design:retail - July/August 2019 - 26

EXPERIENCE

DESIGN:RETAIL

JULY/AUGUST 2019

PERSPECTIVES

"Return on
Experience"
CHRIS ROCKWELL OF EXPERIENCECENTERED CONSULTANCY LEXTANT
TAKES A LOOK AT A NEW WAY OF
MEASURING RETAIL

➞ R E TA I L I S A N industry in transformation. Today's
consumers seem different-their behavior elusive.
Retailers continue to invest heavily to create unique,
transformational experiences in-store and online,
but to create meaningful experiences, retailers need
to define and then measure the value generated from
these investments through the lens of the consumer.
Despite mounting data that shows that breakthrough consumer experiences more strongly
correlate with brand loyalty than traditional CSAT
scores, the retail industry is still largely guided by
metrics tied to a single transaction or a specific
point in time. Sales per square foot and spend per
visit-while important-do not explain the "whys"
behind consumer behaviors or make clear what
experience is desired in the first place.
Net Promoter Scores (NPS) paint an equally misleading picture. As The Wall Street Journal recently
noted, NPS looks in the rearview mirror at single
moments of time usually calculated from a onequestion survey. These measures lack diagnostic
power and fail to capture the key elements driving
the consumer experience, ultimately leaving companies to guess how best to respond.
As retail environments evolve into experiential
hubs, retailers need to build measurement systems
that help them understand how to create a high
"Return on the Shopper's Experience," (ROE) and
use these to shape next-generation environments
that attract and resonate with consumers.
Retailers are taking cues from other industries
under disruption as they strive to reframe and
redefine the value they provide to their customers. One such industry is automotive. Automotive
manufacturers are transforming themselves into
mobility companies-digging deeply into the psychology and need states of their consumers both
to develop the vehicles of the future and to plan for
the adoption of autonomous vehicles. Using immersive research and measurement approaches to
deliver a step-change beyond vehicles to services
for the total mobility experience.

CHRIS ROCKWELL
CEO & FOUNDER
LEXTANT

"Sales per square foot
and spend per visit-
while important-do
not explain the 'whys'
behind consumer
behaviors or make
clear what experience
is desired in the
first place."

A good example is Lincoln, which has defined
and claimed its own niche in the luxury automobile category using a combination of generative
and evaluative research methods. Instead of simply
looking at the steering wheel or the infotainment
system of a car interior, they sought to understand
what the consumer is looking for from the luxury
driving experience. They used this knowledge to
define value delivered through a clear, consistent
design language and benchmarks for evaluating
future design innovations.
Lincoln was a pioneer in the application of
Experience Metrics, a new research methodology
that brings together generative and evaluative
research techniques. The results have been transformational. Ford is growing in the luxury market

again, with all four of Lincoln's crossover and SUV
models posting double-digit sales gains last quarter.
As one industry observer has commented, "Lincoln
has their mojo back."
An Experience Metrics system was developed
by Lextant to provide a clear, reliable methodology
for informing design and measuring brand experiences. Experience Metrics methodology equips
brands to define the ideal consumer experience
(which consumers expect from their product or
service) and then measure the performance of new
product and service concepts against that ideal.
It offers a quantifiable way to focus innovation
investments and bring added confidence to new
product initiatives.
There is now a growing interest in experience measurement in retail environments. Retail
moments-in-store and online-offer rich opportunities for meeting and connecting with customers,
learning about their wants and needs, and
designing experiences that fit meaningfully into
the fabric of their lives. The Experience Metrics
approach provides a resource that brands can use
to fuel innovative thinking, focus investments in
technology, merchandise and design, and identify
white space opportunities.
The good news for retailers today is that consumers will continue to visit brick-and-mortar
stores as long as retailers continue to create interesting, fulfilling and empowering reasons for
them to visit. Forward-looking brands-that are
prepared to get beyond NPS in pursuit of a deeper,
more personal understanding of their customers'
needs, desires and goals-will find that Experience
Metrics positions them to deliver move-theneedle performance.
➞ B I O CHRIS ROCKWELL is CEO and founder of Lextant, an experiencecentered consultancy dedicated to informing great design and inspiring
companies to pursue it. For more than 20 years, Rockwell and his team have
been using advanced research, design and measurement approaches to
fuel confident decision-making, enterprise alignment and market success.

design:retail - July/August 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of design:retail - July/August 2019