Retail Management Success Happens When Leaders Understand the Operational System in Place

Retail management is one of my favorite topics to teach, so much of it is based on consumer behaviors observed and the operational systems we put in place. I owe much of my understanding of retail metrics and operational impact to Bath & Body Works, where our success was built around an operational system heavily focused on the customer experience. 

The Operational Setup with Two-Hour Segments

The operational setup includes: store classifications based on foot-traffic volume (A, B, C), two-hour progress segments, defined employee zones of the sales floor, and “floorsets” that created a new retail environment every other month. Retail management was indeed brand management and the traffic seen monthly determined revenue quotas. Your two hour segments were displayed on a screen in real time for all employees to see and understand. It contained KPIs such as: Sales lead owner initials (who was responsible for the outcome of those two hours) total revenue needed in those two hours compared to the PWTD (previous week to date), UPTs (units per transaction), ADS (avg. dollar sale) and conversion rate. Each KPI bucket would go green once the metric was achieved. For instance, if your conversion rate was low 30 minutes into the segment (the foot traffic wasn’t converting to retail sales) that KPI box on the computer dashboard would remain grey (vs. green) letting you know the current assigned zones, promotional placement; something operationally wasn’t working. So, it was the sales lead's responsibility to assess and change the plan for the time remaining in those two hours. That could be changing promotional sign placement, moving sales talent on the floor to different zones, displaying a different ‘end cap’ unit. 

Two-hour segments taught me that clear communication including the straight forward why wins adoption. When we change roles or assignments throughout the day, often quickly, we shift ownership and execution of that accountability. And as a leader you need to communicate the why of that new direction clearly. i.e., “Nicole, you’ve done an excellent job engaging in zone 2 today. Because traffic is slower I’d like to move you up to zone 1 in greeting to support conversion and increase traffic interest.” Understanding the why as a team member gives them authority to lead and the confidence to own that role for the next two hours. 

The Psychology Behind the Purchase

You knew the hero products; in my tenure, it was Japanese Cherry Blossom - a soft floral scent with a warm, grounded finish - and Moonlight Path - a powdery lavender musk. You knew the seasonal products that customers would be anticipating and how you’d build upon that customer experience. The scent called Leaves was in heavy anticipation as the fall-time neared and was often displayed with home fragrance; three-wick candles and Wallflowers in the front of the store (zone 1)… The art of seasonal sales was to expand the customer’s purchase of a beloved seasonal scent into other categories: hand soap, car scents or even the ‘limited edition’ candle holder. 

And it didn’t stop with the customer, the experience and engagement of retail products, exclusivity, and access carried over to employees. We all gave Bath and Body Works products for holidays, birthdays and celebrations. Shopping after your shift became a treat you look forward to too. If you ask any employee to this day, they’ll agree they had boxes of Wallflowers, soaps or candles under their bathroom sink or in their linen closet. 

Bridget Brennan explores the psychology behind purchasing decisions in her book Why She Buys. We understood the excitement of a new seasonal scent, the anticipation of a limited-edition product, and the desire to share something we loved with someone else. That personal connection naturally carried over into how we sold. In the end, we weren’t just selling retail products; we were also the consumers ourselves. 

Creating Ownership Through Demonstration

At the beginning of a shift, you’d place your purse and/or personal items in a lock cabinet, walk in the back room and put on your apron, secure your name tag and headset and listen to the recorded message from the opening manager and the overarching focus for the week. Finally, you’d review any selling tools you kept in your apron pockets; i.e., a ring explaining product pairing, or a calling card listing out the top, middle, and bottom notes of products for demo purposes. 

After that, you were ready to walk out to the sales floor and check in with the sales lead/manager of that segment. You’d reconfirm to the sales leader what the focus was for the day and promotions to ensure alignment and understanding as a participating team member - from there you’d be given your zone to work in and what to demo.  

