If there’s one industry that was heavily disrupted during the pandemic, it is retail. Many retail businesses have lost while others have managed to thrive with the shifting landscape.
One thing remains clear-cut. Your customer expectations have changed. If you want to retain your loyal customer base and continue to attract new clients, it’s important to adapt to the new environment. You have to remodel your CX program to suit the new normal.
Here is what the future of CX holds for the retail industry and how you can succeed in the competitive environment!
People choose experience over products
Millennial consumers are no longer hunting for fabulous products. It is no longer a challenge for them as the market is exploding with alternatives every day. They are hunting for value-driven experiences that explode with innovation, consciousness, and change. They need brands that align with their expectations and values and deliver a truly impactful experience. It is a ripe age for the retail industry to do better and strategize better.
Therefore, it’s time that retail businesses strive to offer a cutting-edge difference to their clientele in terms of customer experience. Highly customized services, free samples, interactive in-store experiences, loyalty schemes, and same-day delivery are some of the ways how you can enhance the experience. Always focus on ways you could complement the purchase and elevate customers’ emotions.
Customer journeys are a fusion of physical and digital experiences
If your retail business has been limited to a brick-and-mortar store until now, it’s time for a new perspective. We are not denying that physical stores don’t impact customer experience. In fact, a great interior, knowledgeable staff, and the opportunity to test or examine products physically play a major role in elevating CX.
However, the pandemic has changed the way consumers prefer to shop. They are looking for more digital services that let them connect with brands in a multitude of ways. They prefer if their favorite brand is within an easy reach – a click or call away. Customers love it if they can step into a physical store but checkout via the online website without having to stay in a line. So, it’s time to diversify your presence on digital platforms and combine them with physical experiences. Remember to also take the multichannel customer journey into account when analyzing your CX program performance!
CX data is no longer siloed
CX data was never meant to be analyzed alone. It’s increasingly being integrated with every aspect of the business than it has ever been before. CX metrics must be linked with key KPIs of the business such as revenue, ROI, and profit to identify the impact of customer experience on growth. It helps you identify new opportunities to improve and expand your service. The failure to identify the correlation can even push you out of business in the long run.
Moreover, key CX data and findings should be shared across the business organization, so every unit from marketing to finance can utilize it. Every employee in the organization should be on board with your CX strategy for it to bring rewarding benefits.
Prioritization of human emotions is here to stay
Have you ever thought about how customer emotions can affect your revenue stream? It’s no secret that we, as humans, associate an emotion with every interaction in our lives. It’s the same when customers do business with retail brands. It is the emotions that persuade customers to consider, purchase, and even go to the lengths of recommending your business to others.
The concept of the Emotional Value Index (EVI®) is emerging as a powerful metric as more businesses are realizing the importance of customer emotions and the ability to cater to them effectively. As long as you can appeal to their emotions by delivering a fabulous customer experience, you have won. What emotions do you want to evoke? What emotions will make you popular? These are what you need to focus on. If you want to learn more about EVI®, click here.
