EP.69 Keeping Retail Relevant with Emotional Connections and Engaging Tech with Angela Gearhart, Founding Partner - Media Maxx Executive Practice Director - AAG Consulting Group

Jun 6, 2024

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About Angela Gearhart:

Angela’s Profile: linkedin.com/in/angela-gearhart2024

Websites

ANGELA'S BIO:

Angela Gearhart, known for creating transformational brand experiences, tackles mission-critical challenges facing brands today. Where there is a gap between brands and their customers, they risk both revenue and relevance. Angela's deep understanding of consumer behavior and her ability to harness the synergy between marketing, sales, and technology, allow her to develop strategies that bridge the gap, igniting growth and fostering brand loyalty.

By optimizing the human-physical-digital experience, she enables brands to disrupt and connect across consumer touchpoints. During her tenure as VP of Connected Brand Experience at Sleep Number, disrupted the mattress category, driving the company's growth from $300M to over $2B, with her team earning over 30 retail design, innovation, and technology awards.

As a trusted advisor and influencer in the retail industry, Angela has earned accolades including recognition as a CSA Top Woman in Retail, Remodista Women2Watch in Business Disruption, Retail Innovator by Retail Touchpoints, and Design Influencer by design:retail Magazine.

Angela is a Founding Partner at Media Maxx, which specializes in accelerating brand growth through ecommerce partnership marketing and retail strategies. Additionally, she serves as Executive Practice Director at AAG Consulting Group, where Angela leverages her insights into buyer dynamics and retail technology landscapes to deliver effective positioning strategies for B2B retail tech firms. She also contributes her expertise to advisory boards for Retail Touchpoints, Goldstein Museum of Design, IRISCX, and Digital Signage Experience.

SHOW INTRO:

Welcome to the NXTLVL Experience Design podcast.

These dynamic dialogues based on our acronym DATA - design, architecture, technology, and the arts crosses over disciplines but maintains a common thread of people who are passionate about the world we live in and human’s influence on it, the ways we craft the built environment to maximize human experience, increasing our understanding of human behavior and searching for the New Possible.

The NXTLVL Experience Design podcast is presented by VMSD Magazine part of the Smartwork Media family of brands.

VMSD brings us, in the brand experience world, the International Retail Design Conference. The IRDC is one of the best retail design conferences that there is bringing together the world of retailers, brands and experience place makers every year for two days of engaging conversations and pushing the discourse forward on what makes retailing relevant.

You will find the archive of the NXTLVL Experience Design podcast on VMSD.com.

Thanks also goes to Shop Association the only global retail trade association dedicated to elevating the in-store experience.

SHOP Association represents companies and affiliates from 25 countries and brings value to their members through research, networking, education, events and awards. Check then out on SHOPAssociation.org

In this episode I talk with Angela Gearhart a retail industry leader who spent 20 years at Sleep Number Corporation as the VP of Connected Brand Experience changing the way co nsumes shopped for beds by integrating relevant technologies to enhance the shopping experience and foster deeper relationships between the brand and its customers.

First though, a few thoughts…

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Off the top of our discussion, this is the sentiment that my guest Angela Gearhart expressed as we dug into a conversation about the nature of retail what it is really about.

No doubt, when you think about retail there is indeed buying involved, but it is so much more than that. In the exchange of goods and services there is an intangible factor to long-term customer life-time value… a relationship.

Shopping is less about stuff than a deep interpersonal connection built on our need to be in social groups. The sense of belonging and that the relationship establishes context and meaning to our lives is key.

Is that too much to put on the back of a retail experience?

I don’t think so.

For millennia, shopping has been connected to the sharing of ideas as well as the exchange between parties, you give me something and I in return I give you something.

Shopping is ultimately more than getting stuff.

While I think it's certainly true that factors like price point and overwhelming product assortments and some logical sequence of getting people into the store moving them through departments exposing them to products and getting them to buy has been a prominent way to think about, retail I think that it's ultimately more than that.

In a world where shoppers don't have to go to the store because of the modern emergence of digital technologies allowing for convenience shopping from any place anytime from the palm of your hand, the question becomes what is it that drives people to go to the store?

I don't think it would be that just price or having lots of it whatever it is I want would be the only motivator.

I think what customers really want will be for their products and services to be imbued with both utility and significance.

The design of entire experiences will become a critical factor in making shopping places relevant in a world where you have ubiquitous access and abundant choice. But beyond providing products, services and experiences that are beautiful and maybe even transcendent, I think shoppers will desire, as they have for centuries, the feeling of connection, a relationship, being valued and that they can find meaning in the shopping aisles as well as the dry goods and sundries.

In the end we are social beings bound to an innate need to come together in community to cooperate, to share and to use our imaginations to create. Over millennia, these parts of us really haven't changed but the ways we satisfy these needs have been in continuous evolution.

Advances in technology have modified the speed of change moving it from a generational evolution and incremental steps to something more akin to revolution - something that happens very quickly. The pace of change these days is exponential.

