This is what impressed shoppers most during the pandemic

Seven in 10 consumers agree that one specific factor makes them impressed with a brand during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Seventy-two percent of consumers have been most impressed with agility during the pandemic, citing retailers that were able to “create new alternatives for delivery, pickup and returns,” according to a survey from Contentsquare, CommerceNext and BizRate Insights. Transparency over health & safety measures came in second (44%), followed by transparency over shipping delays (34%). 

Only 9% of respondents said they had not noticed a difference in retailers’ responses to COVID-19.

The survey also shows 23% of respondents discovered new retailers in 2020, while 16% stopped shopping with some retailers. Eighty percent of respondents did more online shopping in 2020, with price & promotion, navigation, and checkout ranked as the three most important aspects of a digital retail experience.

“If 2020 was the year of digital acceleration, 2021 will be the year of actionable insight — of being able to turn customer expectations into real-time customer experience improvements,” said Niki Hall, chief marketing officer of Contentsquare. “Brands were already competing on experience, but today, business success is predicated on the ability to continuously monitor customer priorities and expectations, and adapt the experience accordingly.”

“Consumers want retailers and direct-to-consumer brands to make it easy for them to find what they are looking for,” said Veronika Sonsev, co-founder of CommerceNext. “If they get frustrated, consumers can jump to another site with one click, so it is not surprising that most retailers and brands have elevated the priority of customer experience and are spending time to make their e-commerce experience seamless for consumers.”