A brand is now judged by what it does not what it says, and the customer experience is the ultimate proof to whether it delivers. So after reading a great review from a Mum blogger about the new Mothercare concept store, which an integral part of the brand's turnaround plans, we had to review the experience ourselves. The following pages give you more detail on how they made the experience irresistible for Mums and parents-to-be.

1. Putting your audience
at the heart of your
customer experience.
Mothercare Concept Store Experience Review
Brand Vista November 2015

2. A brand is now judged by what it does not what it says, and the
customer experience is the ultimate proof to whether it delivers.
So after reading the quote below from a Mum blogger about the new
Mothercare concept store, a key part of the brand’s turnaround plan,
we had to review the experience ourselves. The following pages give
you more detail on how they made the experience irresistible for Mums
and parents-to-be.
“This is a really attractive place and with the wide isles,
there’s ample room for buggies – finally a place that
understands their audience! And the wide isles isn’t the
only thing that demonstrates how Mothercare ‘get’ their
audience. With the addition of a cafe, soft play, they have
transformed something you have to do (buy a buggy,
cot, some new socks, whatever) into something you
want to do.” Mum Blogger, mumdays.com
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3. From the car park, the experience is
designed with parents in mind.
Directly outside the store there is
ample Parent and Child car
parking spaces and bespoke
trollies which are appropriate for
prams and babies.
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4. It’s a one-stop shop for busy Mums and parents.
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There is nearly
everything Mums or
parents-to-be could
need under
one roof, from
maternity clothes to
furniture to toys, there
is also a place to read
books with children, a
soft play centre, a light
and airy cafe for
parents to have a well
earned nice coffee and
a photo studio to
capture special
parenting moments.

5. Throughout the experience they
are empathetic to Mums.
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There are practical and functional considerations
throughout the store experience such as wide isles and ample room for
buggies. Pragmatic communications help Mums easily compare and
contrast the choices available and funny quotes and parenting stories
help to make what can be a daunting experience honest and down-to-
earth rather than intimidating or overwhelming.

6. Potential stress points in the experience
have been considered.
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At till points and
other areas of
the shopping
experience
where Mums
might need to
take their
attention away
from the children
to pay or browse
properly there
were clever
things to keep
children
engaged and
Mums stress
levels down.

7. The café is themed but functional.
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The café is light, airy and
clean. There is evident
branding but this doesn’t
distract from the café
being a functional space.
There are different areas
and types of seating –
comfy and functional and
a nursing area with a
comfortable set up for
Mums to breast feed.
There is a microwave
station for Mums to heat
up baby food, a
community board and
space to park prams.

8. “Think about practicalities of
enough space, buggies,
picking up food with hands
full and watching kids and
keeping flow through. Here
little bit of space at the till,
I’ve got 2 kids running
around, a buggy and a tray
and its really difficult.”
Mum 1 & 3 yr old UK
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There is a child friendly pick ‘n’ mix offer where children
can choose their own items.
Little Nest pick ‘n’ mix for kids consists of small, simple
sandwiches with either jam or cheese, small cartons of milk,
water or juice, small pots of cucumber or grapes, homous and
packs of mini biscuits and crisps.
It’s at children’s height level so they can pick what they
want themselves.

9. Quality cues and service elevate
the experience for parents.
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For parents, there are homemade salads,
panini's, jacket potatoes, flatbreads,
homous and pitta, freshly made baguettes
and plenty of treats.
Handwritten chalk signs and nice crockery
were quality cues. There is over-the-
counter service and, unless you wanted
smaller more convenient items, everything
was taken out of the packaging and hand
delivered to the table after you order.

10. Toilet cubicles are big enough for Mums
and a pram…
There are toilets on both floors which are much bigger than normal so that
a pram can fit inside the cubicle and there was plenty of space to leave
prams outside. The sinks were child height and there is
reachable handwash for children and Mums.
Funny quotes in frames on the toilet walls made a hygiene part of the
experience stand out. Here is a blog we wrote on the importance of good toilets
to overall satisfaction scores.. http://brand-vista.com/posts/view/the-bog-blog
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11. Like What You See?
For more opinions on the world of Brand Alignment and Customer
Experience, make sure you check out the ‘Food for Thought’ area
of the Brand Vista website http://brand-vista.com/food-for-thought.