The Covid-19 pandemic challenged the retail industry with shutdowns, shrinking consumer budgets, and market uncertainty, leading some businesses to close up shop for good. But whether they’re reopening their doors or moving more of their business online, retailers are now ready to make a comeback.
To support retailers on their journey to recovery, we took a look at the retail landscape. In a survey of 1,030 consumers and 221 retail professionals across the U.S. and U.K., we uncovered notable trends in consumer preferences that will likely influence the customer experience (CX) investments retailers will want to make moving forward.
Four keys to customer delight
We discovered four key areas of customer experience that are increasingly important to your customers and to the success of your retail business.
Convenience. Busy shoppers are looking for retailers to save them time, with 84% of consumers in our survey saying they’re likely to choose a retailer based on convenience. In 2021 and onward, retailers should look for ways to reduce customer effort and create as frictionless a shopping experience as possible.
A great omnichannel experience. In 2020, shoppers went online in droves. As we emerge from the pandemic, shoppers won’t be abandoning their online shopping habits. In fact, 1 in 2 consumers in our survey prefer having the option to shop both in-store and online. Consumers will be looking for a seamless omnichannel experience.
Customer loyalty programs. Faced with the rising cost of customer acquisition, in 2020, retailers renewed their commitment to customer loyalty programs. In our survey, 88% of retailers say they launched or added new features to loyalty programs, believing it an important tool for customer conversion and retention.
Closing the loop. Customer complaints are part of doing business—and responding to them quickly helps ensure loyalty and reduce churn. Customers expect a quick response: Our research indicates that most consumers anticipate receiving a response within a few hours (30%) to a few days (31%). Closing the loop gives you the opportunity to turn even unhappy customers into loyal advocates for your brand.
4 imperatives to align your retail experience with your customers
Read full reportApplying the insights
We believe these are useful insights in and of themselves, but we didn’t leave it there. We took a close look at the data and applied the Rose, Thorn, Bud framework to come up with recommendations for actions retailers can take based on our research findings.
Rose indicates an area that is going well,
Thorn represents a challenge or problem area,
and Bud signifies an area of opportunity and growth.
In our report, we reveal the areas of the shopping experience retailers should focus on to reduce friction and boost convenience. We hone in on the aspects of the online experience your customers would like to see improved. We share ideas for how you can encourage your customers to sign up—or even pay—for your loyalty program. And we reveal what customers want from you to remediate a complaint.
We also provide examples of GetFeedback customers who are applying these insights. Like German multinational footwear company Puma, which gave customers the opportunity to provide website feedback in real time—and saw an 11% increase in NPS and a 62% jump in revenue collected through PayPal, as a result.
Or Carrefour, a global leader in wholesale distribution: Using GetFeedback, they identify previously unknown friction points throughout their customers’ purchasing journey. Today they dedicate 50% of their product improvement roadmap to resolving frustrations reported by customers, up from just 10-20% in the past.
Learn more by downloading our full report
Read our 2021 Retail Report for insights and tips to help you stay close to your customers’ changing needs, align your investments with consumers’ wishes, and deliver a world-class customer experience.