Problem: Lowe’s, the world’s 2nd largest home improvement retailer, wanted to make customer experience central to their strategy. The challenge was to move focus from merchants and suppliers to customers and their needs, finding the right balance between building relationships with customers that went beyond simply transacting with them.

Solution: An internal team was created to integrate the physical, digital and human aspects of customer experience design. Subject matter experts were assembled to work together across the entire arc of the customer journey. External resources were contracted to fill in where in-house capabilities were not yet developed. Bridges were built into the rest of the organization to concept and test solutions. Numerous solutions were prototyped, tested and launched.   

For example, on the physical experience side, the Spot On color kit helped customers become more confident in their paint selections. Digitally, an online design advice offer was created in conjunction with decorist.com, to provide customers with tools and knowledge that they could access through any screen. And an in-store style advice service was developed to engage customers directly in finding solutions to their home improvement challenges. 

Impact: The resulting designs brought Lowe’s new levels of customer loyalty and engagement, particularly in home decor. Customers that had been given access to the advice and tools were found to be spending 28% more on home décor products.