What Does "ROV" Mean in Retail?
In the retail environment, different variables help assess a store's performance. For example, same store sales measures sales performance by retail location. Return-on-visit provides a comprehensive measure of sales performance and the customer experience for bricks and mortar stores that involves customer interaction. ROV quantifies the value of returning patrons by capturing the number of transactions and average transaction size generated by these existing customers.
The Yacobian Group, LLC developed the return-on-visitor measurement concept and procedures as a result of its observations of the retail industry during its years as a sales and performance consultant to the sector. The group subsequently trademarked the ROV concept, therefore the ROV typically appears with the TM in superscript next to it. According to the information on file with the trademark office, the trademark consists of computer software, printed materials, business consulting services and educational services.
ROV integrates three aspects of the retail experience -- customer, employees and inventory --into a unified framework that serves as a tool to identify and connect activities at a store to additional revenue opportunities. Through the gathering of specific pieces of data and analysis of that data, ROV enables retailers to identify customer buying behavior and preferences. This makes it possible to engage customers in new ways that drive add-on sales.
Return-on-visit requires all employees at a retailer to focus on the customer and increasing customer satisfaction. This includes everyone from the business owner to her managers and store clerks. The premise behind ROV is that higher customer satisfaction among more customers leads to more loyal customers and enhanced profits. ROV embraces the value of customer interaction and strives to make it a part of a retailer and customer's overall experience. ROV endeavors to create an emotional experience for the customer since emotional triggers are difficult to replicate elsewhere and can, therefore, become a competitive advantage for the retailer that succeeds at this.
Online companies measure customer engagement and satisfaction by quantifying what items the person clicks on, how long she remains on the page and what she eventually buys. All this measurement helps online retailers determine what it takes to convert a visitor to a paying customer. Successful online companies channel that data back into applicable changes on their website including online chat options, photos, descriptions and testimonials. ROV does the same for physical stores.