Last year, a majority of consumers revealed they had decreased or completely stopped their spending with a brand after a poor experience. Unfortunately, customers are expected to be more demanding in 2022. Added to that, many retailers say customer expectations outpace their ability to deliver compelling digital experiences, per a report [download page] from RSR Research in partnership with Coveo.
As these retailers struggle to keep up with customer demand, they say their competition is doing a better job of acting on customers’ expectations (56% selecting as a top-3 business challenge) and that both competition and customer expectations are forcing them to innovate rapidly (46%). Perhaps unsurprisingly, this need to innovate is a challenge for businesses, with 6 in 10 (61% selecting as as top-3 challenge) saying that as digital experience becomes an increasingly important part of their brand, they cannot risk experimenting the way they’d like to.
The challenges don’t stop there. Nearly all respondents (95%) say that while their acquisition strategy is effective, they have a high bounce rate once shoppers reach the site. However, most say also their strategies are effective in helping customers find their brands and products. And, with convenience being most critical at the discovery stage of the customer journey, respondents are already using or planning to use AI and machine learning to enhance search and product discovery and for product recommendations.
One battle retailers are facing is coexisting with Amazon, where most shoppers begin their product search. To do this, more than half (55%) say that everything available on their site is also available on Amazon. Moreover, over the past 12 months, more than 8 in 10 (83% of) respondents also report that they have increased their interactions with or through Amazon.
Find the full report here.
About the Data: Findings are based on a Q4 survey of 99 qualified retail respondents.
