Opinion: Sainsbury’s will have to improve Argos's customer service

Argos had a facelift a little over two years ago and at the time its Old Street store was the poster child for the chain. Shoppers from the UK and overseas headed for this one to see what the retailer’s future might look like.

And it was certainly different, with touchscreens taking the place of catalogues and staff on-hand to advise about their use. All this was coupled with large screens at the back of the shop and the feeling that this was a reinvention of a form of retail that might have seen its day.

All went well at the store and a rollout followed. But now that shoppers are used to the new look Argos, is it actually better than what was there before – and what does Sainsbury’s have to do to keep ’em coming through the doors?

No easy ride

The takeover would seem curious, were it not for the fact that there have been new, mini-Argos stores within the confines of larger Sainsbury’s branches for some time now, meaning the two are already, to an extent, linked.

In-store screens are fine, but like all forms of shopper-facing technology, they are really only as good as the staff in the store to help with their use. In a retail chain, this means that things can be a little variable, and while some Argos outposts can be both efficient and friendly, others fall short of this.

“There are branches that do indeed look great – the store design has stood the rest of time, but it can be let down by lacklustre service”

The task facing the retailer’s new owner will be as much to do with service as with the technology that is in the stores. There are branches that do indeed look great – the store design has stood the rest of time, but it can be let down by lacklustre service.

The acquisition therefore brings into sharp focus not just the future for Argos and what Sainsbury’s will do to ensure its continued wellbeing, but also the relationship between technology and retail environments. The high street’s better operators have kept the faith with the emerging brave new technical world, but have softened it through a combination of interiors where it is properly integrated and staff who know that people left alone with an in-store screen probably won’t actually shop.

Sainsbury’s may have chosen a winner, but it will still have its work cut out to keep Argos ahead.