As we approach the holiday shopping season, retailers are getting ready for their busiest time of the year. So at Eptica we thought it would be a good time to look at how they perform when it comes to the customer experience. The 2015 Eptica Retail Customer Experience Study therefore evaluated 500 U.S. retailers, in 15 sectors, on their ability to provide answers to 10 questions...
While all industries need to ensure they are delivering an excellent customer experience, some seem to be intrinsically better at it than others. This concept is backed up by recent research carried out by service design consultancy Engine. Its survey found that consumers rated the public transport, utility, insurance and broadband sectors, as worst for customer experience and service...
The supermarket sector is one of the most competitive sectors in the UK. A combination of new entrants, aggressive price cutting and changing shopping habits is affecting all food and drink retailers, from the largest to the smallest. As well as moving to discounters, consumers are increasingly looking for convenience alongside price, choice and quality by choosing to shop...
In a fast-moving and ultra-competitive market such as retail, companies are continually looking to differentiate themselves from rivals. To achieve this they are increasingly embarking on digital transformation programs, moving to a multichannel approach that is more efficient and flexible, while delivering a better customer experience...
Every six months the Institute of Customer Service publishes its UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI). Run since 2008, the UKCSI both provides a snapshot of current performance by organizations across the country, and allows longer term trends to be measured. The latest index has just been released and is based on over 39,000 responses from more than 10,000 people, cover...
The amount of time – and range of activities – that consumers carry out online continues to grow. It is now the first port of call for everything from shopping and banking, to researching and buying insurance policies, switching telecoms supplier or booking a holiday. No wonder that in 2014 UK ecommerce sales broke the £100 billion barrier for the first time, making up ...
Retailers face growing market challenges. Despite the UK climbing out of recession, consumer confidence is still fragile and likely to remain so in the face of a number of uncertainties on the horizon; a potential hung parliament, eurozone worries and interest rate rises. It’s not surprising that shoppers are still price sensitive, and are happy to move to rivals.
Digital channels bring new opportunities and challenges to retail businesses. Unlike in a physical shop it can be difficult to predict demand, making it more complex to ensure that you can scale to meet customer needs. Fail to deliver the right experience and consumers will simply move elsewhere, reducing sales and impacting profits.This is particularly true at Christmas. It may be the busiest tim...
For retailers, the peak Christmas trading period is fundamental to their revenues. However it is also the most competitive time, with everyone looking to increase their share of the £36.5 billion Britons were expected to spend on Christmas shopping. Add in that every year consumers are demanding more, and you can see how difficult it is to deliver the right experience to customers across eve...
For many people, online is becoming the default channel for buying Christmas presents, with trips to the High Street relegated to either window shopping for ideas, top up purchases or to pick up Click and Collect orders. Consumer research from Metapack found that 22% of UK respondents planned to do almost all their Christmas shopping online, rising to 29% among the 35 to 44-year-old age group. 85%...