Ways to Make the Shopping Experience More Enjoyable

People value what they create 63% more. Yet most digital experiences treat customers as passive recipients instead of co-creators. This psychological principle, known as the "Ikea Effect", is shockingly underutilized in digital journeys. When someone builds a piece of Ikea furniture, they develop an emotional attachment that transcends its objective value. The same phenomenon happens in digital experiences. After optimizing digital journeys for companies like Adobe and Nike for over a decade, I've discovered this pattern consistently: 👉 Those who customize or personalize a product before purchase are dramatically more likely to convert and remain loyal. One enterprise client implemented a product configurator that increased conversions by 31% and reduced returns by 24%. Users weren't getting a different product... they were getting the same product they helped create. The psychology is simple but powerful: ↳ Customization creates psychological ownership before financial ownership ↳ The effort invested creates value attribution ↳ Co-creation builds emotional connection Three ways to implement this today: 1️⃣ Replace dropdown options with visual configurators 2️⃣ Create personalization quizzes that guide product selection 3️⃣ Allow users to save and revisit their customized selections Most importantly: shift your mindset from selling products to facilitating creation. When customers feel like co-creators rather than consumers, they don't just buy more... they become advocates. How are you letting your customers build rather than just buy?

WANT CUSTOMER DELIGHT? GO THE EXTRA INCH, NOT THE EXTRA MILE In a world where companies strive to “go the extra mile” for their customers, I propose a counterintuitive thought: You don’t need to go a mile. You just need to go an inch. The smallest, low-cost gestures can have a massive impact on customers, turning ordinary transactions into memorable experiences. The secret - search for the asymmetry between cost and impact. Going the extra inch requires minimal effort and often costs next to nothing. It could be a handwritten note, a smile, a gesture of personal recognition, a small act of kindness. But the effect on customers is profound. It creates emotional connections, fosters loyalty, and makes customers into advocates. The irony - while everyone is busy trying to “go the extra mile,” it is the extra inch that nets you miles of customer loyalty. THE I.N.C.H. FRAMEWORK To master the art of the extra inch, use this simple yet powerful framework: I – Identify Moments of Truth: Look for touchpoints where expectations are neutral or low. These are prime opportunities to surprise and delight. For instance, when I got my car serviced at the Lexus dealership, they washed and vacuumed the car and left a red carnation flower on the dash. I have told more than 10,000 people about the 50-cent carnation. How’s that for ROI? N – Notice the Little Things: Train employees to observe and remember small details about customers—preferences, moods, or special occasions. At the Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai, I asked for a memory foam pillow. Every time I stay there, they put a memory foam pillow on my bed. C – Customize the Experience: Personalize the interaction or gesture. Even the smallest customization can create a huge emotional impact. At Chewy, when a customer returned dog food after their pet passed away, they received a condolence card and flowers. It wasn’t about making a sale; it was about showing empathy. H – Humanize the Interaction: Move beyond scripted conversations. Authenticity and empathy resonate more than robotic efficiency. At Café Lucci, our favorite Italian restaurant in Chicago, the valet, the server, and the owner Bobby - all know us, know our kids, and always ask about the family. We are customers for life! In the race to “go the extra mile,” it’s easy to overlook the power of the extra inch. The secret to exceptional customer service isn’t grand gestures or expensive perks—it’s the tiny, thoughtful actions that leave a lasting impression. Going the extra inch is about mastering the art of the unexpected. It’s about creating emotional connections through small acts of kindness and thoughtfulness. So, the next time you think about how to delight a customer, remember: You don’t have to go the extra mile. Just go the extra inch. You will get miles of loyalty. #Marketing #CustomerExperience #Loyalty #Advocacy

I’ve been out of retail operations since 2014, but as a very frequent grocery shopper, I still have lot of opinions on how store operations could improve. I worked at 10 stores in 10 years and then delivered field support to 35 stores for 3 years. Finally, I developed technology and process improvements to all stores for another 3 years before moving into corporate purchasing. It’s likely that I’ll never have direct impact on retail operations again, but if I did, there are two processes I would implement that, I believe, would have an outsized impact on customer satisfaction: #1 - implement a traffic director. I think the most important part of the store for customer satisfaction is the front speedway. This is the horizontal “aisle” that separates the registers from the vertical grocery aisles. It’s the main artery that every single customer has to pass through to check-out and navigate between aisles. This traffic director, positioned on the front speedway, can direct traffic in two different ways: one, they can acknowledge and address issues at the registers and they can guide customers to the register that will expedite their checkout. Two, they can direct customers to what they’re looking for on the aisles. These are two pain points for customers that can be addressed with one person. This traffic director should have contact with both the front end and the departments through the store so they can remedy any customer requests- out of stocks, backed up registers, price or ad questions, etc. Long lines and out of stocks are frustrating but not nearly as much so when there is an employee that can acknowledge the inconvenience and work to fix it. #2 - empower employees to solve customer problems. They should never say “sorry, we’re out.” There are very few items in the store that aren’t substitutable. If associates are empowered to make decisions and solve customer problems, they can turn a negative situation into a positive one. I used to train newly promoted assistant grocery managers. They were shocked when I told them that if we were out of Coke 12-packs on a Sunday afternoon, I’d give customers a 2L to hold them over until the truck arrived the next day. They said “we’re allowed to do that?!?” Empowerment of your associates creates the opportunity for the best customer service outcomes. If you run grocery store operations, please steal these ideas and let me know where you implement them. I’ll be your newest, best customer. Image credit: publix.com