Retailers need no reminding that we’re coming up to their busiest time of the year. Being able to cope with demand and deliver the experience that customers expect is central to remaining competitive and delivering the right experience, cost-effectively, means focusing on these 6 areas...
Retailers don’t need reminding that the peak Christmas season is now upon us, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday already in full swing. Given the importance of Peak to retail success and ever-increasing competition, it is no exaggeration to say that this Christmas will be make or break for many companies. How can they ensure that they thrive?
The run up to Christmas is both the busiest time of year for most brands and the most stressful for consumers. So it is no surprise that consumers become more demanding of the brands that they deal with during this time. How can they cope?
As we approach Christmas, the festive shopping season is moving into top gear. At the same time as they are looking for bargains, consumers also want to make their shopping experience as simple, hassle-free and quick as possible.
Planning ahead is central to retail success, which is why during the summer months many retailers are already preparing for the Peak festive shopping season. Given the importance of customer experience to sales success, optimizing CX is high on the list of priorities. So how can you ensure that your customer experience helps you have a Happy Christmas?
This Christmas over £24 billion will be spent online on presents and gifts. And while some of these packages will be picked up instore through Click and Collect services, the vast majority will be delivered by the post and couriers. This last leg of the ecommerce customer experience has always been hard for retailers to control.
Christmas is a stressful time. It is stressful for consumers buying last minute presents or chasing up a missing delivery, but it is also stressful for the staff in stores and contact centers with the many customer enquiries that follow the season. The number of queries companies receive is enormous, and every single one matters to the consumer that sent it
We’re now well into the holiday shopping season, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday behind us but plenty of shopping days to go before Christmas itself. The trading picture so far this year has been mixed, and for many retailers this time of year is make or break time.
New figures from the National Retail Federation point to sales increasing by 3.6% over the course of 2016 holiday shopping season in the US, hitting $655.8 billion. Ecommerce should grow between 7-10%, totaling as much as $117 billion. In the UK, retailers will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2015 festive season where heavy discounting hit margins in many parts of the sector.
It may seem like a long time in the future for consumers, but as every retailer knows Christmas is coming – fast. Now is the period for finalizing plans and ensuring that the vital holiday season goes as well as possible. Customer service and the experience you offer consumers is a critical part of this, so what should companies be doing NOW to ready themselves?