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Given its primary role as a telecommunications provider, it can be easy to overlook the fact that Verizon<\/strong> also is one of the most ubiquitous retailers in the U.S.<\/strong> With more than 8,000<\/strong> stores, Verizon ranks among the top six<\/strong> largest retailers in the country by store count, outpacing even Walmart<\/strong>. And that number continues to grow \u2014 last year, Verizon added 1,000<\/strong> stores, and 1,000<\/strong> more are on the way this year at a pace of two to three openings per day<\/strong>. \u00a0<\/p>\n This kind of rapid growth is a sign of the brand\u2019s strength, but not too long ago, Verizon\u2019s consumer business was struggling. \u201cWe had a very rough \u201921 and \u201922 at Verizon Consumer, very rough. We missed guidance twice<\/strong> in a year. We had lost our mojo<\/strong>,\u201d said Sowmyanarayan Sampath, CEO of Verizon Consumer, who took over the division in March 2023.<\/p>\n While it\u2019s not his official title, Sampath refers to himself the \u201cturnaround guy,\u201d and it\u2019s a perfect description of the role he\u2019s played at Verizon over the last decade. During that time he\u2019s held eight <\/strong>different roles, giving him, as he said, \u201ca half-life of 18 months. I tend to get involved in big turnaround situations and then move into the next thing<\/strong>.\u201d He has worked his magic once again in the consumer division, which has now reported eight<\/strong> consecutive quarters of growth.<\/p>\n By almost any metric, Verizon\u2019s consumer division is its most important. It accounts for approximately 80%<\/strong> of the Verizon business: 2024 revenues for the consumer business were $102.9 billion<\/strong> out of $134.8 billion<\/strong> in total revenue for the company. The division encompasses \u201ceverything that is needed to sell and take care of customers in our consumer business,\u201d said Sampath, from cell phones and tablets to the FiOS fiber business. It also has, according to Sampath, one of the largest marketing budgets in the world.<\/p>\n Not to mention those 8,000 stores (and counting). And in fact, the stores and the employees that staff them have been the key to Sampath\u2019s turnaround of the business.<\/strong> Sampath shared with Retail TouchPoints <\/em>how employee compensation was the unlock that returned the business to growth, and why he doesn\u2019t believe in pursuing omnichannel perfection.<\/p>\n At its core, the problem with Verizon\u2019s consumer business was a simple matter of not selling enough. The first thing Sampath did to correct this was fix the company\u2019s \u201cprice problem.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOur price premium was too high \u2014 when I joined it was almost 50%<\/strong> over the market,\u201d he said. \u201cDespite how good we are, selling at a 50%<\/strong> price premium is tough to get through the system. So the first thing we did was reduce our price premium to 20%<\/strong>, and what was interesting is that even though we reduced our price premium our incoming revenue from customers actually went up, because people started buying more.\u201d<\/p>\n But that was just the first step. The other changes Sampath has made are a study in the interconnected nature of employees, stores and communities. They include:<\/p>\n Once the issues on the product side of the business were resolved (that is, the implementation of more competitive prices), Sampath turned his attention to service. More so than other retailers, Verizon\u2019s stores are critical education, support and selling points<\/strong> for a company that trades in a vast array of complex products and services. But the sales teams\u2019 performance simply wasn\u2019t up to par, and while one might think the solution would be training or incentives, Sampath focused on a much more foundational element \u2014 pay.<\/p>\n \u201cVerizon is one of the few jobs left in America where you can come in with an associate degree and [end up running] some of the largest groups in America; almost every one of our sales leadership team started on the floor,\u201d said Sampath. \u201cBut when you move to group compensation, you don\u2019t create careers anymore, you create a job. <\/strong>It became a self-fulfilling cycle where people were on group comp, they didn\u2019t think that careers could be built, so they weren\u2019t performing well and so the stores weren\u2019t doing well. [As a result corporate decides not] to double down on stores and instead focus on digital.<\/p>\n \u201cWe went back to individual compensation and it started the whole Renaissance<\/strong> [in the consumer business],\u201d he added. \u201cBy saying, \u2018You can build long-term careers in stores,\u2019 the stores started doing really well. [Suddenly then the attitude was] we need more stores.\u201d<\/p>\n Most of the new stores slated to open this year will be under the Total by Verizon<\/strong> banner, which Sampath refers to as Verizon\u2019s \u201cdiffusion\u201d brand. Total by Verizon stores are focused on a lower price point offering, in particular prepaid mobile, to compete with brands like Cricket<\/strong> and T-Mobile<\/strong>\u2018s Metro PCS<\/strong>. Introduced in 2022, Total by Verizon stores now number close to 1,300<\/strong> and that will nearly double this year, said Sampath. The company also has embarked on a new shop-in-shop trial with Office Depot<\/strong> that is staffed by Verizon employees.<\/p>\n Across the chain, the result of the compensation shift was not only improved employee satisfaction, but also a productivity bump of 20%<\/strong>. Sampath\u2019s approach to the issue of underperformance reflects a broader, pervasive mindset at Verizon that has come through in conversations with other company executives as well.<\/p>\n \u201cRetail can still create careers<\/strong>,\u201d Sampath said. \u201cThere\u2019s a notion in America that retail is a fleeting job, a job between other jobs. It\u2019s not. At Verizon, one of the things I want to do is create careers for people, long-term, sustainable careers where they can put their kids through school and live a happy, retired life.