Who are the experts on retail customer experience?

August 22, 2014 1:55 PM

We want to learn all we can about making a customer's experience good (and probably profitable for us) while they are in a store. Is there a field of study for this? Are there iconic books? Favorite bloggers? Oft-cited research papers?

For context:
We have a few hundred physical stores where we sell internet-connected things and optional software that installs on those things.
We're not necessarily looking to understand "customer service" (or are we?). We are looking to understand positive retail experiences.

posted by jander03 to Work & Money (6 answers total)

You could try RetailWire as a place to start.
posted by Leontine at 2:17 PM on August 22, 2014

You'll want to get to know Paco Underhill. He has also published a number of books.
posted by JoeZydeco at 2:22 PM on August 22, 2014 [4 favorites]

You have several hundred retail stores but don't have a retail training program? There's dozens of consulting firms that design training programs for retail employees.
Zingerman's
Zappos
Apple's secret manual
posted by Ideefixe at 2:36 PM on August 22, 2014 [3 favorites]

Came in to suggest Paco Underhill but see also: James Gilmore and Joe Pine who coined the phrase "Experience Economy."
posted by carmicha at 2:37 PM on August 22, 2014 [3 favorites]

You might search for "service design for retail" and see if anything catches your eye.
posted by Good Brain at 11:17 AM on August 23, 2014

If I'm doing my job well, this is your go-to resource (I'm the editor).
posted by jbickers at 6:19 AM on August 25, 2014