So, the way we see technologies and its relationship to interaction and engagement in retail places will be a fundamental driver to how we now expect experiences to unfold.

We have these devices in the palm of our hand and we will likely continue to expect that what we do from the power of our palm - which gives us a sense of agency and control over a developing customer journey narrative - will be something that we also want to do while I'm in the store.

Emerging customers want to interact with technology in a way that is relevant to them - to engage in a way that changes the experiences so that it's focused on them.

Personalization and customization will be key drivers to how we end up creating meaningful retail places in the near future.

This is super important to understand because an entire generation of emerging shoppers who are digitally enabled and very savvy are interested in creating brand relationships that reflect their own personal ideologies.

It won't just be whether or not the things they can get will be inexpensive or easy to access. Ease and convenience will simply be table stakes.

Shopping or the idea of trade and commerce have been simply embedded in our evolution.

Over twisting trade routes across continents, through sprawling bazaars, across the counter at a general store, through the mail or making a purchase with your smartphone on a street corner, shopping has always given us away to make meaning of who we are, how we interact and how we live.

So yeah, I think shopping experiences have always been more than simply getting stuff. Shopping has at its core is an exchange forging trusting relationships and connecting to the world beyond us.

Shopping whether it was in the intersections of silk trade route, the Greek Agora or in today's mega shopping malls has given us a way to connect to our families, our communities, our nations and the world and in doing so we add ourselves to that intricate weaving of our personal and cultural human tapestry. Shopping is part of our cultural orientation.

I think we can look at places like the Greek agora as an ancient version of a social networking site.

When you were going down to the market to get eggs and bread you were likely passing people on the way and overhearing conversations about what was happening in your community. The town crier did not stand out in the middle of a field some distance from the city he was there on the proverbial soapbox informing people of the important information of the day in the town square - in the cultural epicenter of the town surrounded by…shopping.

Great retailers have it embedded in their corporate DNA that people drive their business and that their business is equally promote ideas and ideals.

I think more so than ever before it's become critical to understand that for brand to remain relevant it's not just about what you sell but it's about what you stand for that is most important.

So there's meaning attached to the stuff we buy it says a great deal about who you are and how do you feel about social or environmental policies. What we take away from the shopping experience is far more than the stuff but a profound and intangible element of interaction which we've come to call the ‘experience’…a body memory.

Stores have naturally become the three-dimensional embodiment of the brand and a venue for interacting and emotionally connecting with people.

So how people feel about the time they've committed to shopping in a retail place is a best indicator of whether or not they'll in fact make a purchase and be committed to come back over and over again. In the end it's not so much about the stuff they get but the positive feelings they hold about the people they interacted with and that helps to make shopping experiences more memorable.

I know that I have had, and I'm sure that you likely have had too, experiences where a great interaction with the sales associate has helped you either make a decision about buying something or making you feel fabulous in that new black dress or that outfit.

Positive memories of shopping also enhance the willingness to share that story with other people and become advocates for the brand.

In the recounting of the experience you share feelings about the people you interacted with - how kind they were - how they seemed to tune into what your needs were in the moment.

And in the best case scenario, it's more than just following a well crafted customer engagement protocol where a script is laid out about how to speak to a customer. There are some brands where the associates simply have it in them to know how to connect and make you feel great once you've arrived in the store.

And of course this is not a new idea in the creating a great shopping experiences but this intangible nourishment of their relational right brain through personal connections helps promote the likelihood that customers move from shopper to customer and it also fosters a willingness to keep on coming back.

If you're in the retail design space - for years we've used Apple as the example of it not necessarily being about this stuff.

The experience is not about an inexplicably broad assortment of products in Apple stores. They have very few products displayed on any of the iconic Parsons tables. The key driver to the Apple shopping experiences about the interaction you have when you walk through the door and you meet someone in a blue shirt who asks you how they can help and their then technology facilitates the relationship.

And that is a key part about the integration of technology and retail stores. Technology in retail stores needs to be in the service of something that I call “TECHNEMPATHY” - the use of technology in the service of empathic extension.

If you're not using technology to build the relationship then it's digital wallpaper and not really of much use.

Now… it is true that immersive digital experiences can be exceptionally captivating and I do think that we will eventually end up with stores that are somewhat like the holodeck using AR and VR.

I also think that digital experiences will somehow reflect back to us my personal emotional neuro-biological - inner mind-body state. But technology can't only be for wow factor. It has to be for engaging people in relevant ways where it facilitates a relationship between me, the product and the store and the brand.

And this brings me back to the beginning of this introduction to talk about my guest Angela Gearhart who spent 20 years with Sleep Number Corporation changing the entire paradigm for how we bought beds.

Sleep number doesn't just have great technology in the beds that they sell you shifting your purchase from some commodity that you spent eight or so hours a day on, but to selling the idea that sleep was geared towards health and well-being. The benefits of a good night sleep – and how their bed could provide it.

