At the end of last year, David Jones announced the launch of a new mobile app as part of its $65 million digital transformation project.
Like many legacy retailers, the Australian department store chain founded in 1838 faces the challenge of its updating backend systems to create a seamless experience for its customers. The app is just one of the ways David Jones aims to bridge the gap between online and in-store transactions.
We spoke with David Jones’ chief retail officer Kate Bergin about what it means to be a leading omnichannel retailer today, why so many businesses still struggle to create a seamless shopping experience and how she rose through the ranks to her current role.
This interview is part of our #IRWD365 campaign to shine a spotlight on inspiring women in Australia’s retail industry, produced in partnership with Airwallex. You can view the video interview here, or read the conversation in the article below.
Inside Retail: Kate, you’re responsible for integrating the bricks-and-mortar and digital experience at one of Australia’s biggest retailers. I’d love to get your perspective on the evolution of omnichannel retail over the last few years and what you think it means to be a leading omnichannel retailer today?
Kate Bergin: I think it’s a challenge that many of us have faced, as we started as bricks-and-mortar retailers – and that’s no different for us at David Jones – and then we became omnichannel retailers. I think one of the challenges for all of us and what our customers expect is for it to be truly seamless. Internally, we think about different channels, but our customer just thinks about it as interacting with your brand and you’ve got to let them shop and interact how they want.
But I think what’s key is making it seamless, and I think that has been the challenge for many of us over the past few years, particularly as online continues to grow as rapidly as it has. It’s such a big part of most of our businesses, and being able to allow our customers to slip easily between those two channels is what I think it really means to be a leading omnichannel retailer. When your customer is interacting with that specific channel [stores], what is it that they’re looking for?
I think in stores, it’s a lot about experience, and I think in digital, they’re looking a lot for convenience. So that’s what we’ve been really thinking about at David Jones – to be able to improve that experience for our customers.
IR: You mentioned this word ‘seamless’ and I want to touch on that because omnichannel has been a buzzword in retail for several years now. Why do you think some retailers still struggle to deliver that kind of seamless experience that customers are craving?
KB: Many of us have legacy systems, and I think those systems don’t talk to each other well. And also, we’ve had our customer data maybe in siloed locations. So, really investing in technology behind-the-scenes, so you can remove that friction for your customer, that’s what really makes it feel seamless. I think that’s been the challenge for many of us over the past years – the systems we had weren’t set up for having those multichannel businesses.
I think if you started as an online-only retailer and then you moved into bricks, you can have a similar challenge, but a different way. When I’m talking to most of my peers, that’s certainly the challenge I’ve been talking about.
IR: With customer expectations changing so rapidly, I’d love to know how you see this space progressing. Maybe we won’t necessarily be talking about omnichannel retail in 2030, but how will we be thinking about and talking about that seamless customer experience in the years ahead?
KB: Look, I think whether you’re talking omnichannel, or unified commerce, to your point, the buzzwords are already changing, but I think we’re never not going to be talking about what the customer experience is and how we can continue to improve that. What I was talking about earlier, around being clear around what your customers are expecting, I think you’ll hear a lot of talk now and into the future about that experiential retail in your bricks-and-mortar stores. You can see it already with some of the leading retailers around the world, and we’re really focused on that space as well.
What can you do in your stores to delight your customer and provide those experiences, those memorable moments, those things you remember that you share with your friends and with your family? For us at David Jones, services are really a differentiator and sometimes they’re our best-kept secret. A lot of people didn’t know that we have beauty services in all of our stores, that you can have a facial. They didn’t know that we had complimentary styling services in our top stores. And they certainly didn’t know that we’re one of the few brands that still does intimates fittings. We also partner – in six of our stores – to offer free breast screening in those stores. So I think we’re talking a lot about what role does your brand and do your stores play in your customers’ lives. I think there is a real difference in terms of what you’re trying to deliver between your digital and your physical [offering].
So I think that’s what we’re going to continue to talk a lot about in terms of what brings your customers to your stores and how can you provide those experiences for them? And we use the word seamless because we want to make it effortless for our customer. You don’t want to make it difficult for them to shop with you and interact, and I think in many ways we still haven’t got it right. We’re still working towards it. But one of the key things that I think is really enabling it for us is we just launched our first app at the end of last year. And that was about us wanting to put David Jones in your pocket.
