Bridging Digital and Physical: Brick-and-Mortar Store Research at Ria Financial
While digital platforms have transformed how customers interact with Ria Financial, physical store locations remain the “bread and butter” of the business. To enhance the in-store experience and better align it with digital services, we conducted in-depth research at brick-and-mortar locations. This case study explores how this research informed design strategies for both physical and digital channels.
Challenge
Ria Financial operates thousands of stores globally, serving diverse customers with varying expectations and needs. The challenge was to:
Understand customer behavior and pain points in physical locations.
Identify gaps in the customer journey between digital and in-person interactions.
Design solutions that enhanced the overall Ria experience while addressing these gaps.
Process
Research in the Field
To truly understand the in-store experience, we conducted field research at Ria locations:
Customer Observations: Observed customers as they navigated the store, interacted with staff, and completed transactions.
Staff Interviews: Spoke with store employees to learn about their challenges, common customer questions, and inefficiencies in their workflows.
Surveys: Distributed short surveys to customers, asking about their preferences and experiences with both in-store and digital services.
Key Findings
Our research revealed critical insights about the in-store experience:
Customer Pain Points:
Long wait times, especially during peak hours, caused frustration.
A lack of multilingual support led to communication barriers for some customers.
Staff Challenges:
Employees often juggled multiple tasks, which impacted their ability to provide personalized service.
Outdated systems slowed down transaction processing.
Digital Disconnect:
Customers who started their journey online often faced inconsistencies when transitioning to in-store services, such as incomplete transfer information or duplicate steps.
Designing Solutions
Based on the findings, we proposed several solutions:
Streamlining Customer Flow:
Introduced digital check-ins to allow customers to join a virtual queue and receive estimated wait times via SMS.
Redesigned store layouts to make navigation easier and reduce congestion (where possible).
Empowering Staff:
Recommended the option for tablet-based tools for employees who are comfortable with mobile devices to access customer information quickly and efficiently.
Developed training materials to enhance multilingual support and service consistency.
Connecting Digital and Physical:
Enable customers to complete pre-registration for money transfers online, reducing in-store transaction time.
Integrated digital receipts and notifications to keep customers informed throughout their transaction journey.
Impact
The research and subsequent improvements delivered tangible results in our pilot store:
Reduced Wait Times: Digital check-ins and pre-registration could potentially cut wait times by 30% during peak hours.
Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: Surveys showed higher satisfaction scores, with customers appreciating the smoother transition between online and in-store services.
Increased Efficiency: Employees reported that the new tools and workflows allowed them to serve customers more effectively.
Takeaways
Field Research is Key: Observing real-world interactions provided insights that couldn’t be captured through surveys alone.
Align Digital and Physical: Consistency between channels ensures a seamless customer journey.
Empower Employees: Equipping staff with better tools and training enhances service quality and efficiency.
By investing in brick-and-mortar store research, Ria Financial improved the customer experience and created stronger connections between its physical and digital services, ensuring a cohesive brand experience across all channels. The research also provided a backlog of potential changes the company could employ in all stores to enhance the overall customer experience while increasing revenue.