A WINNING COMBINATION

February 28, 2018

The growing complexity of retail competition leads many industry leaders to a common conclusion: future success for retailers will rely heavily on creating an ever-improving experience in stores to combat the ease and convenience of online shopping. Vital to providing such superb customer experiences are engaged staffers who recognize the importance of their roles in every customer interaction.

Incredibly, that discussion – outlined recently by a panel of retailers at the National Grocers Association (NGA) convention – ties together the most recent reports of both CCRRC North America and CCRRC NACS, which respectively serve supermarkets and convenience stores.

The CCRRC North America report, called “Surviving the Brave New World of Food Retailing,” examines the emerging challenges of the day. It provides ideas as to how companies can navigate emerging technology, engage digitally with shoppers and find a way to build on long-held strengths.

The CCRRC NACS report examines the key role middle managers play in building employee engagement and demonstrates the business benefits of such a workforce. That report, titled “People Power for C-Stores,” also offers clear ideas on how managers can improve their skills.

Separately, each report tackles an important topic with practical suggestions for improvement. But as the NGA panel made clear, succeeding in retail in the future may heavily rely on meeting shopper needs through customer-staff interactions – employee engagement is essential to that.

Both reports can be downloaded for free at www.ccrrc.org/reports/.