Blog post: The Tale of Two Coats
At a time when we hear that the high street is struggling and traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ retailing is in decline, I have a ‘frustrating’ tale to tell regarding a recent shopping experience.
The teenage son decided to buy a winter coat and, having saved up for it, found exactly what he wanted by researching online. However, being the product of parents who have drummed it into our offspring to ‘support the high street’ whenever possible he was happy to buy the coat in-store.
So, this weekend we went into a high street store where he tried on the coat, declared it perfect..and decided to buy it.
Simple? Hmm…..
It was a reasonably high price ticket item and the boy noticed that a discount of 10% was given in-store to students, so far, so good.
At the point of sale the sales assistant (who was very friendly and helpful) mentioned that an additional 10% discount was given to students but that the coat would have to be ordered online to qualify for the 20% offer.
For a young person, the idea of saving an additional £25 is a ‘no brainer’ and we duly trooped over to the ordering point and completed the online forms (still with coat in hand).
Order completed and item paid for, we were asked where we would like the coat sent…to the store or to our home address? It would, we were told, arrive within 24 hours.
“I’ll take it now” said the boy, pointing to the coat in hand.
This however was not possible! In order to take advantage of the 20% discount, which is an offer made by the store’s parent company, we had to wait 24 hours, return to the same store, and collect the same coat albeit a new one that had been sent from a warehouse overnight.
The staff member agreed it was a ridiculous situation and I felt sorry that he couldn’t complete the sale for us.
Rather frustrated, we gave the coat back, left the shop, and waited 24 hours………when the coat didn’t arrive.
UPDATE: 48 hours later – coat has still not arrived. Son returned to store for the third time in 48 hours to be told there was ‘a problem with the delivery company’.
The original coat is still in-store, the right size, right colour, waiting to be sold, but ‘company policy’ and ‘the system’ won’t allow him to take that one away.
I find this whole experience really frustrating, especially as the boy had fully intended to ‘support the high street’.
The sales staff would surely feel deflated, sending customers away empty handed? And the cost of packaging a new coat and sending it via a courier across the country must be fairly costly. Not to mention my son’s disappointment and wasted time.
In my opinion we should be encouraging Generation Z to shop on the high street, not only from an economical point of view but for the social and emotional benefits it brings to society.
Born between 1994 and 2010, Generation Z could have serious spending power, whether they are new to the workforce or influential in their parents’ buying decisions. Their behaviour may hold the key to future consumer shopping preferences and, more importantly the future of retail.
Brand new YouGov research, sponsored by Cybertill, examines the shopping preferences of Gen Z consumers in the UK, highlighting five ways retailers can engage digital natives in store and online:
1.Make click and collect a breeze: 59% of Gen Z want a dedicated till for retrieving click-and-collect items – no one hates queuing more than Gen Z.
2. Create easy-to-access product displays in store: 76% of Gen Z say being able to physically see products in real life is their main incentive to go into a store rather than shop online.
3. Ensure in-store stock visibility is accurate and available online: 86% of Gen Z say their biggest frustration is seeing an item marked as ‘in stock’ on a retailer’s website, but finding it unavailable when they go into the store.
4. Don’t waste budget on beacon technology: Only 15% of Gen Z like the idea of receiving marketing information or offers when they are near retail stores or displays.
5. Discounts, discounts, discounts: Gen Z are money-savvy with 75% preferring discounts and promotions in return for handing over their personal data for loyalty schemes, as opposed to points-based schemes or other incentives.
“Unless urgent action is taken, much of Britain will lose, irretrievably, something that is fundamental to our society, and which has real social and economic worth to our communities.” Mary Portas