Treasures is an acknowledgement of the power of the web and the fact that if you want a specific product then you might as well fire up the laptop.
“What John Lewis is doing in all of its stores currently is about as close as the shopper will get to an ‘experience’”
The web, however, cannot match the business of walking round a shop and seeing how the various parts have been tied together by a promotion and then rounding things off by having a cup of rosy (or perhaps something stronger) on the roof of one of Oxford Street’s grander shops.
Put another way, this is about offering an ‘experience’. It’s a much-abused word and in many instances is almost valueless.
Yet what John Lewis is doing in all of its stores currently is about as close as the shopper will get to an ‘experience’, something that will be there when one visit is made and by the time a subsequent shop is undertaken may have been changed for something else, that will keep ’em coming.
And that is a National Treasure in itself.
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