Sales Associates Are Evolving to Become the New Rising Stars of Retail

As recently as the 1990s, one of the areas where retailers excelled was high-touch customer service. Then came the aughts. "I think we went through this period in the early 2000s where companies were pulling sales associates out of the store because they were trying to save money and reduce costs. And then ecommerce came," said Cate Khan, co-founder and chief strategy officer of social shopping platform Verishop. Service, however, was a way these traditional players could get a leg up over ecommerce brands. Intimacy between the sales associate and the consumer is probably the most opportunistic area for retailers because it creates a personal connection, according to Greg Portell, lead partner in the consumer practice of consulting firm Kearney. Indeed, as banners emerge from the pandemic and reinvest in physical locations, they are looking to their in-store employees to play a bigger role in luring and retaining customers by developing closer relationships both offline and online, and providing high-level product expertise. That's a big switch from managing inventory and operating a cash register. "We're definitely in a spot where sales associates are going to stretch beyond the traditional sales role," Portell continued. "Doing tutorials, finding ways to educate and enhance the consumer experience beyond the four walls, that will definitely happen." From physical to digital, and back again Consumers are increasingly choosing physical retail for the experience, and retail associates are being pulled in that direction, Portell said. Beauty retailer Sephora, for example, began evolving the role of its in-store employees, or "beauty advisers," during the pandemic when in-person try-ons were not possible, said Carolyn Bojanowski, the chain's svp and general manager of ecommerce. That's in part because Sephora found shoppers missed in-person experiences and interacting with its sales associates during lockdown. Thus, Live Beauty Help, a virtual shopping advisory tool, was born. "Clients have the ability to chat with our beauty advisers online, and we know this is something our clients love and has absolutely contributed to the success of our ecommerce business," Bojanowski said. Sephora's beauty advisers are also being trained to use new technologies such as the brand's AI-based Color iQ tool, which helps consumers find the makeup shade that matches their skin tone. "Beauty is inherently a tactile industry, so it’s equally important for us to strike the perfect balance for our clients in offering the best-in-class suite of digital tools with the customized in-real-life experience with our expertly trained beauty advisers," Bojanowski said. Sephora isn't alone in its thinking. Apparel brand Express is also evolving the role of its store teams, which it calls "style squads." "To bring this to life, it really requires we recruit, hire, teach and develop our customer-facing store teams very differently," said president and COO Matt Moellering. "We're focusing more on creating a welcoming and energizing environment to really build a trusted relationship with our customers and help them develop and refine their personal style." That means shifting in-store staff's focus from operational activities such as checking out customers and folding clothes to providing hospitality, product expertise and styling advice. Style squads in this case are not only trained on how to create a more welcoming environment, but also develop the kind of styling perspective that will help customers craft their personal wardrobes. "The charge for the store's organization is how do we go about really creating that styling community and bring that to life within the stores," Moellering said. It also means changing how Express trains employees. Express is replacing the proverbial 50-page manual with short training sessions that are more like the snackable content employees consume on social media. Looking to China Evidence for what the future will look like can be found in China, where stores are immersive environments and employees are content creators, posting pictures on social media and hosting livestreams and online tutorials. They also directly interact with customers on platforms such as WeChat, said Iris Chan, partner at digital marketing agency Digital Luxury Group. She pointed to in-store sales associates for cosmetics brand SK-II, which uses WeChat to provide alerts about store-exclusive discounts and new products, and also helps shoppers join the brand's loyalty program. Sales associates at Estée Lauder are even taking it one step further by working with Intime, the retail arm of Alibaba's Tmall, to host livestreams, Chan said. In fact, sales associates could potentially become the stars of retail, Khan noted. "Just as different stars have broken out on different platforms like TikTok and YouTube and Facebook, I think there are opportunities for really great stylists to break out and to run huge businesses."