REI connects with customers for virtual outfitting to create a personalized experience using Microsoft Teams

“One of our big differentiators is the experience of our green vests share with customers,” says Joey Northcott, Divisional Vice President of Enterprise Technology Services at REI. “When the pandemic changed the way people shop with us, we needed to find a way to replicate the customer-focused spirit of visiting us in store with an online experience.”

According to Northcott, retail is undergoing big changes, including a shift toward more digital services. That evolution, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, inspired REI to transform how co-op members and the outdoor enthusiast community engage with green vests. He continues, “We want to provide a seamless experience for our customers, however they interact with us. So, we created a virtual outfitting solution using the Microsoft Graph API and Microsoft Teams to connect at-home shoppers with the same level of service they would get in our stores.”

Called virtual outfitting, the solution uses Teams to bring green vests and customers together in a digital shopping session. It’s one example of how REI uses Microsoft 365 to improve customer service and support its frontline workers with leading-edge tools and services.

Reacting to change with agile innovations and Microsoft Teams

Like many retailers around the United States, REI had to adapt quickly when COVID-19 restrictions abruptly changed shopping habits. “When stores closed, co-op members could still purchase items online, but they missed interacting with green vests,” says Northcott. “We made it a major priority to enable that interaction in a digital way, fast.”

REI enlisted help from the Microsoft Teams Engineering Group and created a cross-functional Teams channel to tackle the problem. “We got together in Teams and developed the virtual outfitting solution really quickly,” remembers Chris Grey, Director of IT Infrastructure Engineering Services at REI. Tying in with an existing scheduling system, REI uses the Microsoft Graph API to schedule calendar events and online meetings. The company built a service to look up employee availability in Salesforce, call the Teams APIs to schedule the Teams meeting, book the time slot on the employee’s calendar, and send an email confirmation to the customer, which includes the Teams meeting join link.

At the appointed time, the green vest and customer connect via Teams for a one-on-one digital outfitting session. Alexx Dupri, Retail Sales Specialist at REI, uses Teams to conduct virtual outfitting sessions with customers and consult with team members, all in one digital space. “Teams has really helped me have a sense of belonging and connection at REI, because all the information’s in one place,” Dupri says. “From my virtual outfitting Teams channel, I consult with my colleagues to help customers.” Green vests also use the chat capabilities in Teams to share links to relevant articles or websites with customers, helping them stay informed even after the session has finished.

The ability to help people prepare for the outdoors was crucial during the pandemic. “People made connections with the outdoors they never had before,” says Dupri, who used REI’s virtual outfitting solution to help a group of women prepare for their first ever long-distance walk, more than 200 miles of the Harriet Tubman Trail. “We’re actually finding customers who were not aware of REI before, who are becoming members just by nature of having these engagements,” says Dominique Morel, Divisional Vice President of Expertise at REI. Customers who engage with REI via virtual outfitting often have such a positive experience that they schedule additional appointments. “More than 86% of our customers are extremely satisfied with virtual outfitting via Teams.” says Morel.

The virtual outfitting solution kept business moving in a time of major change, and it helps support REI’s existing competitive strengths. “Our claim to fame at REI is that we match people to the right product for them,” says Northcott. “It’s about more than just generating revenue. The virtual outfitting solution with Teams helps bring our reputation for personalized service into a virtual space.” The digital nature of the solution also helps connect shoppers who don’t live near a brick-and-mortar REI store with the great customer service the brand is known for. “We’re using virtual outfitting to bring our personalized shopping experience to more people,” says Grey.

Microsoft tools on the shop floor for great service and empowered frontline workers

REI is modernizing the frontline worker experience by equipping green vests with iPads and other Apple mobile devices and Microsoft 365 productivity tools on the shop floor. “In the last year, we tripled the number of mobile devices available to green vests for in-store use,” says Northcott. Employees now access Teams and Yammer from anywhere, collaboration tools that have brought REI employees closer than ever.