\u201d<\/p>\n Another important shift was giving employees and their superiors more control over the experience they offered in their stores.<\/strong> When Sampath took over, the retail operation was run out of Verizon\u2019s Basking Ridge, N.J. headquarters. Sampath broke that up into 55<\/strong> local territories organized under six<\/strong> regional umbrellas that are each run by their own territory and regional heads.<\/p>\n The intent was to create tangible localization<\/strong> of Verizon stores across the country. \u201cWe decided that we want to be a local community brand that aggregates to a national brand, as opposed to the other way around<\/strong>,\u201d said Sampath. \u201cIf you close your eyes and someone drops you in most of the national big-box retailers, you would have no idea where in the country you are. Why would I come to a store like that? Unless there\u2019s something personal in the store, either the service or a localized product or a community feel, you can just do it online. If you want people to come to your store, you\u2019re going to have to give them a reason \u2014 great inventory, personalized service, a referral, a sense of community.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n These localization efforts take many forms, including:<\/p>\n Verizon also is getting more involved in community events across the country. In February the company hosted \u201cFanFests\u201d at 30<\/strong> NFL stadiums for fans who weren\u2019t able to attend the Super Bowl live (that is, most of us). There was food, drinks, NFL player meet-and-greets, entertainment from local performers and interactive activities like stadium tours.<\/p>\n And now Verizon is getting in on the year\u2019s hottest collab \u2014 the third season of HBO Max\u2019s White Lotus<\/em> \u2014 with themed installations at 300<\/strong> stores from March 1 through April 4 that feature an immersive AR experience inspired by the show, plus the chance for customers discover their aura colors through a personality quiz.<\/p>\n Counter to many of his retail peers, one thing Sampath isn\u2019t<\/em> focused on is omnichannel. \u201cI don\u2019t love the word omnichannel, because it feels like a cute way of saying I\u2019m going to sub-optimize both the digital and physical experience<\/strong>,\u201d he explained. \u201cI want the world\u2019s best digital and the world\u2019s best physical experience. If there are two or three <\/strong>points of connection, I will do it, but I\u2019m not going to optimize for it, and that\u2019s what most companies do. There are so many demands on the systems to get to a phenomenal omnichannel experience and [the result is] both experiences get dumbed down. I would rather make some sacrifices in omni to offer the best digital and the best in-store experience.\u201d<\/p>\n Instead, Sampath believes the key is that both physical and digital experiences feel personalized to the customer. While Verizon may not try to deeply integrate its store services and digital offerings, it does do things like help customers set up the Verizon app in stores and facilitate offerings like buy online, pick up in-store.<\/p>\n Rather than omnichannel, Sampath said he thinks of it more as \u201cblending the boundary\u201d between stores and digital. \u201cStores need to be a personalized experience.<\/strong> When you walk into our store, if I know you\u2019re a customer, I need to talk to you like I know everything about you. And even if you go and look at all the digital displays, that needs to be a logged-in, personalized experience. I also think there\u2019s an opportunity for education at the store \u2014 how to do cyber better, how to use fintech better \u2014 stores are a great place for [those kinds of conversations].\u201d<\/p>\n Like just about every other company in the world these days, Verizon is looking at ways to take advantage of advances in AI. Currently, those efforts are focused more on employees than customers. \u201cOur feeling is that if we get the employee experience right, they\u2019ll take care of the customer, and we can deploy customer experience AI later<\/strong>,\u201d said Sampath.<\/p>\n In that regard, the biggest use case Sampath sees for AI is reducing employees\u2019 cognitive overload: \u201cOur frontline teams have way too much shit to remember, and as a result they\u2019re always thinking about the shit they have in their head, versus listening to customers and empathizing with customers<\/strong>,\u201d he said. \u201cThe goal of AI for us has been reducing that cognitive load.\u201d<\/p>\n This is being trialed through as many as eight<\/strong> different AI solution deployments, including:<\/p>\n At the end of the day, all of these efforts furnish proof that Verizon is playing the long game: \u201cWe are the largest network by a country mile \u2014 more customers trust us, more governments trust us, more agencies trust us, more small businesses trust us, more large companies trust us, more schools trust us,\u201d Sampath said. \u201cA big part of my mandate is to take all that trust and build on it.<\/strong> We\u2019ve invested $200 billion<\/strong> in America in the last six<\/strong> years. If there\u2019s anyone who can say they\u2019re America first, it\u2019s Verizon.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\u2018The Turnaround Guy\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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The Problem: Lagging Sales<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Shifting the Mindset from \u2018Jobs\u2019 to \u2018Careers\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Making Stores Part of the Community<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Inside](\"http:\/\/www.retailtouchpoints.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Verizon_06_f064fc8c-4f17-472c-bcc7-1927e1534ccf-prv-1280x854.jpg\")
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Prioritizing Personalization over Omnichannel<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Leveraging AI to Lighten Employees\u2019 Cognitive Load<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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