Today we thought we'd talk about what's at the core of Swim - 'Innovating the retail experience'. Or more specifically, 'experience'

The key aspect of Swim in the jewelry store is making your store, an 'experience store'. Bringing together clicks, bricks, social and community.

For an experience store, it is about the interaction between the sales person and the customer. Whether that is in-store or online, the integration of the customer data (CRM) across the entire operation (in-store, online, head office, inventory, sales, fulfilment etc) enables you to know everything about the customer, and serve that customer in a professional, intimate way.

Having the ability to serve the customer anywhere in the store is key to today's in-store experience. By not having traditional 'sales counters' and having the ability for your sales assistants to assist the customer anywhere in the store, answering queries, showing pictures, producing quotes, taking repairs and custom makes and making the purchase through a tablet or iPad, creates a sense of personal, unified service and experience. Add to this the emailing of receipts (with photos) and text messaging the client when their job is ready to be collected and the customer feels they have their own personal shopper.

Tying the in-store experience with the loyalty program to engage the customer and reward the customer for repeat, loyalty business creates a sense of 'belonging', engaging them and driving the customer back again and again. Increasing the customer experience by providing personal rewards on birthdays and special events and sending emails, text messages and personal mail also adds to the store experience and further deepens the relationship.

And when we talk about experience, let's not forget the 'staff' experience. With the Swim® systems and procedures it ensures the staff are also having a first class experience that allows them to do more of the things they love doing (like selling) and less of the things they don't like (such as stocktaking and paperwork).

RFID stocktaking is a great example of optimising the staff experience. A task that manually can take weeks, with barcodes can day several days is cut down for the staff member to just minutes, with the RFID technology.

For the owner, the experience is more about 'what else' you are able to achieve in the day and focus on, or what experiences you are able to have outside the store, with family and friends, thanks to not having to be handcuffed to the desk performing paper work and administration tasks. The use of clever reporting, inventory control and ordering means better decisions, better running of the store, better use of time and better bottom line.

All in all it is about the complete Swimming experience - for customers, staff, suppliers and owners.