How did consumer expectations changed?

Today’s customers expect speed, convenience and consistency in their customer journey, a series of experiences that not only meet their needs, but also engage and delight them. Brands need to take the facts from several researches into consideration to stay in the race.

• Over 70% of consumers prefer speed and convenience. [1]
• 90% of consumers expect a consistent brand experience across all channels and devices. [2]
• 38% of shoppers say it’s important to find the products they are interested in quickly and conveniently with additional product information at the point of sale [2]
• 87% of shoppers start their product search on digital channels. [3]

Three truths about how customer experience drives business success

Customer experience is the sum of all interactions a customer has with a brand, at every stage of the customer journey – from the appearance of the demand, through information gathering and payment, to repeated purchases.

1. DRIVING SALES BY CREATING UNIQUE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Buying experience plays an important role in converting a visitor into a customer, moreover customer are usually willing to pay more because they had positive feelings at the end of the buying journey.

• More than 2/3 of shoppers say that positive experiences influence their purchasing decisions [1]
• 43% of consumers are willing to pay more for more convenience. [1]

2. BRAND LOYALTY AND PROMOTION

Superior customer experience has a strong impact on customer retention and repeated purchases, as satisfied customers want to relive their journey and share their positive experiences.

• 72% of customers share their positive customer experience with more than six people [3]
• 32% of shoppers would turn away from a brand they like after one bad experience [3]

If companies realize the importance of the consistent buyer experience on every interaction point, they can stay ahead of the competition. Not only because of the repeated purchases, but they will be able to utilize all satisfied clients as brand ambassadors.

3. BRAND CONSISTENCY

Modern customers value the experience that spans through the entire digital customer journey and consistently delivers the same level of customer satisfaction. Therefore brands should focus on consistency regardless of the communication channel or interaction point they get in touch with their buyer.

• 50% of online shoppers continue to shop at a store where they receive the products they ordered. [4]
• 90% of shoppers wants to see the same consistent brand experience on any channel a brand uses [2]

What can we take home from the above?

The reign of online shopping and the expansion of communication channels has only increased customers’ desire for a real shopping experience.
As Szilvia Burka, Director of Marketing and Online Services at Praktiker, said in an interview recently:

[1] New consumer behaviors accelerate need for companies to focus on experience for long-term growth, [Accenture]

[2] Ninety percent of holiday shoppers expect consistent brand experiences across channels and devices, [SDL]

[3] Rebuilding retail relationships, [Publicis Sapient]

[4] The customer-facing digital signage market in retail through 2021, [Future Stores]