Column Mike van der Hulst | Power to the people, Employee Engagement, Employee enpowerment, Omnichannel, retail. · Kega

In the meantime, while we all continue shopping between bricks- and-mortar and online shopping experiences, I see retailers are looking for new ways to replicate the speed and ease of online shopping, in-store. This focus on the relationship between the brand and consumer's ease-of-use is good, ​yet ​I feel one ingredient is often forgotten ​that could potentially have an even bigger impact - staff. Did you know that the best performing brands in the world also account for the highest grades when it comes to empowered and engaged staff? Quite logical when you come to think about it, as they have the best chance to make the sale in every channel or touchpoint. I am sure that when you think about your best retail experience, it was an employee making the difference.

With the geopolitical and economics in 2017, retailers should prepare for what could be a difficult year. In a world where omnichannel retailing is the standard, there is not one retail brand marketleader in both online and offline. Think about it, not one. So for most retailers it should not be the goal to be the biggest and best on all channels, but rather to focus on the primary channel and treat the rest of the channels and touchpoint as a support group. While that happens it’s all about finding the equilibrium where retailers are listening increasingly to consumers’ needs without losing their own point of view. What differentiates a business, is it the experience, staff, service or product, or a combination? 

After that look at yourself, we are all consumers​ after all. What would you like?