Investing in the Shopper Experience - Weighing customer satisfaction vs. ROI

Price, product selection and technology can only take you so far in retailing today because they can be matched by competitors. When it comes to creating happy consumers, retailers need to deliver unique shopping experiences and customer service that meets shoppers' expectations. Living up to those expectations is what ultimately determines how consumers perceive a retailer. Those are the key takeaways from the third in the Retail:Next series of RetailWire surveys conducted by Dechert-Hampe & Co.

During a webinar to announce the results of the research, Ben Ball, senior vice president, Dechert-Hampe, told attendees that responses to the question of what determines customer satisfaction broke out into three groups:

1. Shopping experience and customer satisfaction.

2. Product assortment.

3. Price.

"Shopper experience and customer service clearly separated themselves from the rest of the pack." said Mr. Ball. "That makes a lot of sense when you think about it. 'Does the store meet my expectations?' 'Was I well taken care of if I had a problem?' Those are the first two things I want to know as a consumer or shopper. Product assortment sort of fell in the middle range here. 'Could I find what I need?'  And interestingly enough, 'Was I happy with the price in terms of deals, promotions, etc.?'"

In this Executive Summary of the "Investing in the Shopper Experience" study, see a summary of findings and answers t to the questions:

• Does the shopper experience drive total customer satisfaction?
• If the shopper experience is so important, how do we influence it?
• How do these factors deliver on ROI?
• Who is doing a great job at maximizing the shopper experience?

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE STUDY...