Professional Product

Research component
Measuring the hospitality
experience in shopping areas

Sanne den Dekker

Hotelschool Den Haag
Brusselselaan 2
2586AH DEN HAAG
I Introduction to the research project

In April 2015, I was offered the opportunity to support Dr. Karoline Wiegerink, professor Research group City Hospitality &

N City Marketing at Hotelschool The Hague, in the execution of research project “Hospitality in Shopping Areas”
(Winkelgebieden Gastvrij). This project is a collaborative effort of Hotelschool The Hague, Het Haags Retail Punt and
Bureau Binnenstad.

T With the findings of this research project we are aiming to make the necessary changes and developments within
shopping areas in The Hague, in order to become the most hospitable city in The Netherlands.

R Shopping areas are often considered to be the social ‘heart’ of a city. Continuously improving and measuring the
hospitality experience within shopping areas is therefore a stepping-stone towards creating a more welcoming and

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hospitable environment in the entire city.

For this research project, three pilot shopping areas were chosen:
 Shopping area Het Belgisch Park , Scheveningen

D  Shopping area Het Noordeinde, The Hague city center

 Shopping area ‘t Hoge Veen, Leidschenveen

U Throughout this research project, we have made the first steps towards obtaining our final goal. The following two
questions where answered throughout the execution of this research:

C 1. How is the hospitality experience within Het Belgisch Park, Het Noordeinde en ‘t Hoge Veen currently perceived by its
main visitors?
2. How can Het Belgisch Park, Het Noordeinde, ‘t Hoge Veen and other shopping areas in The Hague continuously

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measure the hospitality experience within their shopping area?

The findings are presented in this report and will be of great value when taking initiatives for performance improvement

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and performance monitoring. Esther Siebert will cover these topics in her research on hospitality improvement, which will
be presented in a later stage.

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N
 The hospitality experience

M
The retail industry is rapidly changing, and so are shopping areas. The offline store has decreased in popularity
over the past years as the online retail industry is continuously growing. Competition in the retail industry is
fierce and shopping areas are struggling more than ever to attract visitors and manage performance.

E The shopping experience is changing. Consumers are no longer interested in ordinary store concepts and regular
customer service. Consumers are looking for innovative, unique and personalized experiences. The focus should
lie on the individualization and personalization of the shopping experience. The welcoming behavior of the

A shopping area, the friendliness and support of store employees, the opportunity to socialize with other visitors,
the ability to touch and feel the products and an inspiring ambiance. A truly hospitable experience. This is an
experience that cannot be substituted by online retailers and is therefore a unique characteristic of shopping

S areas.

But how do we measure the hospitality experience?

U Measuring the hospitality experience

R The hospitality experience is created by a number of touch points. These are phases where the hospitality
provider and the visitor get in touch. Here, the hospitality provider is able to make a difference. For shopping
areas, the following touch points can be identified:

E • Orientation
•Travelling to the shopping area
•Arrival at the shopping area

M
•Experience at the shopping area
•Going home and recollection of the experiences

E
During these phases, the below elements are shaping and influencing the visitor’s perception of the hospitality:
•Supply of retail, restaurants and bars
•Atmosphere in the shopping area
•Welcoming behaviour of the shopping area
N These elements have a direct effect on the visitor’s mood and feelings. The effects on the visitor can be measured
in terms of:

T • Visitor satisfaction
•Visitor loyalty

The above elements will have to be taken into consideration when successfully measuring the hospitality
experience within shopping areas. To get the most accurate results, it is important to identify a target market for
the shopping area in terms of a persona.
 Hospitality research in the pilot shopping areas

In 2015, the following hospitality measurement interviews took place in Het Belgisch Park, Het
Noordeinde and ‘t Hoge Veen:

R Mystery visits and open-interviews with visitors:

26/03/15 15:00 – 17:00 Het Noordeinde
27/03/15 12:00 –16:00 ‘t Hoge Veen
E 30/03/15 13:00 – 17:00 Het Belgisch Park and Het Noordeinde (2nd round)

1 mystery visit and ten interviews have been conducted per area.

S Surveys
17/04/15 12:00 – 16:00 Het Belgisch Park

E 18/04/15 13:00 – 16:30 Het Noordeinde

21/04/15 12:00 – 16:00 ‘t Hoge Veen

A 60 surveys have been conducted per area.

The results of the above mentioned interviews were presented and discussed in an interactive

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workshop which took place on the 28th of April 2015 At Hotelschool The Hague. A brief summary of
the workshop can be found in the back of this report, together with the shopping area reports that
were send out to all participants after the workshop.

