Overview
Direct sales in digital: aimed at winning business from a digital consumer, this technology arrived in Europe alongside Covid-19. The British department stores of John Lewis are expanding their offer of free video appointments, from 1 to 2 hours. After appointments dedicated to childcare, fashion and home furnishings, John Lewis has launched beauty consultations in April 2021. Between April 2020 and January 2022, the retailer conducted 74,700 free customer appointments (from one to two hours). At the end of 2020, a spokesperson told Mind Retail, “The average spend basket is much higher than for traditional e-commerce orders. It is rewarding for our salespeople, in terms of C.R.M., because it encourages a personal relationship. They can share the living room or the wardrobe of customers. We see how seamless integration with social networks is essential. 15% of customers send us promotional links from Instagram and Pinterest.” Integration with digital messenger platforms like MS Messenger or WhatsApp is essential to win customer loyalty and revenue.
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In France, Fnac Darty has been working since May 2021 with CPM, which provides remote sales advisors. “When a Fnac Darty consumer wants information about a product, a pop-up appears and offers help,” explains Nathalie Andrieu, Director of CPM. “It is not a chatbot as a customer is with sales staff who activate a camera, answer questions and gives a demonstration. When a customer asks an initial technical question, sales staff broadens the discussion to their own uses and needs. According to CPM, the average discussion time is 10 minutes, which shows a real interest. The recorded conversion rate from enquiry to sale varies between 12% and 14%. The customer satisfaction rate is 92%”.
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In Italy, Yves Rocher’s offer is far advanced. The majority of sales are via social selling. For 6 years, the brand has been collaborating with local ambassadors who buy products and resell them on Facebook, Instagram or Tik Tok by giving make-up lessons. Yves Rocher is also deploying social selling in Thailand, Mexico, and Portugal. “In Italy, the combination of our 100 stores in major cities and social selling is remarkable.