More Than 40% of Americans Say Shopping at Retail Stores Is “Less Enjoyable” Than Before Covid, with Nearly Two-Thirds Blaming Inadequate or Poorly Trained Staff, New Study Shows

Survey findings from Theatro reveal that while 63% of consumers are doing most of their shopping at physical retail again, the recent holiday shopping season highlighted several key warning signs for retailers seeking to earn back customers.

While consumers have come back to physical retail stores in full force in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic, they are not always liking what they find. In a new Theatro survey, 41% of respondents said their shopping experiences are “less enjoyable” than they were prior to Covid, with 64% citing poorly trained or prepared retail staff and 60% blaming inadequate staffing levels.

“Consumers prefer physical retail for lots of reasons, such as the ability to see and feel products before buying them, and the immediate gratification of taking a product home”

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The 2023 Retail Customer Experience Survey was conducted for Theatro Jan. 9, 2023, by the third-party survey platform Pollfish. Key findings include:

• 91% of consumers said they do at least half of all their shopping in physical retail stores compared to online, with nearly two-thirds saying they do most (37%) or all (27%) of their shopping in stores.
• 87% of consumers said they shop in retail stores at least once weekly, with nearly a third saying they shop in retail stores either once daily (19%) or multiple times per day (13%).
• During the recent holiday shopping season, respondents reported a variety of poor experiences with retail employees, including lack of helpfulness or willingness to assist (39%), rude or unprofessional behavior (39%), and lack of product knowledge or expertise (34%).
• Shoppers said they were most likely to have an unenjoyable experience at a supermarket (38%), followed by department stores (34%) and convenience stores (30%).

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“Consumers prefer physical retail for lots of reasons, such as the ability to see and feel products before buying them, and the immediate gratification of taking a product home,” said Chris Todd, Chief Executive Officer, Theatro. “But they’ve also become even more accustomed to the benefits of ecommerce, such as convenience and the ability to research products and get questions answered quickly. Retailers must respond to these heightened expectations or suffer the consequences of decreased shopper satisfaction and, ultimately, sales.”

Todd said trends like quiet quitting in retail made it more important than ever for retailers to provide their workers with the tools, training and encouragement they need to meet the heightened expectations of shoppers.