What we’re continuing to invest in with the app is linking the physical and the digital. So for example, when we launch our next loyalty program at the end of this year, you’ll be able to see all of your purchases on your app, both in-store or online. You’ll be able to return or add to those really easily. We’re also going to be putting a scanner on so you can be shopping in-store, add it straight to your wish list in your app. And you’ll be able to book all your services on your app as well. So you can really have that full integrated experience.
We really saw that as an opportunity because 70 per cent of our traffic to our website comes through mobile, so we knew we had to make it far more engaging for our customers. That was a really exciting thing to launch, the first David Jones app, last year.
IR: It sounds like that’s going to be a big area of focus for you this year, and you’ve already mentioned a few new features you’re looking to launch in the app. Are there any other areas that play into that seamless customer experience that you’re hoping to focus on in the next couple of months?
KB: We’re going to launch a new Chatswood store at the end of this year as well, and that is really where we’re going to showcase our services at a whole new level. We already launched our online booking tool for beauty, so you can book your online services for intimates, beauty and now styling as well. But then what does that experience feel like when you’re in-store? We’ve invested a lot of money in our new fitting rooms, in our new beauty rooms and our styling suites in the store. So I can’t wait to bring that for our customers at the end of the year.
And then, while we invested in the app, our digital experience will be complemented by a new headless website at the end of the year. And that’s key for us to be able to continue to test and learn what is working for our customers and rapidly deploy that onto the website.
That’s the most exciting thing about the digital space: You can provide customers with new opportunities, they can tell you whether they like it or they don’t, and then you can roll it out to all your other customers. That’ll be our other big release this year, so two big projects still to come.
IR: Now I want to take a step back and talk about your career because you started out as a regional manager and worked your way up into head of retail roles, director of omnichannel, and now chief retail officer. What do you see as some of the pivotal moments or important decisions that helped you get to where you are now?
KB: It wouldn’t probably surprise you, like many of us that work in retail, I never set out to have a career in retail. I studied vet science at university so I didn’t think I’d be sitting here talking to you one day. But I’m glad I am because that whole adage of ‘do what you love and it’ll never feel like work’…I’ve been very fortunate to have had the opportunities that I have.
There are probably two things I think of. One that I can recall was when I moved to South Africa to launch the CRG [Country Road Group] brands. Moving to a third-world country felt quite daunting for me, but it ended up being the most challenging role I’ve ever had and the most rewarding. And I think it was pivotal because it gave me the confidence to take on something that I didn’t have experience in. Learning to trust your leadership skills would be really the defining part. And secondly, it taught me the most about myself. And I think that’s critical as a leader. But also, your career isn’t linear. Continue to take those opportunities where you can grow and develop and learn new skills. I think the old-school thinking was always, what was your next promotion? For me, it’s always been, where can I add value? What can I learn? And I think if people think of their careers more that way, I feel like it puts you in good stead.
IR: That’s some great advice. Is there anything else that stands out to you? Any pieces of wisdom that you would offer to the next generation of leaders to help them achieve their goals?
KB: Make time for your own development. That’s probably something that I learned later in my career. You’re so focused on building the right team because you know without the right team, you can’t be successful, and empowering them. But I didn’t always prioritise my own development and it’s critical that you drive your own career and your own development. Making that time to network, making those contacts in the industry. They’ll be some of the most rewarding conversations you’ll have.
You can spend a lot of time as a leader on your team and forget that you’ve also got to make that time for yourself. That’s something that if I could go back and talk to myself back in those regional manager days, that would be the advice that I give myself.
IR: Any final thoughts on the future of omnichannel for the year ahead?
KB: I’m so grateful for starting my career in stores. It taught me that the truth is in stores. If you want to know the impact of every decision you’re making in your business, whether it’s in your physical, or your digital store, stay close to it. Listen to those team members that are close to your customer. And I always love the saying, if you’re not serving your customer, you should be serving someone who is. So I think that’s good advice.
This article is part of Inside Retail’s #IRWD365 campaign to shine a spotlight on inspiring women in Australia’s retail industry and drive tangible change towards gender equality.