Amazon and Saks tops in customer experience

Amazon and Saks came out on top in the 12th annual ForeSee Experience Index (FXI), which identified the top brands for retail customer experience this holiday season across three channels: online, store and mobile.



The report found that impact one another, with mobile contributing the most to other channels overall. Fifty percent of shoppers use their phone in-store — 59% to price check, and 50% to research while shopping. Amazon, Apple, Coach, H&M, L.L. Bean, HSN, Newegg, Nike, Under Armour, Best Buy, Express, Kohl’s and Neiman Marcus all received excellent mobile scores in the FXI.



“When consumers visit a retailer on mobile, there is 13 to 26 percent attrition to competitors,” said Eric Feinberg, VP at ForeSee and author of the report. “To manage this, brands must measure and understand the contribution mobile makes to all channels, not just that mobile session. For example, showrooming — a practice store retailers have generally disliked — often results in a boost in sales because an individual’s experience in one channel can lead to a purchase in another.”



Stores: The top store customer experience performers, who all received excellent FXI scores, are Saks Fifth Avenue, Apple, Lowe’s, Neiman Marcus, AT&T, Kohl’s, Nordstrom, Ann Taylor, and Costco.



Notably, good store experiences are a tremendous contributor to purchasing in other channels, the report said. Customers are 75% more likely to make a purchase from that same retailer in another channel after a good in-store experience — a boon to store-first brands, according to the report.



“It’s not just high-end stores like Saks that perform well,” said Feinberg, author of the report. “Retailers such as Kohl’s and Costco are delivering on customers’ expectations of their brands, and the stores remain a frontline driver of brand perception and purchase intent across channels. In a shopping season where 86% of customers are spending as much or more than they did last year, the potential impact of store experiences on other channels is powerful.”



Customers that have great in-store customer experiences are:



• Fifty percent more likely to purchase in-store;

• Sixty percent more likely to buy similar merchandise from that retailer again; and

• Seventy-four percent more likely to recommend the store.



Online: Although Amazon retained its number one ranking for best online customer experience, it was down one point over last year.



Also, other companies are closing in. Adidas, L.L. Bean, Apple, Best Buy, J.C. Penney, Kohl’s, Vistaprint, Bed Bath & Beyond, Fanatics, Home Depot, Office Depot, Victoria’s Secret, Walmart, and Williams-Sonoma all achieved excellent scores on the 100-point FXI scale.



Customers that have great mobile experiences are:



• Fifty-four percent more likely to recommend the store;

• Sixty-four percent more likely to purchase from that retailer’s mobile site/app;

• Forty-two percent more likely to make a purchase in another channel; and

• Fifty-percent more likely to buy from that retailer the next time they buy similar merchandise.