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Ett utdrag ur en rapport om framtidens detaljhandelstrender.

Så här stod det att läsa den 29.03.06 i WGSN

What is next for the retail solution?
AMANDA CARR

Identifying customer requirements
In the US, where the fashion-neglected Boomer customer is hot news (there are 75million of them stateside with $750bn to spend), The Gap Inc brand Forth & Towne -" targeting the 35-plus market - has put service high on the list of priorities because it understands this consumer rates trustworthy service.

According to Austyn Zung, senior vice president of design at Forth & Towne, "Our customer is a woman who knows who she is and her clothes reflect her sense of self, she is confident."

Consequently, the centrepiece of each Forth & Towne store is a fitting salon, staffed with Forth & Towne style consultants who will concentrate on developing a relationship with the customer.

The salon is a circular design conveniently located right in the middle of the store. The spacious rooms feature three-way mirrors, personally adjustable lighting, refreshments and a variety of fashion accessories within reach to help style an outfit.

Gap has also increased both service levels and size of its changing rooms in recently opened Denver, Hartford and San Diego stores.

House of Fraser's boutique department store concept in the City of London has trained all staff to the standard of a personal shopper as it understands that busy city women (customers are 70% female) need intelligent, speedy help from authoritative staff.

There is no dedicated Personal Shopping space; instead, all staff are trained to advise and assist customers to personal shopper level, and the fitting rooms are designed to give an extra level of luxury and intimacy.

Consumers love the high standards of service, the store tells us, and the store has the highest sales per sq ft of any HOF store. Typical feedback includes: "Service has been exemplary - absolutely fantastic! Tom Weeks (assistant to store manager) deserves a special mention"; "It makes shopping more fun when you can get someone to show you round"; "Invaluable help, which saved me a lot of time and decision-making".

Making every visit special
London Browns follows a similar principle with customer service. MD Niki Scordi feels strongly that every customer deserves a great experience and is dismissive of the VIP personal shopper approach that many department stores have taken.

She tells us: "I think they [department stores] are choosing to give good service to the few with the VIP shopping experience. We've had this discussion here at Browns but our policy is that we give great service to everybody. To say I need to make an appointment with a special person is to say everybody else can't have good service. It's not what service is all about."

Consequently Brown's staff are selected with care, following owner Joan Burstein's mantra of "Aware, alert and alive" when on the shop floor.

Although Personal Shoppers are now standard offer for department stores and even high-street chains, retailers realise they have to improve the personal service element for all customers, hence the emergence of the concierge-style service.

It's now the latest fad for teens in the US, who rely on teen-specialist shopping concierges at Four Seasons hotels.