Demonstration was and is important because it creates a connection or what I call ownership between the customer and the product. Research published in the Journal of Marketing Research found that direct product experience can strengthen a customer's confidence in their beliefs and attitudes about a product. You can explain the benefits of the product and how to use it along with the promotional pairing… but smelling the product or feeling the product’s velvety whipped lotion on your skin with a scent that evolves from beginning to end elevates the experience in the customer’s mind. They now associate themselves with the product - It becomes personal. Maybe it’s a soap scent that brings a deep inhale as they picture themselves using it at their kitchen sink on a crisp fall afternoon, washing off the day’s stress. That is an important distinction and moves a product from being in question to a product being placed in their shopping tote. 

What Today’s Retail Leaders Can Learn

Did you know the retail saying ‘Eye level is buy level’ is supported by eye-tracking research? Eye-level products receive 35% more attention than products on a lower shelf according to Ebster and Garaus’s Store Design and Visual Merchandising. 

Did you know that customers have a natural tendency to turn right when entering a store? Retail anthropologist Paco Underhill identified this behavior as the “Invariant Right.” 

Did you know that creating excitement through a product demonstration or interaction with another customer can capture the attention of someone passing by? This is similar to what's known as the Honeypot Effect, where visible engagement attracts additional interest and participation. 

Figure 8s were a foot traffic pattern we practiced on the floor of Bath & Body Works to attract new foot traffic into the store. We would specifically do this when foot traffic was light but mall traffic carried an opportunity for sales. And the figure 8s were intentional; so no, it didn’t look like we were ice skating figure 8s on the sales floor. We’d start in our zone - select a cabinet to fill and face products, then move diagonally to the next zone.

When a customer entered the store it was the same operational system, greeting and promotional language was done in zone 1 while offering assistance or a tote to shop with. In zone 2, it was expected that you observe the customer’s body language, products in hand and then check in with the customer based on an anticipated need, and in zone 3 you were to congratulate the customer on their ‘finds’ and reward the customer with an upsell of something small to increase UPTs and ensure that the customer had taken advantage of all the promotions - i.e., if you grab 1 more Wallflower you’ll receive one for free. Then information was taken at the register with a reason to return (typically a coupon) and they were sent on the way. That was a successful retail sales experience. And if done continuously, sales leaders would see KPI boxes light up green across the computer dashboard. 

Today, even as systems update and retail experiences evolve - human connection will remain essential in the operational system of retail management. Retail leaders still need to understand the opportunity cost as it relates to time and make adjustments in ownership and the layout of the floor from product display to team member engagement. It starts before you take your first step on the sales floor. Reflection, anticipation and awareness - from planning to execution - are needed to be a successful retail sales leader. 

References: 

• Ebster, C., & Garaus, M. (2015). Store Design and Visual Merchandising: Creating Store Space That Encourages Buying (2nd ed.). Business Expert Press.

• TruRating. (2026, July 15). What Is Retail Conversion Rate? Definition, Formula and Benchmarks. TruRating. 

• Ringler, C., Sirianni, N. J., Peck, J., & Gustafsson, A. (2024). “Does your demonstration tell the whole story? How a process mindset and social presence impact the effectiveness of product demonstrations.” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 52, 512–530.

• Marks, L. J., & Kamins, M. A. (1988). The Use of Product Sampling and Advertising: Effects of Sequence of Exposure and Degree of Advertising Claim Exaggeration on Consumers’ Belief Strength, Belief Confidence, and Attitudes. Journal of Marketing Research, 25(3), 266–281. 

• Gladwell, M. (1996, November 4). The Science of Shopping. The New Yorker. Discusses retail anthropologist Paco Underhill’s research on the “Invariant Right,” the observed tendency of shoppers to turn right upon entering a store.

• Müller, J., Walter, R., Bailly, G., Nischt, M., & Alt, F. (2012). Looking Glass: A Field Study on Noticing Interactivity of a Shop Window. CHI '12 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems.

• Brennan, B. (2009). Why She Buys: The New Strategy for Reaching the World's Most Powerful Consumers. Crown Business.