Tag: Mean Business

One of the paradoxes involved in providing great customer experiences (CX) is that it’s often essentially invisible to the end consumer. Customers don’t always notice when a package arrives on time or a transaction is seamless, but they do become aware of good customer service when they experience its opposite.

Of course, providing these “invisible” positive experiences requires a lot of technological coordination behind the scenes. Retailers invest heavily in solutions and workflows to keep those bummers from bumming, but ideally, the customer never sees the sweat and toil involved.

The UPS Store has honed its ability to provide this type of invisible-to-the-naked-eye customer service, and it’s confident enough to showcase these capabilities in what VP of Retail Operations Sean O’Neal calls “risk it all” moments. “Our package guarantee, for example, is a promise to our customers that says, ‘We’re packaging experts, but if we mess something up [and a package is damaged], the customer is reimbursed for the packaging, the shipping and the value of the item,’” he said in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “That creates loyalty and good relationships with customers. It’s what our CEO Carol Tomé often says — that we should have a high ‘say-to-do’ ratio. We try to live and breathe that at The UPS Store.”

O’Neal shared how The UPS Store, a division of UPS operating more than 5,400 stores, translates its passion for great CX into practical tools and processes that serve both the needs and capabilities of its many franchisees.

Retail TouchPoints (RTP): How do you define a positive customer experience? What are some of the “must-have” elements for The UPS Store?

Sean O’Neal: In an increasingly digital world, where many transactions that customers have are happening completely virtually, we really try to win at The UPS Store by providing unparalleled face-to-face customer service, especially with “phygital” transactions that start in the digital world and then enter the physical world. These have to be really seamless, and because we do these very well, it’s helped us be at the top of many customer service rankings.

The best example of this is our Commerce Ready Services (CRS) group, which manages returns services for a wide range of retailers. Say you’re starting a return [digitally]. You get a QR code on your phone, walk into a physical UPS Store with that code, it’s scanned and you just hand the item over to us, and we take care of the rest. That seems simple, but what happens behind the scenes is quite complicated. Some of the more intricate returns programs, involving things like returning your cable box, require the store team to package up these very specific items [in a certain way].

Scanning the QR code opens up the right workflow for the associate so they can be effective in handling these hundreds of programs, and that’s an important one in ‘wowing’ customers. Additionally, this makes it easier to communicate [the proper workflow] out to stores when we onboard a new [retail] customer via CRS. We have all that information, and this makes it repeatable for any sales associate.

RTP: How does The UPS Store measure customer satisfaction?

O’Neal: We gain our formal insights through focus groups and targeted research, and we have both a competitive and a relationship NPS [net promoter score] program operating, including at the individual store level — customers can take a satisfaction survey any time that they’re in the store. This empowers our franchisees, because the feedback is loaded onto a dashboard almost immediately. We can use this both to celebrate wins and also to identify a tough situation in the store and work to correct that.

RTP: What types of data are most valuable for The UPS Store?

O’Neal: We really do rely on those interactions and the feedback customers give us, which helps us know where our customers are coming from as well as which [other retail] stores they’re choosing. This helps us check in on where our stores are located, as well as identifying good opportunities to place stores in the future.

We also need to understand what’s most critical to our customers. For example, one of the key customer groups for a UPS Store is a micro small business, which is defined as having approximately one to 10 employees. We have focus groups specifically for them, to see what’s driving them, what they’re concerned about, and what will drive their buying habits and decision-making when choosing a partner.

RTP: The threat of higher prices stemming from tariff uncertainties is raising new concerns about customer loyalty. What advice would you give to retailers to help them retain customers in an unsettled economy?

O’Neal: Every retailer has to look at the environment they’re operating in at all times, whether those times are certain or uncertain. It’s good to control what you can control, which sounds simple but isn’t, and then move forward with a plan. Everyone will have their own specific goals in terms of how to best serve their customer; at The UPS Store, that’s about personalized, world-class service for customers coming through our door, which has created a lot of resilience — and that’s what we lean into in uncertain times.

At the store level, franchisees are serving these micro small business owners, and many of them will be impacted, but the key is that the franchisees are there to support them and be an extension of their business, because they have so many products and services that can help small business owners in a time of need.

In marketing, engaging all the senses is key to crafting unforgettable brand experiences. Traditional static marketing is losing its grip on consumers’ attention, making it essential for brands to embrace dynamic, interactive strategies. While visuals and sounds have long been the cornerstone of branding, scent marketing has emerged as a powerful yet often overlooked tool.

What makes scent so compelling is its deep-rooted connection to human psychology. It directly accesses the brain’s most primal systems, influencing emotions, memories and behaviors at a neurological level. Compelling research consistently demonstrates scent’s effectiveness in creating multisensory brand experiences and establishing powerful positive associations in the consumer’s mind.

How Scent Affects the Brain

Unlike other senses, scent bypasses traditional processing pathways, instantly triggering emotions and memories. When we see, hear, touch or taste something, signals pass through the thalamus region of the brain for processing before being relayed to other areas. Smell, however, takes a shortcut. Olfactory signals move directly from your nose to your limbic system, which governs emotions, behavior and memory. What’s more, these signals travel through the amygdala, where memories become infused with strong emotions. This direct neurological pathway explains why certain scents instantly trigger strong emotional reactions and vivid memories.

When you encounter a familiar scent, it unlocks subconscious emotional responses connected to your past experiences. For instance, the smell of freshly cut grass might transport you back to childhood summers, while a particular perfume might immediately evoke memories of someone special. Because these memories are emotionally charged, they tend to carry stronger emotional weight, making them more lasting and influential than those formed through other senses.

