New Study Shows Retail Customer Experience is Key to Earning Shoppers’ Discretionary Dollars in an Era of High Inflation

More Than Two-Thirds Are Less Confident in the Economy Than a Year Ago and 76 Percent Are Spending Less, Trimming Retail Purchases

Verint, The Customer Engagement Company, released the findings of a new study that shows nearly two-thirds of consumers polled are less confident in the economy than a year ago and 76 percent of them are spending less money, with entertainment and clothing cited as the top areas for budget cuts in retail purchases.

“At a time when global inflation has become one of the biggest issues facing consumers, leaving them with less disposable income, maintaining ‘share of wallet’ is critical for retailers”

This summer, Verint conducted an online survey of 2,000 U.S. consumers who had purchased from a mass market retailer from February to July 2022.

Struggling with inflation and economic uncertainty, 56 percent of shoppers indicated “value for the money” as one of the two most important factors that impact their loyalty to mass market retailers.

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The survey also shows the fiscal benefits of customer retention and keeping existing customers happy. Ninety-one percent of consumers shop at their favorite mass market retailer at least once a month, with 83 percent spending $50 or more on average.

Retailers that delight first-time shoppers can also benefit greatly. Three-quarters of consumers who tried a new mass market retailer for the first time in the past six months shopped there more than once, with 90 percent of first-time shoppers making purchases at least once a month thereafter.

After having an amazing customer experience, 88 percent are likely to make a repeat purchase, 82 percent are likely to recommend to friends or family, 68 percent are likely to join a loyalty program, and 63 percent said they are likely to write a positive review.

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“At a time when global inflation has become one of the biggest issues facing consumers, leaving them with less disposable income, maintaining ‘share of wallet’ is critical for retailers,” says Verint’s Jenni Palocsik, vice president, marketing insights, experience and enablement. “Creating exceptional experiences should be at the heart of every retailer’s engagement strategy. And our study shows ‘to the retail customer experience victors, go the spoils.’”

The study also shows that a negative customer experience can send shoppers packing; reasons that consumers were likely to stop purchasing from a retailer included: if a customer service issue isn’t resolved in a single attempt (62%), if unable to communicate on their channel of choice (57%), if forced to repeat themselves (55%), and if they have to endure long wait times (50%).

With the Verint Customer Engagement Cloud Platform, brands can unlock the potential of customer engagement across every area of the business to deliver consistently differentiated experiences to their customers and employees and do so at scale. Verint solutions automate workflows across enterprise silos, enabling the entire workforce to engage with customers in the right way at the right time to drive real business results.