Nine eye-opening retail customer service statistics (and what you can learn from them)

Independent retailers, from fashion boutiques and gift shops to builders’ merchants and hardware stores, often rely on good customer service to maintain their position in markets that are often dominated by retail chains and internet behemoths.

[nine retail customer service statistics] The ‘retail experience’ is certainly an important concept for brick-and-mortar shops to understand and embrace, as it offers the biggest potential advantage over e-commerce stores. Customer service can be improved in many different ways, through staff training, overhauling the layout of your store, and even by using your point of sale software more effectively. The following customer service statistics will only reinforce the importance of providing a good retail experience.

81% of customers would be willing to pay more to receive superior customer service 

This figure may be higher than you expected; it shows that independent retailers don’t always need to focus on price competition to secure trade. If you can provide exceptional customer service, you can justify higher margins.

The cost of attracting a new customer is around 6-7 times more than retaining a customer

The 6-7 figure is probably even higher for builders’ merchants, where retention of valuable trade customers is a necessity. Marketing, advertising and the new trade they gain are important, but if your investment in these areas starts to detract from customer service, take a step back.

A 10% increase in customer retention levels leads to a 30% increase in company value 

If investors value high customer retention levels, you should too. Happy customers become free ambassadors for your brand, so it’s in your interest to do all you can to achieve customer experience.

UK businesses lose 21 million customers a year due to long queues 

A YouGov survey found that UK shoppers aren’t prepared to queue, with 59% choosing not to complete their purchase when confronted with a long queue. 89% of respondents also said that they thought the lack of staff members on duty was the cause of queues. The lesson here is obvious: make sure your tills are well-staffed during busy periods.

Nine in ten UK shoppers walk away without purchasing if they’re not given the service they expect

These lost customers are a gift to your competitors: avoid this situation by paying attention to your customers’ needs and revisiting customer service basics with new and underperforming staff.

Nearly three in five UK shoppers would like staff to offer more recommendations 

Here’s another area where independent merchants can outcompete the chains. Target improved staff retention levels and only employ knowledgeable staff. Point of sale software can also aid you here; it offers product recommendations when items are scanned.

50% of UK customers say that rude staff are the source of most customer service problems 

Other gripes include lack of timeliness (19%) and failure to solve a customer’s problem (19%). Again, this figure shows that some staff lack basic customer service skills such as politeness and respect.

86% of customers are more likely to purchase something following a good customer experience

…and nearly two-thirds of consumers are unlikely to repurchase something if they were very dissatisfied with customer service.

54% of customers shared their bad retail experience with at least five others 

One single poor customer experience might not just lose you one customer, but many.

Overall, the lesson we can learn from these stats is this: good customer service is worth more than you expect. Here at Integrity, we offer retail management software with countless functions – including many that can vastly improve customer experience at the point of sale. Want to learn more? Contact our team for further information on the benefits of point of sale software.