C
H
 Findings of the research

The results of the interviews revealed two main visitor profiles for the three pilot shopping areas:

1. The Run Shopper – shoppers with a specific goal in mind, visit shopping areas mainly for

F grocery shopping purposes and do not spend leisure time

2. The Fun Shopper – shoppers without a specific goal in mind, visit shopping areas for leisure
purposes

I Based upon the results of the interviews, a detailed persona has been worked out and visualized for each
of the three pilot shopping areas .

N We follow these personas throughout their shopping experiences in Het Belgisch Park, Het Noordeinde en
‘t Hoge Veen. The personas’ perception of the touch points have been expressed in terms of Wow’s and

D
Auw’s and are visualized along the lines of a customer journey. Throughout the journey we learn to
understand their feelings, thoughts and judgements along the touch points.

To enable the pilot shopping areas to continuously measure the hospitality experience, the results have

I been visualized in a performance dashboard. By means of this dashboard, performances can be compared,
improved and monitored at all times.

N On the following pages, you will be guided through the hospitality experiences of each of the three
personas .

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 Het Belgisch Park
Persona and empathy map, customer journey and performance dashboard
WOW

The market on Thursday, if

it’s not too busy
High quality of products
Spacious sidewalks offered in stores Seeing friends and neighbours in
and easily accessible the shopping area
Speciality stores
by foot
Small talk with store
owners
International vibe and
feeling
Neutral

Not all store employees are helpful

Expensive supermarket
The area is deteriorating

Lack of greenery and Does not feel involved in

ornamentation changes and developments

Required to go online
to find information
Would definitely not
AUW Traffic disrupts recommend area to
comfortable shopping friend/ family
Limited grocery-retail
experience
supply, not being able to
get all groceries at BP
 The shopping area visit: Average grade hospitality Return rate visitors
experience
73%
80%
70% 9
60%
Average:
50% 7
7,0 38%
40% Return
22%
30% 5
No return
20% 5% 62%
10% 3
0%
Met the Did not meet Exceeded the 1
expectations the expectations
expectations 0% 20% 40% 60%

Average grade elements NPS score

7,6
7,4 7,5 100%

7,2 NPS:
80% -63,33
7 66,6%
6,8 7 7 60%
6,6
40%
6,4 6,5 Detractors
6,5
30% Passives
6,2 20%
6 Promoters
0% 3,3%
Retail offer Ambiance Accessibility Friendliness of Friendliness of
store employees other visitors
 Het Noordeinde
Persona and empathy map, customer journey and performance dashboard
 Historical details and interesting Extensive selection of unique, speciality
sights in the area stores for individual needs
WOW
Nicely decorated store windows
Interaction and updates via Social Learned something about the city of The
and luxurious ambiance
Media Hague whilst shopping

High quality
products

Well optimized website, can easily

find information online Car free area

Shares experience on Social Media

Neutral
Not all store employees are
Interested in
hospitable
coming back but
does not plan next
Lack of signage No interaction with trip yet
fellow visitors

Stores close early on Thursday

Parking difficulties
Night’s shopping night

The area is deteriorating, vacant

stores

AUW Bicycles and trash in

shopping street
 The shopping area visit: Average grade hospitality Return rate visitors
experience
64%
70%
60%
9
50% Average: 25%
40% 7 8,0
Return
30% 18% 18%
5 No return
20%
10% 75%
3
0%
Met the Did not meet Exceeded the 1
expectations the expectations
expectations 0% 20% 40% 60%

Average grade elements NPS score

8 8
7,8 100% 43%
7,6 NPS:
80% +19,52
7,4 7,5
7,5 28,5%
7,2 60%
7
7 7 40%
6,8 Detractors

6,6 20% Passives

28,5%
6,4 Promoters
Retail offer Ambiance Accessibility Friendliness of Friendliness of 0%
store employees other visitors
 ‘t Hoge Veen
Persona and empathy map, customer journey and performance dashboard
WOW
Great costumer service in
stores

Extensive grocery store offer

Seeing neighbours and
– affordable supermarket
friends
Complete retail offer for
Large and affordable parking
daily groceries
facility

Staying up to date via Social

Well optimized website, can
Media and local newspaper
easily find information
online
Neutral
Looks for deals and discounts in magazines
and adjusts shopper journey to that

Lack of greenery and

ornamentation

Retail and activities offer is

Windy and cold
Trash too limited to recommend
Lack of convenience and the shopping area to friend
apparel stores and family

Lack of social facilities and

family activities
AUW
No opportunity for
socializing or meeting
others
 The shopping area visit: Average grade hospitality Return rate visitors
experience
57%
60%
50% 38% 9 6%
40% Average:
7 7,5
30% Return
20% 5 No return
5%
10%
3 94%
0%
Met the Did not meet Exceeded the 1
expectations the expectations
expectations 0% 20% 40% 60%

Average grade elements NPS score

8 8
7 7,5 100%

6 7 7 43% NPS:
80% -14,50
5 6
4 60%
3 28,5%
40%
2 Detractors

1 20% Passives
28,5%
0 Promoters
Retail offer Ambiance Accessibility Friendliness of Friendliness of 0%
store employees other visitors
 Conclusion

The dashboards presented in this report form the base of a continuous hospitality experience
measurement tool for each of the three pilot shopping areas. In order to continuously measure
performance and make improvements, it is important that measurement is repeated on a

C quarterly basis. Especially when improvements have been made, it is important to measure the
effects of improvement initiatives on a regular basis.

