SALT LAKE CITY, UT--(Marketwired - May 27, 2014) - Experticity, the largest network of retail and category experts, today released the results of a study in partnership with Marshall Fisher, a professor at the Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania, to help brands and retailers quantify a simple but unanswered question: What is the financial impact of having a more knowledgeable sales staff on the retail floor?
With retail earnings once again reporting a downward trend, it is clear that competing in today's retail market requires a more data-driven approach to analyzing investments that impact the in-store experience.
"Brick-and-mortar retailers are spending $200 billion on their floor employees each year, yet there are very few programs that explore ways to make that investment more productive and differentiated," said Tom Stockham, CEO of Experticity. "Today, the smartest retail and product brands are beginning to understand that those who invest in great buying experiences can both build brand advocates and give customers the helpful expertise they need. Having this comprehensive data set provides the proof: Getting associates to engage with building their expertise is one of the most effective tools for increasing sales."
The Study
The study used a comprehensive data set which was analyzed by a research team lead by Drs. Marshall Fisher, Santiago Gallino, and Serguei Netessine. The researchers were tasked with providing a clear, concrete answer of the business value of building expertise in a sales associate. The study tracked comprehensive information about 63,500 retail sales associates from 330 stores including per-hour sales activity for each store. The data was then mapped to the sale associate's interactions on Experticity's network. To provide meaningful results, the research team had to control for a long list of issues that included seasonality, tenure and in-stock levels.
The Key Findings
- Individuals who engage are selling a lot more on the sales floor. The study shows that sales associates who completed as little as one module sold 69 percent more than those who didn't. And associates who completed six or more modules sold 123 percent more than those who took none.
- Individuals who engage with a brand sell a lot more of that brand. Brand sales were 87 percent higher for sales associates who engaged with just one module for that brand vs. those who didn't engage at all.
- Sales performance increases because of interaction. Sales associates who took one interactive course containing an average of three modules sold a full 9.5 percent more after taking the training.
The Impact for Brands and Retailers
The impact for the industry was also called out by the lead researcher. "It's rare to find such significant and comprehensive data sets to fully understand the impact of knowledge on sales efforts," said Marshall Fisher, UPS Professor of Operations and Information Management at the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania. "The data confirms what we all know instinctively -- that interacting with a knowledgeable, helpful expert creates a better buying experience. These findings should make retailers and brands evaluate the priority they place on sales associate training and knowledge."
Resources:
More information about the study can be found here:
- Infographic: Does Expertise Matter in Stores (link)
- Report: The True Value of Helpful Expertise (link)
- Biography: Marshall Fisher, UPS Professor of Operations and Information Management at the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania (link)
Connect with Experticity:
For more information on Experticity's network, you can visit the following
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/experticity
- Experticity blog: http://www.experticity.com/business/category/blog/
About Experticity
Experticity, Inc. is growing the world's largest community of influential experts to drive retail sales and create premier buying experiences through its expert knowledge platform, 3point5.com and its expert incentive platform, ProMotive.com. Together the platforms bring together thousands of the most innovative, forward-thinking brands and retailers, and hundreds of thousands of trusted product experts to drive better sales and an improved customer buying experience. The company's on-demand and performance-based products enable brands and retailers to educate, deliver incentives and foster firsthand product experience to credible, category-specific experts as well as collect important insights and analyze their effectiveness. By fostering long-term, high-value relationships, manufacturers see better results, retailers improve performance, experts are rewarded for their knowledge and consumers have better buying experiences. Experticity currently works with over 600 brands, 70,000 retail locations and nearly 1.5 million influential experts. Learn more about the company at www.experticity.com.