How about if… change of consuming habits through innovation
By: Julien Lucchini
Tags: Innovation, Covid 19, Change Management, Business Analysis, User Experience

My name is Julien, I am working in Research & Innovation and I have a profound interest in all things concerning product, business analysis, digitalization, data, change management and UX.

This particular article focuses on change in long established retail-chain in Paris during Covid-19.

Last sunday I was driving through Paris in the hunt for Christmas presents. I admit, it’s a bit old-fashioned but there is beauty in being able to see and touch a product before acquiring it. When I arrived at Les Galeries Lafayette & Printemps Haussman, I have realized that there was a long line for accessing it just a few minutes after the grand opening. Why? Perhaps because of the lock-down due to the Covid-19 or because of Christmas getting closer or just a consumming habits to Parisian people.

As with many things — an obstacle/situation is merely providing a case that can be studied and used to improve a service or a process.

When I saw those hundred people waiting outside before the door opening at 1°C(33,8 °F) I had an idea in context of changing consummer experience and giving a break for both consummer & shopping centers. How about using the COVID-19 as a boost to increase customers service satisfaction and make better predictions on potential revenue for the investors and stakeholders of the Shopping mall?

Booking for shop access

With a clear schedule based on the shopping needed and location of the products (1 h/2h/3h) … AI/Physical Shopping assistance

Because we know who and can estimate for how long they are coming, we can provide them with a personal shopper(AI assistant and/or physical person to choose from). The main role would be to keep an eye on the clock to respect the schedule but as well to give a tour, advices and help to the customers on its decision making journey ( of course, with all the safety measurements necessary in pandemic context).

This is not to say that Les Galeries Lafayette, like other providers, has not reacted to Covid-19 to adapt and improve it’s services, — in fact currently you are able to make use of:

Click &Collect Do distance shopping with the help of a personal shopper that you have to contact via their web app and is hidden somewhere within the menu (think about UX!) Shop with the Les Galeries Lafayette mobile application.

Great! But wait, what about the physical access? What about people which do not like to dig into a website and really do research of out all options? Have all profiles been analyzed and do the solutions currently provided cover their needs?

Not yet! How many sales are lost due to those people that would rather go physically to it’s beautiful shopping malls and buy products with or without the assistance, even during Covid-19. How many sales are lost due to bad web based UX?

So, let’s try to imagine designing a value proposition:

We are a) Les Galeries Lafayette & Printemps Haussman which is dealing with limitations and obstacles imposed by b) the French government in context with COVID-19; there are c) multiple stakeholders which profound interest is in having figures and sales on the table to predict the revenue and plan accordingly and there are d) customers which would love to use their services but due to limitations and a general increase of global population and complexity of web products are not having the experience that they would prefer and deserve having.

Let’s say Les Galeries Lafayette opts to consider implementing services that I mentioned (booking app with navigation solution, personal AI shopper/physical shopper). To do so they first need to outline a value proposition. To do so, they can utilize the canva, which can be found here. Such canva has two sides: client profile and value map. The Client profile helps to define your understanding of the client. With help of the canva value map you describe how you are planning on adding value to this client. The client profile and value map have to be aligned. As with many things — there is not just that one type of client and that one type of service, you have to multiply and develop each profile and map it to it’s respective service proposition.

It is worth mentioning that as you create a value proposition for the client you have to keep a close eye on him/her, monitor the response to your new/old service proposition in order to adjust it as and when needed.

What would be the benefits of creating a booking application of the mall for the client?

The scheduling tool would provide the security for a client to access the mall they treasure and love and can be integrated with their personal calendars helping them to better plan and make routing of their day (because honestly, we love planning what we do and we hate waiting for nothing) It would provide more in-depth stats for the shopping mall on its clients and could potentially be integrated with other app solutions already developed by the company (indoor navigation application, the mobile shopping application) Should they opt in and develop the personal AI assistant as well, such could not only advice and educate the client on the variety of product and services they can make use of while staying within the facility ( for example you could ask recommendations on presents or go deeper and fill out a profile of the person for whom you are getting the present to get more educated advice, as well as price range on the said product) It would make the access to the facilities more Covid- friendly, making sure that the client is not waiting for nothing, he shops comfortably surrounded by the amount of people that is currently within limitations set by the government and wants to return soon.

Those two services can be free or chargeable depending on the segment of customer that wants to make use of it and depending on the further intend and backbone of their new user experience.

After they would develop the value proposition, align it, develop it (3–6 month give or take or utilize a ready-made solutions from the ones available on the market, since timing is of concern) they would have to go and test it with the users. To check if the solution developed is valuable Les Galeries Lafayette would have to prove the following:

Which of the products and services really interest your clients?

Which benefits are really important to your clients? What are they waiting for the most?

Which of your solutions will help your client to get rid of their problems? Which of those solutions are they waiting for the most?

As they get the results Les Galeries Lafayette will be able to go further in it’s process of becoming a 21st century venture and provide the utmost experience to the clients.