Retail Armageddon: A case for training the retail industry

How often have you wandered through a supermarket looking for a product, eventually asking a passing assistant -only to be told “It’s over in the corner,” instead of “Please come, I will show you”?

How often have you stood in a phone shop to purchase a new phone and queued while customers get their existing phone problems solved because there is no queue for sales that is separate to service?

How often have you bought a product (sometimes an expensive product) and the assistant makes no effort to engage in small talk with you, even about the weather?

How often have you ordered goods in a shop ‘for next day delivery’ and it arrived a week later?

Frustrating, isn’t it?

A 2013 Canadian survey by Accenture showed that 63 per cent of people surveyed said they engaged in ‘Showrooming’ during the holiday season – researching and choosing in a store, but buying online [1], and this percentage is likely to be higher this year.