Influencing Customer Behavior

Scent marketing taps into subconscious cues to shape emotions and purchasing decisions, exerting a powerful influence that few other marketing tactics can achieve. Certain scents trigger predictable responses: lavender and chamomile encourage relaxation, citrus scents like lemon and orange enhance alertness, and vanilla and cinnamon stimulate appetite.

In retail and hospitality settings, carefully chosen scents can increase dwell time and influence spending habits. Leading hotels craft signature fragrances to create distinct atmospheres: white tea and fig for fresh sophistication, sandalwood and cedar for warmth and exclusivity, or coconut and citrus for a more tropical, vacation-like experience. Luxury car dealerships enhance perceived value with leather and woody notes, while casinos strategically use floral and vanilla scents to encourage lingering and spicy aromas like jasmine or ginger to energize the space.

A Journal of Consumer Research study found that consumers recalled brands and made purchases more often when products featured distinct scents. Notably, product-specific scents – where each item carries its own fragrance – proved more influential than a single ambient scent in driving memory recall and purchasing behavior.

The Future of Scent Marketing

Advancements in neuroscience and technology are revolutionizing scent marketing, making it more adaptive and immersive than ever. Companies are exploring AI-driven scent diffusers that adjust fragrances in real time based on customer moods, demographics or environmental factors. Biometric feedback systems analyze physiological responses to specific scents, allowing for more personalized and data-driven scent experiences. Meanwhile, encapsulated scent technology, where microfragrance capsules embedded in packaging or print materials release aromas when touched, add an interactive sensory-driven element to product marketing.

The integration of scent into high-tech consumer environments is pushing the boundaries of multisensory marketing. AI-powered scent diffusers can adjust fragrances dynamically in response to customer demographics, traffic patterns or even real-time emotional cues detected with biometric data. Some leading brands are pioneering scent-emitting devices for virtual reality (VR) experiences, enabling users to engage with immersive, multisensory branding in digital spaces.

As these technologies evolve, scent is poised to become a pivotal interactive marketing bridge between physical and virtual engagement, transforming how consumers experience and interact with brands.

Final Thoughts

As consumer attention becomes increasingly fragmented, scent marketing offers a powerful, subconscious way to capture interest and forge lasting emotional connections. By understanding the neurological link between smell, memory and decision-making, brands can craft immersive multisensory environments that engage customers on a deeper level and reinforce brand loyalty.

Emily McCue is the Product Manager for Food & Beverage at Spectrio. She has 10+ years of experience working with the food and beverage industry, leading new product innovation, development, and consumer research. At Spectrio, she partners with clients, account managers and product development to enable innovative, metric-driven solutions to meet business needs.

Pottery Barn, a portfolio brand of Williams-Sonoma Inc., will makes its United Kingdom debut this fall with a UK-specific website offering a curated selection of furniture, bedding, lighting and decorative accessories. The launch also will mark the introduction of the brand’s complimentary design services in the country, offering personalized styling assistance both in homes and online.

“Our curated assortment for the UK market celebrates Pottery Barn’s commitment to helping customers inspire great style for spaces small and large that are beautiful and functional,” said Monica Bhargava, President of Pottery Barn in a statement. “Whether furnishing a new flat, refreshing a family home, entertaining with family and friends or thoughtful gifting, we are proud to be providing the UK market with thoughtfully designed pieces that meet the needs of modern living.”

In May 2024 Pottery Barn Teen enhanced its digital tools and added design services for the Pottery Barn Dorm platform, which helps shoppers figure out how to furnish their college dorm rooms.

Bath & Body Works has named Daniel Heaf as its new CEO, effective immediately. He replaces Gina Boswell, who is stepping down from the post and the company’s board. Heaf brings two decades of experience, most recently as Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer at Nike and featuring stints at Burberry and BBC Worldwide.

No specific reason was given for Boswell’s departure, but Sarah Nash, Chair of the Bath & Body Works Board, thanked her in a statement: “In the post-COVID normalization period she was able to stabilize the business and return it to profitable revenue growth.”

In his most recent role at Nike, Heaf delivered material productivity gains by refocusing resources and investment in product and brand. Prior to that, as VP of Nike Direct, Heaf oversaw 45,000 employees in 9,000 stores across 41 countries, more than doubling the business to $22.3 billion in five years.

“Daniel is a forward-thinking leader with a remarkable track record of driving innovative, transformative growth across iconic global brands,” said Nash in a statement. “He brings bold and direct leadership which energizes and inspires teams to rally behind him. His vision for evolving Bath & Body Works to be highly coveted, relevant and resonant for customers everywhere — combined with his consumer-first mindset — make him the right person to lead Bath & Body Works.”

Retailer Amps Up Appeal to Gen Z

Bath & Body Works adjusted its leadership structure in September 2024, eliminating the role of President of Retail with the departure of Julie Rosen, the last person to hold the title. In a statement at the time, then-CEO Boswell said: “Having made significant progress in fortifying our operating foundation and building our platform for long-term, sustainable growth, we believe that now is the right time for this change and that we will benefit from accelerated decision-making as a flatter organization.”

In March 2025 Bath & Body Works debuted its tech-enhanced Gingham+ store design, created to appeal to Gen Z consumers, in 15+ locations, with plans to roll it out for the majority of U.S. store openings going forward. The brand’s outreach to younger shoppers also includes its “Come Back To Your Senses” campaign spotlighting the sense of smell and featuring actress Jessica Williams from the Apple+ series Shrinking.