You better get that customer culture right in your shop - and that's now.

There is no person on this earth who doubt that the retail trade is under pressure. The headline from Danish newspaper, Berlingske Business, on Friday, 25 September January 2019 "Amazon is eating all European retail trade". Yes of course they do it and of course digitalisation will hit the shops – unless they wake up and understand their role and opportunities. What do I mean by that?

Let's start with a few concrete experiences I even had on Saturday 26. January 2019 in Copenhagen. Experiences there are unfortunately few in the ranks of many.

On the shopping trip with my wife and daughter in Copenhagen I go hunting for a pair of shoes – or maybe two. Visiting a nice shop with the brand, that I would like to buy. Sale going on with good retail prices. On the way to the shelves with my size, I walk past 4 salespeople – and just one customer in the store. I hit the shelf with my size. Find two pairs of shoes which could be something. But I see no sales assistance. My wife contacts the staff and after a little reflection time comes a middle-aged woman to me. I have a few questions and are looking for a few other shoes. But the answer is short "No, I can't make this – they are not on sale." That's it. We leave the shop again.

The next stop is the shop with best cloth for men – Top Brands – and here are 8 salespeople in the store. Very few customers. I go through the shop. A salesman is approaching me and joke a little with us. We go to the shelves and look. But at no time will we get more attention from the staff. No one who tries to show me anything, inspire me, take an interest in me or otherwise make it "possible to buy".

And the story does not end here. I could go on. Same pattern in almost all stores. But what happened in today’s retail?

We buy the goods online. Yes of course we order shampoo and toilet paper online and get it delivered at home because a "digital tool" has detected that it is missing. It's the future. Of course we check the price of the product online. But so far it is still possible to get in the shops and get help, inspiration and ideas. However, the retail trade needs to take part in the development.

So, what are they going to do?

This is quite simply and in no way difficult. They are about to be people, understand people and want to create commitment and energy in the store. In short, it makes "amazing and exciting" to be a customer – or possible customer. No wonder that some of the old top stores must crack the neck. It has been extremely boring to visit most of them over the last several years. So why should I move far away from home, into a “dead shop”, and look at an item I really want to have – and then meet someone who looks tired of their job?

So dear retail it requires a mindshift. And here Nicolaj Jacobsen (National team coach for Danish Handball national team) comes into the game. Denmark became world champions. For many years we have had the team to go all the way. But we did not make it. One thing has made a difference this time; attitude. Expressed by the national coach's comment "We found out, that every single person should take responsibility. That we should take responsibility for each other. Grab when a person is falling out of training or struggle in the match". It is not difficult.

In the same way, the shops are forced to change mindset. They must develop a culture where it is both fun to go to work and not least extremely fun to shop and visit. Maybe I want to order the goods online – but often I'd like to see them first in the store. So, if they want to inspire me, they might be able to sell to me — or what's happening in many places, just be the best they can be; The place where I can try, see, touch and get a feeling of the product. Then I order online and it may even happen directly in the store. It offers new opportunities within the store that must be exploited.

So, what is the good advice for the retail trade?

There may of course be many. But I will give them three small inputs.

First, you must develop the culture – the customer centric culture – so that the people you “hire and put” in the store really are passionate about making a difference. Make them feel proud. They must be at work to play – and not to get 8 hours to pass. It only happens if the leaders in the shop and retail headquarter start "playing" with the employees. Mission and customer promise must be cultivated and discussed. The pride of making customers happy, inspired and positive must be cultivated.

Secondly, you need to get the training culture going. It requires competencies to be best. What should we be able to do? You must be able to do the most basic things about your products. And you should want to inspire people. It requires training. This means that employees must be trained to "inject customers" with the desire to buy. The training can be done both digitally – but even better every morning/evening in the store. Make sure that both managers and the most motivated employees can inspire the others – and train how you do. Then you will be ready to play the game with ME as a customer.

Thirdly, you need to get the feedback culture going. This means that both managers and employees must "be allowed" to give each other feedback. Not the negative and critical – but the constructive and motivational. It only happens by developing leaders to take the lead and that colleagues are encouraged to "play each other good" with inputs and ideas. It should be quite OK to intervene when a colleague does not "fancy customers". It hits everyone when the customer culture is in decline.

Many have probably seen the documentary and inspirational video of Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle throughout the ages. Here the employees and managers in cooperation have changed the culture. From being a bad and hard place to work, they have created an attraction. They sell fish – just like the 4 other fish shops in the same market. But the way they play with the customers is great. They play “theatre” with the fish, throwing with the fish and involving the customers. In short it's a show to get there. The queue is long and the trading is busy. While the employees are not "inmates" – but enjoy the game with the customers and find new things to do to attract. From the gradually quite old video, especially one sentence has made a print stuck in my head "We have to re-start it everyday" one of the leaders explain about the culture. It is not a “of course the culture is here” – it must be watched and developed. But once it is built it is easier to get it started again and again.

All this requires investing in training and perhaps changing incentive systems so that the collective and team-oriented come first. But 2 questions are penetrating; Is it already being too late for the retail shops and will the "old" leaders of the "main office temples" invest in it?

But remember that the alternative is far worse. So better get started.