Talking shop: wonder what makes shoppers tick? 5 retail superstars reveal how to please customers and, more important, how to keep them coming back for more

Entrepreneur, Sept, 2003 by Elizabeth Goodgold

One way is through its friendly environment and comfortable seating, which encourages drinkers to visit with friends, catch up on reading or merely relax. The recent introduction of Wi-Fi, allowing users at 2,000 stores to connect to the Internet, not only encourages lingering, but is relevant to its cosmopolitan customers.

Just as important, Starbucks continually brews up new ideas. Earlier this year, the company announced a twist on the gift card: It teamed up with Bank One to create a Starbucks credit card that also functions as a rechargeable store card. Its debut of the Artist's Choice CD series, featuring musical talent from Tony Bennett to Sheryl Crow to the Rolling Stones, adds another revenue stream while honing its hip appeal.

Starbucks has adopted a saturation strategy to offer a convenient way to connect to the brand. It has licensing deals with Kraft for the production and distribution of its products to grocery stores and agreements with Albertson's Inc. for store-within-a-store concepts. The company also has arrangements with Host Marriott International for airport kiosks and is opening stores virtually next to each other to increase brand awareness, create operational efficiencies and provide faster customer service.

In addition, in every one of its 6,000 coffeehouses in 30 countries, Starbucks is committed to giving back to the community. With net earnings of $215 million for fiscal 2002, it follows in the footsteps of Ben & Jerry's, proving that you can do well by doing good.

Says Gary Wright, retail marketing consultant with direct marketing and fulfillment company GA Wright Marketing Inc. in Denver, "Obviously, the brand has extended beyond the coffee; customers are willing to pay a premium for the experience."

ANTHROPOLOGIE SELLING A LIFESTYLE

Anthropologie doesn't sell merchandise--it sells a lifestyle. Founder Richard Hayne took lessons learned from his successful creation of Urban Outfitters, which sells hip clothing and accessories for twentysomethings, and transformed them into a concept where the focus is not on the fashion of the moment, but on merchandise that soothes women's souls while getting them to open their pocketbooks.

Anthropologie stores are a carefully orchestrated attack on the senses, from the French music to the aromatic candles burning to the rough-hewn signs throughout. Each retailing quadrant acts as its own island, displaying a theme and flavor all its own. Customers enter "The Washroom" and find exotic soaps, lotions, dispensers and even a medicine cabinet for sale. They step into "The Boudoir" and discover sumptuous sheets, duvet covers and pillows luxuriously displayed on a wrought-iron bed (also available for purchase). In fact, selling the props makes the stores seem as if the customer has uncovered a rare artifact--a piece that she alone can own.

The store flies in the face of traditional retailing: It focuses not on one category of goods, but on disparate merchandise that's centered around a theme. Books, clothing, jewelry and patio furniture can be found there. As market expert Jon Schallert of The Schallert Group, a management and marketing consulting firm in Sorrento, Florida, explains, "a 'controlled clutter' design works because it keeps the customer interested." He advises his own clients to display merchandise in an uncoventional way so the customer discovers the merchandise as if on a special treasure hunt. Anthropologie has mastered this strategy.