I recently came across an article about the Kronos Retail Shopping Frustrations Survey that takes a look at shopping frustrations across all retail store types and the effect that a poor shopping experience has on the retailer’s reputation. Some highlights include:
- 84% of shoppers are frustrated with lines at checkouts
- 74% of shoppers would actually leave a store without making a purchase if lines are too long
- 81% of respondents are likely to share a poor shopping experience with friends and family
- 49% of respondents say they have walked out of a store with long lines at the checkout without making a purchase
- 25% have walked out and taken their business elsewhere to find a store with shorter lines
- 51% indicated long lines with unopened checkouts as the biggest frustration
Yet at the same time, customers felt that having to wait was acceptable.
- 17% of respondents happy to have one person in front
- 44% of respondents agreeing that a maximum of two people is acceptable
- 23% of shoppers think its fine to have a maximum of three people in front of them
- 7% of respondents think it’s acceptable to have up to four other customers in front.
Commenting on the findings from the survey, Simon Macpherson, Operations Director EMEA Kronos, says: "Shoppers are happy to shout it from the rooftops when the service provided is not up to scratch, leaving retailers with dented reputations. Unopened pay points, long queues and out-of-stock products are almost without exception the result of staff not being in the right place at the right time to provide the best possible customer service. Retailers need to address this issue if they are serious about improving one of the prime differentiators between their competition - the customer experience.”
You would think that every retailer would aspire to having happy customers 100% of the time. Happy customers mean loyal customers and greater loyalty brings bigger profits, yet many retailers still fall short when it comes to providing a great customer shopping experience.
Cheers!
Bill Hogg works work with clients to help activate a “customer-focused” culture that helps employees embrace the brand promise and deliver an intentional Branded Customer Experience -- internally and externally.
As well, he is a dynamic, results-oriented speaker on the importance of a customer-focused culture, either as a guest speaker or acting as a facilitator of a group discussion/workshop.
For more information please contact (905) 841-3191.
Email: bill@billhogg.ca, Web: www.billhogg.ca
2 comments:
Bill is there any figures on how much business is lost due to this situation?
You're patiently waiting your turn at the till. You finally get to the counter, the phone rings, the clerk answers and proceeds to help that person on the phone- immediately! No wait for them until we are served.
I complain every time this happens and I never get satisfaction. I'm told it's store policy period. Clerks and managers tell me this.
I make the comment that, I get off my butt, drive all the way down here and have money in hand ready to purchase - but you give priority to someone who may never even show up - stupid in my mind. I have walked out on the principal of the thing - they lose my purchase.
Ed, I don't have any data about lost business, but I can tell you that just yesterday I left my purchase on the counter at Future Shop and went down the road to Staples for exactly this reason.
The bonus for me was that I paid $55.00 versus $63.00 for exactly the same item.
2 big reasons why I won't be returning to Future Shop in the near future.
The impact of this type of poor service can have far reaching implications on the lifetime value of a customer.
Thanks for your comment.
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