When retailers offer complementary services along with products, it can be a great way to stand out in a crowded marketplace. Best Buy’s Geek Squad has been successful enough to invite competition from Amazon; Office Depot recently spent $1 billion to buy CompuCom as a way to move quickly into IT services, and IKEA’s purchase of TaskRabbit gives the retailer a connection to the “gig” economy.
Now footwear retailer DSW has jumped in with plans to offer repair, storage and even shoe rental services as a way to boost store traffic and enhance customer engagement. The Retail TouchPoints editorial team discusses whether this service combination is the right fit or whether the retailer risks getting off on the wrong foot.
Debbie Hauss, Editor in Chief: Services are going to be a great way for retailers to differentiate themselves, develop loyalty and provide personalized experiences. But I am not sure shoe rental is the way to go. I think it could be an awkward, uncomfortable rental for women. While dress and clothing rentals have been successful, as well as handbag rentals, I think women will feel differently about renting used shoes. Maybe DSW should consider some other type of service, such as wardrobe design suggestions (giving shoppers ideas about clothing or accessories to pair with the shoes).
Adam Blair, Executive Editor: I get why DSW wants to increase the number of reasons for store visits by adding services to its offerings, but these moves feel desperate and half-baked. I’m all for reduce, re-use and recycle, but if customers bring in older shoes for repair, won’t that discourage them from buying new ones? And how many people need storage areas just for their shoes? Will these be self-service lockers, or will DSW have to allocate associates’ time to storing and retrieving customers’ footwear? As for renting special occasion shoes — retailers like Rent the Runway benefit from operating online. When they deliver a garment in a box, it creates the impression of newness — an impression that helps the customer banish the thought of all the other people that have worn the item before them. It’s a lot harder to create that illusion when the customer is handed a pair of shoes as if she’s about to bowl a few frames.
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Marie Griffin, Managing Editor: It’s not clear how DSW will provide these services, and I want to know how they will execute this plan before I pass final judgement. If each DSW store had an area with a friendly and well-trained associate whose main function was to provide personalized customer service, this could become something valuable. If the task falls anyone on the floor who’s not busy when a shopper goes to rent, store or repair shoes, I predict failure. While these services could become a nice revenue stream eventually, the investment in people has to come before the revenue kicks in. Is DSW prepared to invest in the personnel, the training and the time it will take for these services to catch on? Only time will tell.
Klaudia Tirico, Features Editor: We’re always talking about experiential retail at Retail TouchPoints. Creating great experiences to get customers into the store is always top of mind for retailers, and services can play a strong role. Retailers don’t have to offer expensive VR experiences and flood their stores with interactive digital signage to align with the concept of experiential retail. Offering a service that improves items the customer is purchasing is just as important and helpful for good CX. DSW’s idea to provide shoe repairs and offer storage space is great, but I can’t say the same for the shoe rental offering (yuck!). Having a section in the store for shoe repair that gets consumers to walk through the store to reach — and potentially walk past their new must-have shoe — is smart. Plus, if a customer has to wait for their shoes to get fixed, they won’t have to sit in a waiting room or go out of their way to find something to do with their time if they can just walk around the store for a while, leading to more purchases.
Glenn Taylor, Senior Editor: At a time when it has become increasingly difficult for retailers to differentiate, services continue to be a major benefit. I liken them to the charm of neighborhood “Main Street” businesses that knew every customer’s name and created a personal experience, well before “personalization” became a buzzword. Best Buy strikes me as a company that has done this well with their Geek Squad tech support agents, and the retailer recently unveiled a more interesting pilot service designed for ‘smart’ elderly care. The Assured Living service is aimed at helping people remotely check in on the health and safety of their aging parents through smart devices. The point I’m making is that Best Buy has jumped into something no one else has taken care of (and that serves an actual benefit to humanity too), and it’s something more retailers should be cognizant of when they try to build a brand people care about. As far as DSW goes, there are plenty of companies already offering shoe rentals. People that want designer shoes are shopping there to get a great product for themselves, not those worn by others beforehand.
