Putting your audienceat the heart of your customer experience. Mothercare Concept Store Experience ReviewBrand Vista November 2015

A brand is now judged by what it does not what it says, and the customer experience is the ultimate proof to whether it delivers. So after reading the quote below from a Mum blogger about the newMothercare concept store, a key part of the brand’s turnaround plan, we had to review the experience ourselves. The following pages give you more detail on how they made the experience irresistible for Mums and parents-to-be.

“This is a really attractive place and with the wide isles, there’s ample room for buggies – finally a place that

understands their audience! And the wide isles isn’t the only thing that demonstrates how Mothercare ‘get’ their

audience. With the addition of a cafe, soft play, they have transformed something you have to do (buy a

buggy, cot, some new socks, whatever) into something you want to do.” Mum Blogger, mumdays.com

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From the car park, the experience is designed with parents in mind.

Directly outside the store there is ample Parent and Child car

parking spaces and bespoke trollies which are appropriate for

prams and babies.

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It’s a one-stop shop for busy Mums and parents.

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There is nearly everything Mums or parents-to-be could

need underone roof, from

maternity clothes to furniture to toys, there is also a place to read books with children, a soft play centre, a light

and airy cafe for parents to have a well earned nice coffee and

a photo studio to capture special

parenting moments.

Throughout the experience they are empathetic to Mums.

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There are practical and functional considerationsthroughout the store experience such as wide isles and ample room for

buggies. Pragmatic communications help Mums easily compare and contrast the choices available and funny quotes and parenting stories help to make what can be a daunting experience honest and down-to-

earth rather than intimidating or overwhelming.

Potential stress points in the experience have been considered.

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At till points and other areas of the shopping experience

where Mums might need to

take their attention away

from the children to pay or browse

properly there were clever

things to keep children

engaged and Mums stress levels down.

The café is themed but functional.

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The café is light, airy and clean. There is evident

branding but this doesn’t distract from the café

being a functional space.

There are different areas and types of seating –

comfy and functional and a nursing area with a

comfortable set up for Mums to breast feed. There is a microwave

station for Mums to heat up baby food, a

community board and space to park prams.

“Think about practicalities of enough space, buggies,

picking up food with hands full and watching kids and keeping flow through. Here little bit of space at the till,

I’ve got 2 kids running around, a buggy and a tray

and its really difficult.” Mum 1 & 3 yr old UK

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There is a child friendly pick ‘n’ mix offer where children can choose their own items.

Little Nest pick ‘n’ mix for kids consists of small, simple sandwiches with either jam or cheese, small cartons of milk,

water or juice, small pots of cucumber or grapes, homous and packs of mini biscuits and crisps.

It’s at children’s height level so they can pick what they want themselves.

Quality cues and service elevate the experience for parents.

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For parents, there are homemade salads, panini's, jacket potatoes, flatbreads,

homous and pitta, freshly made baguettes and plenty of treats.

Handwritten chalk signs and nice crockery were quality cues. There is over-the-

counter service and, unless you wanted smaller more convenient items, everything was taken out of the packaging and hand

delivered to the table after you order.

Toilet cubicles are big enough for Mums and a pram…

There are toilets on both floors which are much bigger than normal so that a pram can fit inside the cubicle and there was plenty of space to leave

prams outside. The sinks were child height and there is reachable handwash for children and Mums.

Funny quotes in frames on the toilet walls made a hygiene part of the experience stand out. Here is a blog we wrote on the importance of good toilets to overall satisfaction scores.. http://brand-vista.com/posts/view/the-bog-blog

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Like What You See?

For more opinions on the world of Brand Alignment and Customer Experience, make sure you check out the ‘Food for Thought’ area of the Brand Vista website http://brand-vista.com/food-for-thought.