Talk about creating a seamless omnichannel experience. As long as the in-store customer comes first, I see the “Start a Conversation” feature bringing online customers into stores.

One of the deterrents to brick-and-mortar shopping is the difficulty in navigating stores and finding an associate (department stores are increasingly under-staffed). This program enables the customer to plot their course prior to their arrival.

This sounds like a case of stealing from Peter to pay Paul. While using in-store personnel to assist online shoppers may seem like a reasonable idea, it’s problematic for a number of reasons. First, many stores are operating very lean staff schedules which makes it a challenge to adequately serve the shoppers who are already in the store. Further distracting in-store associates by having them support online customers will make the situation worse. Second, engaging with online shoppers effectively requires a level of communication skill the in-store associate may or may not have. So even if the associate is willing to do it, there’s no guarantee that the interaction with the online shopper will be a quality experience. If you want to support your online shoppers then hire dedicated “online associates” who have the skills and focus to do the job.

As already mentioned, most stores do not enjoy a wealth of associates with time to spare. Therefore this tack will work well for those online customers who had planned to come into a specific store to begin with — maybe just to pick up — and are now looking for additional assistance to justify the trip to the store and consummate a transaction.

Sounds great but unless they add staffing, something has to give either in-store or online. Customer support is not so wonderful now, so unless Saks invests in more employees/hours, stretching thin resources only thinner is going to either hurt the brick-and-mortar experience or fail online.

Mr. Milano has the correct foundational statement for using in-store associates to assist online browsers: “Priority is always to the customer in front of you.” As long as the shopper standing in front of you takes priority then leverage your staff wherever you can. They can be incented to help through sales commissions. One of my shopping pet peeves is having to wait for an associate who is on the phone while I’m standing in the store waiting for assistance. The shopper in your physical store is, and should always be, your absolute priority — no exceptions. If your in-store associate has the time then by all means they should be helping shoppers through all available channels. Access to specific individuals may become a very challenging policy to adopt. Why not go old school and give your sales associates business cards — analog and electronic — to hand to clients? It would be interesting to learn how effective this program has been for Saks. They apparently tested it for quite some time before expanding its… Read more »

My quick research indicates that Saks uses a commission based compensation model. Nothing I read indicates that they receive a commission if the online chat results in a sale. This is a disconnect that Saks and other retailers have to determine how they want to address.

Very few things are more valuable to a loyal consumer than a sales associate that not only knows the merchandise it offers but also the consumer’s preferences. The shopping process becomes very personal and expedites sales. It’s also a great tool for a good sales associate to increase his or her sales by seamlessly utilizing the tools and communication vehicles already being used by consumers.

If a retailer already trains and teaches its sales associates best practices, this is simply an evolution of the process. It’s an add-on to what already exists. It’s definitively not an initial step to improve customer service.

As we all face the challenge of delivering a seamless shopping experience, the more an enterprise blurs the lines between online and offline shopping, the more seamless it will become for the shopper. This is a great example of a successful tactic to achieve this goal. I see this being adopted by more retailers and I only see in-store shopping being enhanced due to more involved staff with local store inventory. Really great effort!

This is a terrific concept to insure the success of an omnichannel perspective. Remember, omnichannel is about customers not channels, with the goal to make the shopping experience seamless, convenient, efficient and effective.

As noted in the article, the key will be the execution of the concept, namely assisting online shoppers while not neglecting in-store customers. Some of this can be solved by additional resourcing of these positions in the the store, which brings inherent new costs.

I realize that my promotion of the converging of online, mobile and brick-and-mortar store for the past several YEARS has totally missed the notice of most people stuck in the past. Saks’ convergence is the first true convergence I have read about, but not yet seen. Amazon’s planned convenience stores with tablets deployed across the store is an even more serious convergence. And then in the discussions there is this treatment of the subject “retailing” with scarcely a notice that, besides channels, there is a stark contrast between service and self-service retailing. Admittedly, pretty much all self-service retailers do provide some SERVICE, but that is mostly in their service departments like bakery, deli, etc. I’m sure there are careful thinkers who make these ESSENTIAL distinctions, but now that convergence is not just a “five year in the future” phenomenon, I would expect the discussions to move a little closer the reality of “retail.” Convergence is a totally new phenomenon, and as long as you think because Walmart is squandering billions on an online service LAYERED… Read more »

Like many of the prior comments, I agree this is going to be a staffing issue. I like the idea and think it will show excellent customer service results. But only if it is staffed properly and at all hours, day and night. Online shoppers have no “open or closed” clock. They shop when they want. This means continual staffing will be required. It is customer service around the clock.

A customer is a customer, either online, in the store or on the phone. They are looking to spend money on something you have to sell. The key is to help and sell to the customer any way they want to be helped and served.

Leveraging in-store associates to assist online shoppers is an atypical practice today. While there are a few luxury retailers experimenting with this unique service, it remains to be seen how pervasively it will be adopted by other retailers. The biggest challenge is how it will impact in-store service levels. The last thing we want to see as a shopper in the store is a sales associate that is preoccupied on their phone and can’t help us. The flip side of that is if an online shopper wants to chat with a specific associate and they are not working that day or are not available because they are helping another shopper in the store. Some type of hybrid approach might be the best scenario. For online customers that want immediate service, they could choose from a list of associates that are currently available to chat in real-time (leveraging employees across time zones is a good option as it is not always peak everywhere). These associates may not be in-store employees and could be part of the… Read more »

Customers have a choice — online or onsite. The concept of bringing an onsite/in-store associate into the online conversation shows the focus is on the customer. Multiple channels, yet one brand. While a good onsite sales person could answer a lot of questions, the retailer may want to consider dedicated sales people to focus on the online customer.