According to Angela Gearhart technology needs to have a purpose in a retail store.

That could be to simplify the process and reduce friction or to have a wow experience but in addition to that, technology needs to help retailers understand more about their customer and connect to them after the purchase so that there is a continuous cycle of exchange of information where the relationship continues on beyond the time you spent working out the details of how your bed needs to be custom made to you.

So for about for Angela, the value equation needs to include things like ease and convenience but it also has to have meaningful benefits. The experience also has to be meaningful in terms of how the environment and the product come together to sell you more than just the product.

She also agrees that affordability will never not be part of the equation but if you can move people to understanding the deep benefits of the product beyond its functionality you're driving towards a different kind of relationship

In my conversation we touch on a number of factors for what Angela believes are the critical components for retail innovation where technology is a key determinant of building the relationship.

Angela Gearhart, is known for creating transformational brand experiences and tackling mission-critical challenges facing brands today.

Her deep understanding of consumer behavior and her ability to harness the synergy between marketing, sales, and technology, has allowed her to develop strategies that bridge the gap, igniting growth and fostering brand loyalty.

By optimizing the human-physical-digital experience, she enables brands to disrupt and connect across consumer touchpoints.

During her tenure as VP of Connected Brand Experience at Sleep Number, her work changed the mattress category, driving the company's growth from $300M to over $2B.

Her team earned over 30 retail design, innovation, and technology awards.

Angela is a Founding Partner at Media Maxx, which specializes in accelerating brand growth through ecommerce partnership marketing and retail strategies.

And…adding to that already impressive list of retail activities and accolades, she serves as Executive Practice Director at AAG Consulting Group. In that role Angela leverages her insights into buyer dynamics and retail technology landscapes to deliver effective positioning strategies for B2B retail tech firms.

Let’s dig in…

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ABOUT DAVID KEPRON:

LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/david-kepron-9a1582b

Websites: https://www.davidkepron.com (personal website)

vmsd.com/taxonomy/term/8645 (Blog)

Email: david.kepron@NXTLVLexperiencedesign.com

Twitter: DavidKepron

Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidkepron/

NXTLVL Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nxtlvl_experience_design/

Bio:

David Kepron is a multifaceted creative professional with a deep curiosity to understand ‘why’, ‘what’s now’ and ‘what’s next’. He brings together his background as an architect, artist, educator, author, podcast host and builder to the making of meaningful and empathically-focused, community-centric customer connections at brand experience places around the globe.

David is a former VP - Global Design Strategies at Marriott International. While at Marriott, his focus was on the creation of compelling customer experiences within Marriott’s “Premium Distinctive” segment which included: Westin, Renaissance, Le Meridien, Autograph Collection, Tribute Portfolio, Design Hotels and Gaylord hotels.

In 2020 Kepron founded NXTLVL Experience Design, a strategy and design consultancy, where he combines his multidisciplinary approach to the creation of relevant brand engagements with his passion for social and cultural anthropology, neuroscience and emerging digital technologies.

As a frequently requested international speaker at corporate events and international conferences focusing on CX, digital transformation, retail, hospitality, emerging technology, David shares his expertise on subjects ranging from consumer behaviors and trends, brain science and buying behavior, store design and visual merchandising, hotel design and strategy as well as creativity and innovation. In his talks, David shares visionary ideas on how brand strategy, brain science and emerging technologies are changing guest expectations about relationships they want to have with brands and how companies can remain relevant in a digitally enabled marketplace.

David currently shares his experience and insight on various industry boards including: VMSD magazine’s Editorial Advisory Board, the Interactive Customer Experience Association, Sign Research Foundation’s Program Committee as well as the Center For Retail Transformation at George Mason University.

He has held teaching positions at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T.), the Department of Architecture & Interior Design of Drexel University in Philadelphia, the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising (L.I.M.) in New York, the International Academy of Merchandising and Design in Montreal and he served as the Director of the Visual Merchandising Department at LaSalle International Fashion School (L.I.F.S.) in Singapore.

In 2014 Kepron published his first book titled: “Retail (r)Evolution: Why Creating Right-Brain Stores Will Shape the Future of Shopping in a Digitally Driven World” and he is currently working on his second book to be published soon. David also writes a popular blog called “Brain Food” which is published monthly on vmsd.com.

The NXTLVL Experience Design podcast is presented by VMSD magazine and Smartwork Media. It is hosted and executive produced by David Kepron. Our original music and audio production is by Kano Sound.

The content of this podcast is copywrite to David Kepron and NXTLVL Experience Design. Any publication or rebroadcast of the content is prohibited without the expressed written consent of David Kepron and NXTLVL Experience Design.

Make sure to tune in for more NXTLVL “Dialogues on DATA: Design Architecture Technology and the Arts” wherever you find your favorite podcasts and make sure to visit vmsd.com and look for the tab for the NXTLVL Experience Design podcast there too.