(Atlanta – October 7, 2011) -- Retailers are fighting to achieve growth while customers are reducing spending. But in a transaction, there’s one thing that matters most to customers and almost no businesses are offering it: a totally useful and desirable experience at each touchpoint in the customer’s journey toward a purchase.
To prevail in a turbulent economy, retailers may be forced to reconsider and improve every step in the customer experience. Florian Vollmer, industrial designer, educator, and service design strategist, presents Environments, People, Things, and Sites: A Customer’s Journey to a Purchasing Decision, a webinar, Wednesday, October 12, 2:00-3:00pm.
Based on discoveries unearthed at Euroshop 2011, the global retail trade fair held every three years in Dusseldorf, Germany, and challenges expressed by retailers, Vollmer will explain how businesses are adapting to a new "experience economy" by dramatically shifting focus from selling products to offering service. He will discuss how rethinking experiences—from the customer’s perspective—results in sound purchasing decisions and long-term brand loyalty.
The October 12 webinar is first in a series of presentations by Vollmer that will address global topics, trends, and technology innovations affecting brands and influencing the way they do business. Up next in the series:
Store of the Future: Innovations in Retailing – Metro’s Real Cash and Carry store, Tonisforst, Germany, is an experimental playground for integrating and testing new retail technologies. Vollmer will take listeners on a tour through this progressive store environment, highlighting some of the most innovative and disruptive technologies being introduced at retail worldwide. Wednesday, November 9.
Retail Wrap-Up: Trends in 2011 and What to Watch in 2012 – Every three years, an international audience gathers to share innovation, products, and best practices at Euroshop. Vollmer offers an insiders’ view of tectonic global shifts taking place in technology and customer experience, and their effects on retail. Wednesday, December 14.
Registration for the October 12 session and all seminars in the series can be placed online at http://bit.ly/pV01QP. All are free of charge.
ABOUT
Florian Vollmer has studied industrial, product, and multi-disciplinary design at the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design at the University of Central England, Kunsthochschule Berlin Weissensee, and Cologne International School of Design, and earned a master of Industrial Design degree at Georgia Institute of Technology where he also teaches. Vollmer has spoken to international audiences on the alignment of business, strategy, and experience design. He is senior vice president of design at Info Retail, Inc.
Info Retail is an Atlanta-based strategy and design agency. The firm advises clients that include a Forbes Top 20 small company, a Top 150 U.S. retailer, and a leading trade association. http://www.inforetail.com/
CONTACT Florian Vollmer at: florian.vollmer@inforetail.com, 770-953-1500 x15.