When 19-year-old Naina walked into a leading lifestyle retail store, she had planned to buy one pair of her favourite brand of jeans. Half-an-hour later, she walked out with two pairs of jeans, three Tees and a belt.
A similar experience is recounted by a 62-year-old Swami who went to his neighbourhood supermarket to pick up some groceries. His basket soon filled up with at least five items he did not plan to buy.
Cashing in on the ‘unplanned purchase' mindset of the modern Indian consumer, retail players are now training their frontline sales staff in ‘cross-selling' (selling related items) and up-selling (selling items of a higher value).
Mr Bijou Kurien, President and CEO, Lifestyle at Reliance Retail, says that cross-selling and up-selling are KRAs (key result areas) for frontline sales staff. “This is part of the training programme in any retail company. It's clear that consumption will drive growth.”
Says Ms Arvinder Soora, HR Head of Planet Retail, employees now understand that targets are measured in terms of how many products go into a single bill and how to increase the average transaction value. “We also realise that our sales staff are not just hands and legs. They need to be trained in understanding customer needs and so we regularly conduct programmes.”
At Future Group's stores such as Central and Brand Factory, it's not just sales staff that nudge customers to fill their baskets, even cashiers have been trained to sell items at the cash point. “Most of the time, cashiers know regular customers and what their needs are and, therefore, can up-sell or cross-sell better,” says Mr Kripesh Hariharan, HR Head, People Office, Central and Brand Factory.
At the Landmark Group of stores such as Lifestyle, Max and Spar, the sales staff's performance is measured on the customers' basket size and the average bill value generated. Mr B. Venkataramana, Chief People Officer, Landmark Group India, says that each employee carries a Career Passport that indicates his or her performance and, therefore, promotion.