Just Because You Can Doesn’t Mean You Should. Rethinking Tech-Heavy Retail Experiences

There’s a dangerous illusion in modern retail that more technology means better customer experience. But adding tech for tech’s sake often distracts from what actually builds loyalty. Relevance, clarity, and human connection. Don Norman, renowned usability expert and author of The Design of Everyday Things, often warns that when design serves complexity instead of user needs, it becomes a barrier rather than a bridge. Retailers are learning that lesson the hard way.

Take the mattress category. Sleep Number and other brands have invested in high end, in-store machines that scan customers’ pressure points and ask detailed sleep diagnostics. The idea is to personalize the shopping journey, but Norman would argue it’s classic over design. More focused on showing off capability than solving the customer’s actual problem. Many shoppers don’t walk away informed; they walk away overwhelmed or skeptical. What they really want is confidence in their choice, not a pseudo-medical analysis they can’t interpret.

A better approach would be simpler tools backed by well trained people. Retailers who prioritize consistent, relevant sales conversations rooted in real sleep habits, not data visualizations, tend to outperform those relying on gadgets.

Don’t be seduced by what technology can do if it’s not enhancing what customers need to feel. As Don Norman put it, "Good design is actually a lot harder to notice than poor design, in part because good design fits our needs so well that the design is invisible."

Audit your retail experience. Strip out what confuses or impresses only your internal team. Focus instead on training sales staff to deliver the kind of clear, honest, and relatable guidance your customers are really looking for. That's the tech upgrade most stores need.