Six ways to enhance your shopping experience
Shopping Experience
The shopping experience is how your customers interact with your store, brand, and products. The shopping experience is a big part of the retail industry today, especially if you have an online shopping option. This applies to every way you interact and touch customers.
Retail is not complete without a good shopping experience.
The traditional shopping experience was centered around how your customers interacted and served you and your brand. Today’s shopping is the exact opposite. This strategy should be customer-centric and omnichannel, placing your customers in the spotlight.
Why is retail shopping important?
The key to long-term success in retail is improving the customer experience. The retail shopping experience, whether it’s online or in person, is the customer’s perception of your company. This is the impression that they will share with their friends.
They’ll return to your products and services if they like the interaction. It’s similar to spending more time with people you enjoy.
The shopping experience is important too because today’s customers are better informed and more knowledgeable than ever. Retail store associates used to be the ones with all of the product information. They were more focused on selling than providing great customer service. This is no longer the case.
The Internet is the best tool for today’s shoppers to access endless information and reviews about products. Retail associates no longer have the upper hand in determining what customers want or need.
What does this mean for retailers? Retailers need to offer a superior customer experience to differentiate themselves from their competitors (and ). Retail associates have remained relevant, but their role extends far beyond sales.
They should now focus on serving, educating, and delighting their customers.
The shopping experience in retail today extends beyond the physical store, especially if you provide an online shopping option. This applies to every way you interact and touch your customers.
- Attention to detail at every touchpoint
The shopping experience is every way you interact and touch customers. From the moment your customers walk through your door or visit your site, note the different touchpoints. Are they welcomed immediately when they enter your store? What do they see when they enter? Is your shoplaid out to make it easy to browse?
What do your customers see when they visit your website? Are your products, reviews of customers, customer service, and contact details easily accessible?
Retailers with both an online store and a physical location should pay attention to how these channels interact. According to 84% of consumers, retailers need to do more to integrate online and offline channels. Ensure you provide plenty of information about your products online for customers who prefer to buy in-store. In-store customers should also be able to process customer support tickets online, regardless of how or where they purchased from you. Finally, ensure your customers’ accounts are consistent between your online and PoS (point-of-sale) systems.
- Encourage customers to post reviews.
The best feedback comes from customers. Your designers, marketers, and retail associates know all about your products, but the customers buy them. Customers are at the heart of the shopping process, so their feedback is precious.
Encourage your customers to leave reviews, whether they are in person or online. Share the best and most positive reviews on your social media and website as social proof.
Even though we do not encourage the publication of negative reviews, you can still learn many things from customer complaints. A negative review can teach you valuable information about your product.
- Reduce friction during the purchasing process.
The first half of the battle is getting your customers to register. Cart abandonment is nearly 70% across all industries. The traffic at brick-and-mortar retailers needs to be tracked more clearly. However, it’s safe to assume that many shoppers leave stores due to complicated or long checkout processes.
Improve your checkout experience to enhance your shopping experience. Keep checkout lines as short as possible if you run a physical shop. Consider a PoS that allows store associates to process checkouts directly on the floor. It brings the process to the customer (instead of the other way round) and encourages them to make purchases as they shop.
If you sell primarily online, you can identify friction points by walking through your checkout process. Offer a guest checkout, so shoppers are not forced to create an account. Instead, ask them to make their login once they purchase.
- Don’t neglect post-purchase care.
Shopping continues beyond the cash register. Check-in with your customers after their shopping experience, whether you send them a series of emails or call them personally. These actions demonstrate that you value your customer more than a payment.
After a purchase, customers may feel more comfortable contacting you for support or constructive feedback. Your customers’ future interactions with you may be influenced by how you treat them. After-sales care can turn customers into loyal customers and increase customer retention rates.
- Create a community for your brand.
Shoppers will gather in your physical or digital store to do their shopping. There are many ways that your brand, whether it’s in person or online, can offer customers value beyond the products and services you sell.
Create a community using your brand. If you own a physical shop, host events, classes, or special shopping evenings that will attract and celebrate your most loyal customers. If your online store is the primary source of revenue, encourage customers to interact through a social media platform, a loyalty program, or branded forums.
This not only builds camaraderie but also highlights shared interests. It helps you identify loyal customers and potential brand ambassadors who can give constructive feedback on your shopping experience.
- Look after your employees.
Your employees are the faces of your business. Your employees are the face of your company. They educate and delight customers, and they can make or break their shopping experience. If they are not happy, it is unlikely that they will prioritize your customers’ satisfaction.
Hire outstanding employees. Your staff should be trained to care about your customers from the very beginning by building relationships and practicing active listening. Lastly, give them the tools to serve your customers best.
