Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM MARCH 2020 48 F or over 100 years, independent home appliance retailers have thrived by providing the best experience in the last three feet of delivery and service. Creating a great in-home experience leads to happy customers. It's been the key difference between shopping locally and buying from the national chains. Creating a strong sales and service experience has always required excellence in delivery and installation, from the in-store sales associate who can confidently schedule a delivery and install, to the retailer and manufacturer's service and support teams. For over a century, the best retailers have focused their operations and trained their associates around excellence in delivery and installation. That said, the introduction of appliance connectivity has complicated each step of product setup, delivery and install. According to Google, the Connected Home industry represents a $490 billion annual market. More than 42% of first-time Google Nest buyers are likely to return to the store to buy another connected product within a month after their first purchase. The opportunity in "the last three feet" arises because, as Google points out, 52% of Americans are too scared to install their connected home products on their own. I'm guessing the figure is understated, considering how few customers would actually feel comfortable setting up their connected home devices, including downloading an app, connecting each device to the network, registering an email and password, and ensuring seamless operability with the rest of the home. The collective setup process for all of these connected devices is too complex and time consuming for most customers. They need an expert who will not only take care of installation but can set them up and ensure their continued trouble-free function over time. At Nationwide Marketing Group, we talk to thousands of retailers about their biggest challenges. And it has become clear that the "Show me" and "Do it for me" independent service retailers have had their struggles with the connected home category, including home appliances. It's taking longer to deliver, install and set up these products. We've heard over and over that it's hard to get excited about selling a complete connected home package, when setting up and supporting these devices takes massive amounts of time. It doesn't help that a single minor glitch or connection error will negatively impact the customer experience. Not to mention the large number of other variables that can impact the performance of connected home appliances – variables like routers, internet providers, and computers and phones connected to each other in the home can compromise the efficient setup of other connected appliances. Most of these products were probably not purchased from a single retailer, which further complicates installation and setup. It can spell trouble for after-setup support as well. Who do they call when their phone isn't connecting to their fridge? – it could be an internet issue, a smartphone software issue or possibly an appliance issue. All of which is to say that we need to solve the setup and support equation at the back end in order to enable more confident selling at the front end. But how? It seems so simple: just partner with each separate manufacturer to help train the installers, which should speed up the installation and setup process – then go to work with each manufacturer to set up best-in-class tech support for any issues that pop up after install. But when you dig into why these problems are happening in the first place, it's obvious that this won't be an easy fix. Delivery, install and setup are three distinct functions in the new connected home. The entire home has a hand in creating connectivity (and communications challenges) for the installer and customer. Manufacturers will have a hard time taking the lead, when it's likely that some other product is at fault by competing for bandwidth and creating the confusion. The perfect solution for retailer and consumer will require a universal service provider. Creating that perfect solution will mean finding ways to speed up device setup for the installers, and creating a whole-home tech support solution that can solve any home network question that may arise. Whoever can find the answer will open the box to a great customer experience and a great retail opportunity. Retailers who are willing to invest in these expanded types of training and resources will lead the category for the next 100 years. Derek Mattila Connected Home Derek Mattila, Vice President of Nationwide Connected Home, Nationwide Marketing Group RO CONNECTED HOME IS RESHAPING THE DELIVERY AND INSTALLATION EXPERIENCE

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