Accenture: Frustrating shopping experiences bad for business

A frustrating experience can significantly damage brand loyalty.

That’s according to new research from Accenture, which found that 47% of frustrated respondents said they would avoid doing business with the retailer or consumer goods brand. Consumers who had a frustrating shopping experience are three times more likely than satisfied consumers to not buy from the retailer or brand again, the report found.

In another finding, companies that consistently exceed customer expectations could significantly increase revenues by charging a premium for the experience. At the same time, however, the same number (47%) of all consumers said they would be willing to pay more for an experience that exceeds their expectations every time, with frustrated customers almost twice as likely as satisfied consumers to say they’d be willing to pay more for such an experience.

The research is based on a survey of more than 20,000 consumers across 19 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, South America and Africa. Respondents were deemed to be frustrated if they said that their most-recent shopping (i.e., browsing and/or purchasing) experience didn’t meet their expectations and/or if they found any aspect of the shopping experience frustrating. Forty-two percent of the respondents fell into the “frustrated” bucket.

“Despite digital technologies fueling an explosion in opportunities to engage and interact with consumers throughout their browsing and shopping experience, many retailers and brands still struggle to deliver a seamless experience across the integrated marketplace,” said Laura Gurski, senior managing director and head of Accenture’s consumer goods and services practice. “Meeting or exceeding expectations calls for a complete rethink, all the way from developing new concepts through manufacturing to the store shelf and beyond. And with so many consumers willing to pay more for an experience that exceeds expectations, there’s a potential pot of gold for those that get it right.”

The research highlights some significant variations between geographies. For instance, respondents in China were the most likely to say that they’re willing to pay more for an experience that exceeds their expectations, with 81% of them indicating such willingness, while those in the U.S. and U.K. were the least likely to say they’d pay more for such an experience (31% and 28%, respectively).

Perhaps more surprising, frustrated consumers overall were far more likely than satisfied consumers to say they’d be willing to pay more for such an experience (62% vs. 36%, respectively). The gap was greatest in Germany (63% vs. 27%, respectively) and Italy (61% vs. 33%, respectively).