Is there really any reason to use the store environment fully? Doesn’t the face-to-face meeting between service-oriented staff and customer always trump both décor and furnishings?

Sure, it’s vital to have a welcoming, enthusiastic and knowledgeable workforce, but there’s certain aspects that the store itself can manage more effectively.

Simply put, the store environment – and by extension the experience you offer – reaches more customers at any one time than your staff ever could face-to-face. The physical space is obviously unavoidable, and always present – no worker can match that, at least not human ones. It follows that the physical retail environment really can make a huge difference.

That it should offer a memorable experience goes without saying. If carefully considered product displays and guidance are added to the equation, you minimise customers’ need for interaction. Customers instead have the option to solve their needs and issues on their own, freeing up your workers to tackle the more difficult problems.

In other words, the physical space ensures that all customers get an experience worth remembering and returning to.