What If A Salesperson Could Read Your Mind? Sue Stanfield Has An App That Tries
HALIFAX — When Sue Stanfield opened her retail shop years ago, she imagined how great it would be if she could read her customers’ minds.
“We found that customers weren’t necessarily getting the experience they wanted in the store. There was definitely some hesitation from consumers to tell sales associates directly what they wanted, whether they were feeling bad, or they were looking for something in particular, or they wanted a quick experience or didn’t want suggestions or they did want suggestions,” she explains.
Over the years Stanfield — the CEO of Take It Outside and The Trail Shop with locations in Halifax and Truro — has tried to train her associates to intuit what customers are looking for. But that’s not easy.
“I [always think], wouldn’t be awesome if we could find a way just to let people tell us and they didn’t have to feel pressured or uncomfortable with that?” she asks.
Not long ago, she and her husband were talking about that very thing one night when she had an idea: why not give people shirts when they first walk into the store with emojis on them, so they could signal how they’re feeling?
Who can say what would have happened if Stanfield followed through on that idea? Instead, her husband suggested something different.
“He was like, well, you can make an app for that. And I’m like, I totally should make an app for that,” she recalls.
Not long after that, she began working on Checkmate Experience.
The idea behind the app, Stanfield explains, is to give customers a more direct line of communication with their favorite shops, before they arrive, so those shops can better curate the customer’s experience when they get there.
Customers can fill out a “style profile” that lets store staff know what they’re looking for and what they’re into. But customers can also indicate what they want their experience to be like when they come in.
“Sometimes you want help finding the exact right thing; sometimes you just want to come in quickly and pick up what you love; sometimes you want to be left alone to browse and you don’t want people asking you 1,000 questions,” Stanfield says.
Checkmate Experience users can “plan a trip” through the app that lets shops know what day and time they’ll be arriving, and exactly what they’re looking for. Users can select from options like “I’d like the help of an associate,” “please have options selected in advance,” or leave a custom message outlining what they’re looking for.
Those preferences show up on the retailer’s back-end system, so retailers can assign an associate to take care of the customer.
“We really just wanted people to feel good and have a great experience in the store — everybody, no matter who you are, what you’re looking for,” Stanfield says.
Stanfield was still developing Checkmate Experience earlier this year when Covid-19 hit. As retailers adjusted to new customer expectations, Stanfield realized retailers could also use the app to help create safer, more comfortable shopping experiences.
“People still want to touch and feel what they’re looking for,” she says. “Buying online is sometimes okay, but often things show up and they weren’t what you expected, or you have to return them.”
“So if you can go to a store safely, message the store what you’re looking for, tell them exactly the experience that you want, and then have time to do it in a safe environment, it’s a great way to help brick and mortar survive during this crazy Covid time, especially with reduced capacity.”
She said stores can use the app to set how many appointments they can have at a time and how long they need between each for cleaning and sanitization.
The app also has a direct messaging service built-in that allows customers and stores to communicate directly with one another.
She envisions direct messaging through the app could one day replace the myriad ways retailers now use (often unsuccessfully) to try and reach their customers.
Stanfield is already using the app for both the Trail Shop and Take It Outside and has just opened it up for a wider beta test.
The goal, she says, is to onboard 10 Nova Scotian fashion, apparel, or footwear businesses in December. To help that along, she’s offering any business that’s interested and is a good fit, a free six-month trial to test Checkmate Experience.
“The more successful the app can be, the more successful the businesses will be,” she says.
Checkmate Experience is right now available in the App Store for anyone to download, and will soon be available on Google Play.
Trevor Nichols is a reporter for Huddle in Halifax. Send him an e-mail with your story suggestions: [email protected].