TravisMathew’s Ryan Ellis on Creating Compelling and Fun In-Store Experiences
In this episode of The Retail Experience Show, Bobby speaks with Ryan Ellis, CEO at TravisMathew, a lifestyle brand. They discuss TravisMathew’s growth to 40 stores across the country, why they focus on product storytelling, and how they use fun experiences to attract customers into the store. They also talk about why aspiring retailers should slow down at the beginning, the role of digital in the future of retail, and why great customer experiences begin with people.
Topics discussed:
How TravisMathew created a lifestyle brand in a space no one was addressing and grew to 40 stores.
The lessons learned in opening their various stores, and why Ryan visits each location before signing.
How TravisMathew is experimenting with technology in their operations, yet still focuses on having people drive great customer experiences.
Why they focus on product storytelling to make things simple for both employees and customers.
How they draw customers into their locations with games, community experiences, and storytelling.
Advice to aspiring retailers on why they should take it slow at the beginning and nail their first few locations.
How digital elements will shape the future of in-store experiences with better product marketing.
Guest Quotes:
“I would say the number one effective way to drive revenue and a great customer experience is through people. And we have incredible product stories and we got to tell those stories. And the customer can’t leave. It doesn’t matter if they buy something or not, they can’t leave understanding how great some of these things are, all the technical details, but also why they exist and why they’re going to make them feel better, right? So I really believe in that.”
“Having these simple storytelling pieces say, hey, our customer can shop all they want, but let’s give them a couple key experiences that simplifies it for them.”
“We want to create an experience where we can give you product knowledge … as you’re seeing my enthusiasm about brand and product. Also, we cannot bother you for a couple of minutes. You can hang out.”
“We can afford to take swings because we played it safe to start and found the right locations. We had all the right metrics.”
“How do we activate that at retail … so every single customer understands the story of TravisMathew? We need good digital to do that for us.”
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