“Connecting employees across the co-op and across the country used to be difficult,” says Grey. “With Yammer integrated in Teams, frontline workers have a newfound ability to connect with colleagues from different areas of the business. It’s opened up a lot of opportunity.” Green vests access Yammer via Teams to create groups aligned around topics like hiking and cycling. These groups connect employees from all over the company for networking and culture building. Says Northcott, “For the first time, retail employees and headquarters employees can easily chat about shared interests.”

Green vests also turn to Teams to find the right information and answer customer queries faster. “Green vests represent an incredible amount of knowledge,” says Grey. “Using Teams, employees from different store locations ask questions and get expert answers to share with customers instantly. We’ve made Teams an integral part of how we share knowledge, build culture, and enable each other to do our work.” And, to make the virtual outfitting solution as effective as possible, green vests like Dupri meet with customers digitally from the shop floor. “With virtual outfitting, it is really important that we still have our expert green vest specialists working in the store. We see all the new products come in and we use the same in-store skills to successfully outfit customers on Teams,” Dupri explains.

In the initial days of remote work and store closures, call center employees quickly moved to a remote setup to collaborate and receive calls. “Our move to Teams gives our frontline employees more freedom to connect with customers and colleagues from anywhere using Yammer, Teams channels, chat, or Teams Phone capabilities,” says Northcott.

One digital eco-system for seamless communications

While green vests use Yammer and Teams to connect with the wider company, individual brick-and-mortar stores create their own Teams channels and use SharePoint to build individual sites for each store. “Traditionally, we had a collective SharePoint site for retail employees, called ‘Storefront,’” says Grey. “When we moved to the cloud, we took the opportunity to make a much more personalized experience for each store.” Today, green vests check the original Storefront site for company-wide updates and access customized SharePoint pages to do things like swap shifts and check schedules. “We’re just scratching the surface of what we can do with SharePoint,” says Grey.

Adopting Microsoft 365 tools for collaboration gave REI the chance to retire existing solutions and consolidate on a single platform for a more streamlined user experience. “We replaced Workplace from Facebook with Teams, Yammer, and SharePoint,” says Grey. “Our frontline employees are enjoying the benefits of the unified Microsoft 365 platform that brings everything they need together in one digital ecosystem.” Teams has also become the most convenient place for contact center employees to review their schedules from anywhere. “The app I use the most within Teams is Shifts,” says Taylor Hewitt, Contact Center Specialist and Virtual Outfitter at REI. The success of Shifts in Teams has led REI to announce plans to integrate Kronos, a workforce management solution, into Teams in the coming months. “It’s so convenient to be able to see my full schedule and request time off in the same place where I chat with colleagues.”

Prioritizing security and keeping the company connected

The increased use of mobile devices on the shop floor confirmed security as a top priority for REI. “Today, we use Azure Active Directory for identity and authentication,” says Northcott. “With Microsoft security tools, REI has given its green vests more safeguarded ways than ever to access Microsoft 365 tools like Teams and Yammer, from store-issued devices or personal devices.”

In order to protect its staff, customers, and communities, REI temporarily closed its doors early in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of that response, the company fast-tracked its move to Teams for retail employees. “We deployed Teams quickly to give managers and employees a way to communicate,” recalls Grey. “Right away, we provided a ton of opportunities for training, and adoption snowballed from there.”

Teams now serves as a highly secure platform where the entire company gathers for updates and meetings. “In the first few weeks of the pandemic, our CEO and other leaders used Teams live events to share communications with the whole company. We had a huge attendance,” says Northcott. “Retail leaders were part of those conversations, and we continue to hold large, cross-functional meetings in Teams.”

Staying ahead of customer needs with Microsoft 365

REI reacted quickly to the demands of running a retail business in the midst of COVID-19, but the changes will have long-term implications. “We expect the shift toward digital services to continue,” says Northcott. “We’re using Microsoft tools like Teams to help us stay on top of changing customer demands.” Going forward, REI’s virtual outfitting solution will continue to be a priority for the co-op dedicated to providing a unique and personalized shopping experience to customers. “Our employees are getting nothing but kudos from our customers about the virtual outfitting solution in Teams,” continues Morel. “As long as customers continue telling us they find the service valuable, it’s here to stay.”

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