Survey: Retailers see lag in customer experience capability

Retailers prioritize customer experience, but question their own effectiveness in delivering key aspects.

According to a new survey of retailers from retail technology company Bluecore and Forrester Consulting, 45% of respondents said that winning new customers was one of the three most important business objectives for their company this year. Right behind customer acquisition was “customer experience,” with 39% of respondents citing it as one of their three highest priorities.

Despite this high prioritization of customer experience, only 21% and 20% of respondents believe they are effective at customer experience and acquisition, respectively. This might be because 50% of respondents claim to spend only 30% or less of their time on their top objectives.

Specifically, only 12% of respondents claimed to be very effective at delivering personalized experiences to customers, while just 30% said they are effective at driving seamless and consistent omnichannel experiences. 

Other interesting findings include:

•    More than one-third of respondents (36%) have to wait up to a week or more for campaign or audience data. Only 10% claim to have access to data in real-time or near real-time. Twelve percent get it within a day and 42% say it takes a few days to complete their data requests. 

•    More than 40% of respondents believe their organizational structure hurts data management efforts.
 
•    Only 35% of respondents say their marketing technology is contributing to their ability to improve customer experience. Just 21% say it helps them win new customers, while 15% credit marketing technology with creating or increasing customer value. 
 
Forrester Consulting surveyed 307 marketing technology decision-makers at retail enterprises in the U.S. and Europe representing apparel and footwear (62%), home goods (50%), health and beauty (43%) and luxury goods (34%) verticals, many working in more than one of these categories.