O For the purpose of this research, all surveys have been conducted by students of Hotelschool The
Hague. For Het Belgisch Park, Het Noordeinde and ‘t Hoge Veen it is highly recommended to plan
and schedule future measurements ahead of time. During the execution of this research, it has
N become clear that the measurement techniques are relatively labour intensive and time
consuming. It is therefore recommended to conduct surveys with visitors in stores, bars or
restaurants , for example upon payment. If resources allow for it, the use of tablets could take
C over the role of printed surveys and significantly increase the efficiency of measurement.

L
At a later stage, shopping area Het Noordeinde could adopt an online survey method to boast
efficiency and response rates. As visitors of Het Noordeinde are relatively tech savvy, this
method could prove to be far more effective than traditional paper-based surveys.

U When switching from an offline to an online approach, make sure to add sufficient space for
open questions so that the quality of results will not be jeopardized. For Het Belgisch Park and ‘t

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Hoge Veen it is recommended to stick to the rather traditional interview approach as visitors are
less comfortable with online tools.

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R Recommendations for shopping areas

By means of this research, we have been able to develop a process for hospitality experience
E measurement within shopping areas. The following process will guide shopping areas through the
different phases of preparation, execution, measurement and monitoring:

C 1. Identify the key target market for the shopping area

2. Visualize the key target market by means of a descriptive persona
O 3.
4.
Design surveys
Conduct surveys with the main target market in the shopping area

M 5.
6.
Visualize results by means of a performance dashboard
Repeat measurement on a quarterly basis

M Dashboard design

E It is recommended to design the performance dashboard by using Microsoft Excel. At least the
following elements should be taken into consideration during the design phase:

N The hospitality experience touch points:

• Orientation
D •Travelling to the shopping area
•Arrival at the shopping area

A
•Experience at the shopping area
•Going home and recollection of the experiences

T The hospitality experience elements:

•Supply of retail, restaurants and bars

I •Atmosphere in the shopping area

•Welcoming behaviour of the shopping area

O Visitor behaviour:
• Visitor satisfaction

N •Visitor loyalty

S
 How to measure the components?
R Touch points:

E The most effective way to measure the touch points in the hospitality experience, is by using a semi-
structured mystery visit checklist. Observe the hospitality experience through the eyes of the visitor and
document your general observations concerning the orientation, travelling, arrival, experience and going
C home phases. Allow yourself to be creative and do not stick too much to the structure of the checklist, note
down all observations that seem relevant to the research.
O Visitor satisfaction
To measure the degree of overall satisfaction of your visitors, it is important to know whether or not the
M visit to your shopping area has met, did not meet or exceeded the expectations of visitors. Supplement this
with an open-ended question so that visitors can express their feelings.
M Hospitality elements:

E
After understanding visitors’ degree of overall satisfaction, you want to get into more detail on their
personal hospitality experience by asking visitors to grade each of the hospitality experience components
on a scale of 1-10. Address each of the elements separately. As some of the elements are relatively broad,
N it is best to split them up into several smaller elements to collect more specific data. Afterward, ask them
to grade the overall hospitality experience in your shopping area. Add open questions to your survey to

D
allow visitors to explain their reasoning. You cannot take improvement initiatives if you do not understand
why a person feels a certain way about something. Always make sure to explain the elements to your
visitors as they might not be familiar with the terms.
A Visitor loyalty

T
To understand to what extend your visitors are loyal to your shopping area, it is important to touch several
elements of loyalty in your survey. Start by asking your visitors how often they visit the area to get a global
image of their loyalty. To get a detailed result, always address the NPS question in your survey by asking
I visitors whether or not they would be willing to recommend your shopping area to others on a scale of 0-
10. Make the NPS question more conclusive and detailed by adding an open question to it. End your

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survey by asking visitors whether or not they would be willing to return to your shopping area.

Visitor contact details

N Always make sure to note down the visitor’s personal details at the end of the survey. Doing so allows you
to check whether or not your persona is still representative of the overall population of shoppers in your

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shopping area.

A useful sample survey is provided on the next page.

Link: http://houseofhospitality.co/gastvrijheid-in-haagse-
winkelgebieden/