In this episode of Add To Cart, we are joined by Shane Lenton, Co Founder and CEO of The Wishlist Company
Shane has spent the last 14 years growing the digital capabilities at Cue and his new venture is offering a solution to the problem of clogged camera rolls everywhere. The Wishlist allows shoppers to save product items for review and purchase later, online or instore. It gives retailers the ability to capture customers details and preferences and automatically generate personalised marketing campaigns that build engagement and drive sales. Shane has a passion for customer service and a brain for tech and this combination has found its natural outlet with The Wishlist, already embraced by retailers such as Kip and Co, Mr Poolman and Incu. We hear how Shane’s idea gained real legs when his wife lost out on the perfect pair of boots, his thoughts on the key components of a good omnichannel experience and how he started problem-solving at an early age with a rope and pulley feeding system for the family pet.
“It’s about having an eco-system and a framework where you’ve got that single view of customer, that single view of inventory”
Shane Lenton
Solutions and opportunity
“Technology for me was always a conduit into business. It wasn’t necessarily an out and out passion for technology. It was, how can I have an impact on business and ultimately to do that? How can I drive an amazing customer experience? So, yeah, and how can I, how can I make things easier? When I was a kid, it was my job to feed the dogs. We had a two story house and why should I have to go down the stairs and around the back? The kitchen was quite close to the balcony. So, as a seven or eight year old, I had a little rope system with the dog food, with the bowl. It’s just like, how can I make things easier and streamline and more efficient?
So then getting into retail and having that technology background, My question was always why not? When I could see friction or I could see pain points or I could see missed opportunities, it was like, okay, how can I engineer a solution that ultimately solves a customer frustration and at the same time creates an opportunity for the retailer?”
The Wishlist way
“What we’re trying to avoid is the need for the customer to take photos. So when they’re working with a team member in store and they’re not quite ready to buy, the team member says no problem, let me add those items to the wishlist for you. And then from there, the retailer has the opportunity to send reminders at regular intervals.
But most importantly, it’s notifying the customer of the lifecycle of their product. So if the product’s low in stock, or if it happens to sell out, those two, their thresholds with that obviously are critically important but also different per retailer. So we allow the retailer to specify what is low in stock and what is back in stock, and then obviously on sale.”
A good omnichannel experience
“For me, I always start with foundations. There’s many different names for it these days, but whether it’s a retail management system, ERP, point of sale, unified commerce, whatever you want to call it. I think, having a good core is critically important. It’s about having an ecosystem and a framework where you’ve got that single view of customer, you’ve got that single view of inventory, meaning that each of the touch points across the business, whether that’s customer care and someone interacting with customer care. Whether that’s online, whether that’s at any store.
The ability for the team member or that customer to have a seamless experience due to the fact that I have identified myself, I’m on a different touch point now, and that same level of information is available for me, both for the retailer to provide a curated experience, but also me from a consumed perspective to be able to check out without having to enter a new payment method. so for me, that’s a good omnichannel experience”
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