“Don’t hang out your dirty laundry” is classic advice for life. “Never hang out your dirty panties on your store racks” is wisdom for retailing. Well, it looks like some Gap, Victoria’s Secret, and Bloomingdale stores failed to be wise, according to an investigative report.
NBC staff purchased intimate items at eight major retailers in a New Jersey shopping mall, soiled the items with baby oil, and then went back to each store to ask to return the items. The returns were accepted. That’s fine with me, since a liberal return and/or exchange policy creates customer good will. I am disappointed that it looks like the store employees failed to ask the reasons for the returns. Asking customers the reason for a merchandise return helps curb fraud. But then the worst of all: The investigative reporters later found the returned items back for sale on the store floor.
The NBC report also included an interview with a woman who said she’d worked at three Victoria’s Secret stores, and it was normal procedure to resell returned underwear. When told all that had happened, the stores involved said it was not, in fact, their policy and they’d reeducate their workers about this.
So wash your new undies before wearing them. And protect against customers experiencing any feeling of contamination while they’re shopping in your store. This holds for all sorts of merchandise. Shoppers love to touch. But researchers at University of Alberta, University of British Columbia, and Arizona State University report that customers have less interest in an item on a rack or shelf when they’re thinking about who else has touched it. They feel disgusted at the idea the product could be contaminated by other shoppers. Have staff frequently refold, repackage, and reshelve in order to remove cues of product contamination.
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