Survey: Retailers should focus on loyalty, brand awareness

The vast majority of retailers believe that their customer experience is at or better than their peers, but new data says otherwise.

According to new research from IDC and SAP, 86% of retailers believe that their customer experience is at or better than their peers, yet according to data partner Customer Gauge, the average net promoter score (NPS) for retail is only 41, which is below the cross-industry average of 44.

The top three strategic outcomes experienced retailers should be focused on, according to IDC and SAP, are improving customer loyalty (59%), improving brand awareness (50%), and empowering employees with the right data and tools (43%) to improve the customer experience.

“Forward-looking retailers are delving into new and different direct-to-consumer channels and business models,” said Alan Webber program VP for digital platform ecosystems at IDC. “Retailers have recognized that in-person and online aren’t the only channels. There are multiple channels, from a pop-up storefront to a marketplace on Tik Tok to custom drops on Discord, all of which come in a multitude of variations. In fact, over 47% of retailers have identified that developing new D2C business models across the customer journey is the future.”

According to the survey, more than 44% of retail businesses have indicated that undergoing organizational change to become more customer-centric both in leadership and culture is a priority. Over 40% of retailers surveyed identified having a solid voice of the customer program, including sentiment analysis, as a priority.

Artificial intelligence (AI) adoption was found to be somewhat divisive in the survey. Almost 43% of retailers have adopted AI across all of their front office functions from marketing to sales to commerce to distribution and more. However, 42% of retailers have no plans to adopt AI in any of their front office functions.

“Retailers that are sluggish to embrace AI to keep up with changing market requirements will lose precious ground to faster moving competition,” added Webber. “One effective way forward is to find a trusted technology platform and AI partner so it’s possible to adapt and grow over time. Tapping a provider’s expertise and securing a composable foundation to build on for the long-term can give retailers more certainty around their AI strategy and investments. Unleashing this emerging tech, retailers will discover a bounty of new opportunities to innovate and grow.”